Our friend Charles

So we have a request to ask of everyone, but as it is a complicated issue we'll explain as best we can. 

 

As you all know, we are living in Turks and Caicos.  One of the things we have really enjoyed about living here is the eye opening experience it has been getting to know the members of our congregation. We attend a small Branch of the LDS church here.  The church has been on the island for about 3 years now.  About half of the members of our branch are Turks and Caicos Islanders . The other half are illegal Haitian members.  As many of you know, the situation in Haiti is bleak (read a bit about it here).  78% of the population lives under the poverty line (living on $2/day) and 54% in abject poverty (living on $1/day).  Turks and Caicos is only 306.8 km / 190.6 miles from Haiti and as a result there are quite a few Haitians that have been living here for years. Our friend Charles is one of these.

 

So how do these Haitians live?  Some of them are able to get a work visa and work unskilled labour jobs in construction or landscaping. The collapse of the economy hit hard here and the earthquake in Haiti drove more Haitians here.  So we have really been trying to figure out how to help the people here. For most of the members, gaining some sort of education would be the only answer, but education is so expensive.  IF they can get a job the pay is so low (all of the unskilled jobs in the newspaper are $5/hr or less), and they send any extra money back to support their family in Haiti, which leaves nothing to put towards any type of education for themselves. As an example of a typical situation, one of our friends had to find a new place to live because he couldn't afford the $15 a week rent for his 12' by 12' one room dirt floor no power no water place. Remember this is typical for a Hatian living here in TCI and this situation is far better than what they would have in Haiti.

 

All of this has left us feeling like our hands are tied to be able to help many of these people we care about.  What sets Charles apart from the other illegal Haitians in the Branch is the fact that he came here with his mom as a young child and went through school here, graduating from High School a few years ago.  Even though he came here on his mom's work permit and was here legally, he is no longer legally in the country and cannot work, go to school, or anything else that we as Canadians and Americans would take for granted. If Charles leaves the coutry to serve a mission or for any other reason, he will not be allowed back in and will be sent back to Haiti.  But because Charles has been here for so long and did his primary and secondary school here and was listed on his mum's legal work permit, he is eligible for his Permanent Residency Certificate (PRC). Basically this PRC gives him all the opportunities that any legal citizen would enjoy.

 

Without his PRC, Charles has been unable to work. There is alot of competition for under the table jobs, and the government is clamping down on them really hard. Any employer found with illegal employees is fined $10,000 and the worker is arrested on the spot and later deported. Most Haitians risk this in order to support themselves and their families, many of whom are back in Haiti. Charles has found the odd short-term job, but doesn't risk it as his family and whole life has been here.

 

In order to get his PRC, Charles only needs a bit of paperwork (which he has done) and $5,000. The fee is due up front and is refunded in full if he is denied. He won't be denied because the qualifications are quite clear. Here is the link to the govt site that lists the criteria for PRC. 

 

Charles is doing everything in his power to try to raise this money, but it is close to an impossible task. He and almost everyone he knows have just enough to survive. So we are trying to help him raise the money he needs for his PRC by asking our friends and family to provide Charles with a loan. By getting small or big loans from a number of people, we are hoping that we can accomplish our goal of helping Charles raise the funds. Kyle is assuming the responsibility of tracking the money that people lend and making sure that it all gets together and repaid in an orderly manner (he is an accountant after all). Part of Kyle's responsibilty is going to be making the payment to the government on Charles behalf.

 

Loans in any amount will be appreciated. Charles will work and repay the loans over the weeks and months after getting a job. We do need to say that there is a chance that the loan won't be repaid. I couldn't tell you how much of a chance. We don't see that happening, but need to put in the disclaimer. Please understand that if you don't get repaid, your funds have still been used to make an incredible difference in Charles and Charles' families lives. If you are concerned about the repayment, we will assume the loan and repay you when we can.  

 



We had someone wondering if he can move to Canada as a refugee. As explained here, "A refugee is a person who fears persecution if they go back to their country of nationality".  It goes on to say -  "your claim will not be accepted if your fear is one of generalized violence faced by everyone in the country".  All Haitians fear for their lives and their well being, so the refugee avenue is out for most if not all of them.

 

We hope to collect the money as soon as possible, so that Charles can move on with his life.  The thought crossed our minds to wait until Christmas to ask for these loans, but we are hoping that we know enough people that have the spirit of Christmas all year long (hint hint).  We hope that he will chose to go on a mission and then go to school, but really the true reason we are doing this is just so that he has the same opportunity and choices that we were all born with.

 

We made this little video and we apologize for how quiet it is, but we hope you can get a little glimpse into who Charles is!

  

 

Please email Kyle if you would like to get involved. You can reach him at kyledstone@gmail.com or zoeharker@hotmail.com.  We'll provide you with the details you need to send funds.

Sending loads of love your way,

Kyle and Zoe

My Birthday and trip to Grand Turk

I really got spoiled this year for my birthday! I spent the day at the beach with my folks and the kids while Kyle was at work.

 He came home early and made me my favorite cupcakes from scratch. In the words of my father "Kyle is just too good to be true!" - Agreed!

