timkatec.org

August 22, 2005

Dear "Friends of Timkatec in Haiti":

Father Simon and his staff were truly touched by the truly marvelous effort made by the Memphis Girl Scout Troop 3. On my recent visit to Haiti, we were able to show them the video the girls had made, where they greeted the "Timkatec kids" who were truly spellbound.

March Hall and members of Memphis Girl Scout Troop 3

From March Hall:

Last summer, my brother-in-law, Patrick O'Shea, explained to me his project to try to help the abandoned children of Timkatec in Haiti. He was most interested in establishing child-to-child communication between Girl Scout Troop 3 here in Memphis and the Timkatec kids. We all thought was a wonderful idea in the true spirit of Scouting.

As the troop leader, I shared the Friends of Timkatec website with the girls and adult volunteers. We decided to make a general study of Haiti on our September '04 camping trip, including the history, geography, flora, and fauna. We also prepared selected Haitian recipes and read Haitian folk tales.

Last fall, we followed news reports of the serious damage and massive loss of life caused by the hurricanes, and last winter - as the Girl Scout cookie campaign neared - we decided to contribute the proceeds of our cookie sales to the Children of Timkatec. We didn't want our donation to be anonymous, so - as a part of this international service project - we produced a video documenting a week in the life of Girl Scout Troop 3. We all learned a little French to introduce ourselves to Father Simon and the Timkatec kids.

On his visit in March, Patrick personally presented our check for over $300 and the video to Father Simon. How proud we were when we received Father Simon's beautiful letter saying that he bought Easter treats, and a small special fund, for the children with our gift.

Our next Timkatec project was to entertain Patrick and my sister, Judith O'Shea, with a tea in our Girl Scout Garden in Memphis at the end of July. Patrick was able to share his videos and report on his visit. We will respond with another communication to Timkatec documenting Patrick's visit and some special Memphis sights.

Timkatec will remain a long term part of our scouting program and enables our Scouts to understand another culture and to meaningfully contribute to a group of children whose everyday lives are so harsh- but now know that there are other of the same age who care about their welfare.

If other Scout Troops would like to join our effort we would be delighted to give them the benefit of our experience.

March Hall
Leader - Girl Scout troop 3, Memphis, TN.
MMH Hall, Architects/Planners, Inc.
1325 Peabody Ave.
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 725-1997
(901) 725-1999 (fax)

For children who have been abandoned by their families and their society, and had lived on the streets, it was a miracle to know that other children, so far away, were touched by their circumstances, wanted to help and then made such a terrific effort to actually do so.

Father Simon told me that this type of personal contact has a wonderfully positive effect on these children, many of whom are very quiet and withdrawn.

March has agreed to advise any other Troops or organizations who might wish to help in a similar or other personal way. By the way, the cash gift to Timkatec, over $300, was very gratefully received by Father as part of his special fund. Most money's he receives can only be used for the barest essentials.

Patrick J. O'Shea, Founder
Mike Spinelli, Co-Founder
Friends of Timkatec in America

Archived Timkatec News