A Mother’s Heartfelt Thanks: A Letter from Haiti to Richard Hotes
Recently, Richard Hotes received a letter from one of the women the Hotes Foundation hired as a kitchen worker for our feeding program in a mud-hut village in Haiti. The letter touched us so much that we wanted to share it.
I want to thank Richard for giving me the opportunity to generate an income on a monthly basis. I am a mother of 12 but there are 4 of them that are responsible for themselves. So, I'm currently living with 8 children who I am responsible for. There are 6 of them that are going to school. The youngest one goes to the daycare. Vilina was not able to learn at school and Mr. Hotes gave her a job. First and foremost I want to thank God and Mr. Hotes for giving us the opportunity to work so we can take care of the family. The kids always went to school but things are very different this year given that we have gotten privileges we haven’t had previously such as being able to pay for the kids' school, feed them on time and having enough to pay for a motorcycle to take them to school every morning. I haven’t had such opportunities since my husband past and left me with no one else to turn to when in need of anything for myself and my children.
It is because I am working now that I am able to help them get into school. Out of the 6 children I’ve got that are going to school, there is one that goes to the village school. The other 5 go to different schools around the areas. I try my hardest to send them everyday to obtain a decent education, which I did not have a chance to receive. I used to send them to school on foot before I got this job. They were walking in the bushes far from home. I would wake up at 6 in the am to bring them half way to school, but now I'm able to pay a motorcycle to transport them. My mind is a bit more at ease knowing that they do not have to walk alone in the bushes anymore.
My children would stay and play around when I would run to the lakeside to buy buckets of fish to go resell at Croix Des Boucquets so I would be able to buy food and other necessities for the house. They would usually get to school late because of transportation problems and the school would kick them out because of tardiness or too many absent days. The next day I would have to bring them to the principal’s office to explain why they were late or absent. In one year I usually went to the principal’s office at least 6 times because of those problems. This year I have not been to the principal’s office, not even once, because God blessed Mr. Hotes and he turned around and blessed us with such opportunities.
Saintadia cooking millets and beans as part of the Hotes Foundation feeding program.
My childrens' school issues are well taken care of nowadays. I am working. I pay their schools on time. I buy books. I pay for a motorcycle for them. They go to school just any like any other kid that is going to school and they are working well at school. At 12 on a daily basis I pay a motorcycle to go pick them up. It makes me the happiest person alive. I live well and my kids are happier than I am. Before they would be tired of walking to and from school and during those days I was not able to fix a meal for them before they left being in the dire circumstance I was in with nothing to do or anyone to run to. What makes me happier is when they get back from school and they are running to the dining room to bring badges to Diego so they can participate in Mr. Hotes' feeding program. I am more than happy to see their plates come into the kitchen for us kitchen workers to feed them.
It is a pleasure for me to see that this is actually happening and not a dream which I dreamt years ago. That is one of the biggest thing that Mr Hotes has done for the villages. For the children that are growing up around here, I am very happy that this is happening. It is a pleasure to me and I thank our God that sent Mr Hotes to this area with all these blessings. May god bless Mr. Hotes along with his family and his whole staff. We are so blessed.
Saintadia Gallete
Kitchen Staff Personnel