My favorite cupcakes. TO DIE FOR!

That night I got to go out with Kyle to Opus and have Lobster (YUM!).

If you look closely you can see the ocean from our room!

Then two days later I got to go to Grand Turk - which is another island here in Turks and Caicos. Kyle had been working there so he would have to take the 1/2 hr flight every day, but had the option of staying overnight, so I went and met him! We again got to eat an amzing dinner - a fish fry by the pool on the beach.




I woke up early and went for a little jog and then went and rented a bike to explore the island with.  Even though I would have loved to spend the day with Kyle, he had to work, so I really enjoyed spending the whole day alone. Never thought I would say that!

Grand Turk is completely different from Providenciales. It is a much smaller island in size (7x1.5 miles) with a population the same as Raymond.  It is such a cute little island with a ton of character! It's home the TCI's Capitol - Cockburn Town. From 1600-1900's it was a huge player in the salt industry. Around 1940 fridges became houshold items and salt wasn't needed to preserve food. See how much I learned?

Don't you wish this was your classic car parked at your house on the beach?  I do.

Are you tempted?

"Main Street" The post office and church below face onto the ocean.

Columbus may have first hit land in Grand Turk - that's what they're claiming anyways.

On my bike ride to the lighthouse.

This is not what Providenciales (the island we live on) looks like. It almost made me feel like I was back in Canada to see so far!

Grand Turk was the landing place of this astronaut who landed in the ocean nearby in 1962 after the first succesful manned  orbit of the earth. It's hard to believe some guy fell from outerspace in this little thing and actually lived.

Grand Turk lighthouse

I fell in love with all the beautiful old homes there. Apparently it's Bermudian architecture from the Salt and Colonial Era.  The one at the top is my favorite, but I couldn't figure out how to write under it.

I went to a couple beaches and the sand here isn't nearly as fine as it is in Providenciales. If you have a stop in Grand Turk on your cruise ship, don't waste all your time on the beach or shopping - take a cab over to old Cockburn town! If your planning a trip to TCI I would almost say skip Provodenciales and go straight to Grand Turk, but the beach in Provo is just too good to pass up! 

After my day as Lance Armstrong I met up whith Kyle and one of the local guys gave us a ride to the airport. He knew I had been riding around all day and asked me how I liked it. I told him I loved it and that I felt like I saw all that there was to see. He smiled and said "are you sure?"  I told him how I had biked all the way up the the light house and all the way down to the cruise center. He was really suprized and told me that yes I had in fact seen everything! I was sooo exhausted after, it was 14 miles of biking or more (I got lost a few times) and the last time I rode a bike was 7 years ago. How sad is that?

So while I was galavanting around the kids were with my parents at Taylor Bay (see below) catching starfish and having a blast with Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Oh and Kyle was of course hard at work!

England

Dekker doesn't have an imaginary friend like most kids, he has an entire imaginary life. It all started in January. He started talking about how things were in England when he lived there. At first we thought he was talking about Calgary, but he kept bringing it up and we finally realized that it's not Calgary or Raymond or California or Arizona (all the places he would remember going to). 

As far as a fake life goes, it's pretty good. He has 2 moms, which made me a bit nervious until he told me he has 2 dads too. He also has 5 brothers and 2 sisters. They all have rhyming names that change every time you ask him.  One day when he was bothering Hazel I was saying to him "Dekker you only have one sister, you need to treat her nice."  To which he replied "But mom - I have my sisters in England!" Touche! 

He has a pool in England, but it's not a cold pool like we have here, its a warm pool (i think he means hot tub?).  He has WAY better toys in England, and his Moms and Dads are always nice to him.  I can't remember all the details of his life in England, but if you ask him in the summer I'm sure he will tell you all about it.  We have totally just played along with it because what else can we do? I wonder if thats bad.  I do think it is pretty cute that his imaginary life is in the place where Kyle served his mission.  I also think that if we believed in reincarnation, that Dekker would be our proof.

Here is Dekker in fine form singing at the top of his lungs so that all the neighbors can enjoy the show.  "When I get older I will be stronger!" His favorite song right now.

Day to day

So I've been thinking lately that I need to write a post about what life is like here. Just the random things and what we do in a week. So here goes:

MONDAY - Hazel school, Mom and Dekker play group and keep house. Kyle Work.
After school Hazel has soccer. Then there is the nightly make supper, eat, FHE and bedtime rush. Kyle could play floor Hockey on Monday nights, but it seems like he has to work in the evenings a lot.

TUESDAY - Hazel school. Dekker and I play (biking, swimming, walks, soccer, baseball, toys)
do errands and normal at home stuff. Kyle Work.  Most days we pick up Hazel at school at 3 and then we come back to our condo and play with 5-10 of the neighbor kids on the path along the golf course.  Riding bikes, scootering, playing with sticks, rocks, haing races, playing soccer, swimming, building forts etc.  The canadian guidline for amount of physical activity kids are supposed to have is 1 hr a day.  In Canada I found this imposible about 7 months of the year. I'm not a "lets go play in the -20 snow and wind" type person.  So my kids didn't get much physical activity unless you count walking around ikea or the mall randomly.  Here it has been the opposite. My kids get AT LEAST 2 hrs of physical activity a day. Hazel even started the "after school club" with the nighbor kids and they have scheduled activities like "do summersaults, and play with the big bouncy balls"  So ya I guess this is one of my favorite things here.

WEDNESDAY - Hazel school. Dekker and I more of the same at home. Kyle Work.  Hazel had Glee club after school on Wednesdays and she really liked it. It just ended. More of the backyard gang. Kyle or I could go play indoor soccer, but i didn't bring my shoes (who knew indoor soccer would be available here?) and once again kyle is often busy with work.

THURSDAY -  Hazel school. Dekker school until noon. My favorite day of the week! I usually go for a run on the beach, read a book on the beach, go snorkling, etc. Kyle and I have gone on an earlys lunch date a few times and are trying to do this 1-2x per month.  After school is more playing with the neighbor kids.  The second reason I love thursdays is because I get to go play Rugby. It's co-ed and its flag rugby, but I LOVE IT. I don't know if it's because it's a totally new sport to me, or what. I guess it's always great to learn something new. They have Rugby for kids on Saturday's that I'm hoping to get Hazel into if we are here next year. I'm already plotting Hazel and Dekkers rugby superstardom.

FRIDAY - I try to go do a big bike ride with Dekker to the beach on friday mornings. We are also making having Dekkers friend Jack over on Friday afternoons a habit. After school on fridays Hazel has Ballet (she's only gone 4 times and she is already not sure if it's for her - I'm not gonna lie, that doesn't make me sad at all! I would way rather have her excited about something else than ballet. It does seem pretty boring. Now that she has had a chance with ballet I'm hoping to have her try jazz or hip hop or something.

SATURDAY -  I coach the 3 yr olds soccer on Saturday mornings here. It is a blast! Dekker really likes it and we mostly play shark/ pirate/ go score/ treasure hunt/ monster themed games that just so happen to involve kicking around a ball while your playing or hitting someone's legs with the ball (the monsters) or scoring on the coach etc. It's amazing how good their ball handling skills get so quick even when they are so young.  Hazel used to go to soccer at the same time with kyle, but most of the girls her age dropped out and so she doesn't want to go on saturdays because it's too competitive and all boys. Mondays it is a different coach who does games like I do and she is my friend and so she lets Hazel go in her group (5 yr olds) because there aren't any 6 yr old girls besides hazel. Lame.

After soccer we go to the church once a month to clean (how I miss the days when you got assigned to go clena the church once a year!).  Every week we try to do saturdays work, for the kids it involves spraying and wiping our big sliding doors and the mirrors and taking out the trash and cleaning their rooms. It's usually a struggle, but we try to hurry them along by reminding them that we get to go swim or to the beach after. We always try to get the kids to go to the beach (saturday is the only day kyle gets the chance to go) but for some reason our kids would way rather go to the pool. But if we do "make" them go to the beach they love it and never want to leave!

SUNDAY - Church is at 10.  I'm the 1st councillor in Primary and its just me and Sonya, the President running the whole thing.  It's goes pretty good most weeks, I love working with Sonya and we are both pretty laid back about the whole thing.  I try to take the younger ones to nursery the first hour and then I bring them in to the primary room the second hour and do sharing and singing time.  We have anywhere from 5-13 kids every week. Kyle just got called to the Branch Presidency (can't remember which councillor he is?)  He doesn't find much has chanced in what he was doing before I don't think. His first week of conducting was this week and besides almost skipping sacrament he did a great job!  We love our branch and although we do miss the well oiled machine of a large ward, we really enjoy all the experiences that come along with an almost brand new branch (the church has officially been in the country for 3 yrs). 
Sunday afternoons we go to the back yard and play, or watch a movie as a family or spend at church and the beach for a baptism (we have at least one a month).

So there you have it. Probably quite boring for most of you, but I know for me looking back I will wonder what we did when we lived in TCI.

Although I love it here and I am not ready to leave, I do miss some things about civilization. Of course topping that list is our Family and Friends. A few other things like Shopping (mainly value village (tear)and H&M) Having nice hair, Having my own house with my own stuff, Having disposable income, Sewing, Decorating, hmm I guess thats it!

What I don't miss is the hectic life. At the time I didn't think it was a rat race, but now that I look back it sort of was.  I don't think i was living any differently then any one else. I spent a lot of time wanting and buying things I didn't really need. I think I wasted a lot of time doing things that were basically distractions. I LOVE some of those distractions and miss them, but it's nice to have a break.  I don't wear makeup here, except sundays. Sometimes I miss looking cute, but no-one else wears makeup here so I almost feel over dressed if I even have mascara on!  Hair? Oh I gave up on that a LONG time ago. I either wear it down for that "bad perm" look or up in a bun. or in a braided pony tail. Yucky, but I just avoid looking in the mirror. I don't shop. a. I can't afford it   b. everyone else i know has been wearing the same 7 outfits for the last yr so why bother?  I'm not gonna lie, I miss having new cute clothes though! I DO read, a lot. I've read more books since moving here, then I probably did the whole rest of my life combined. One week I read 3. yup 3!!!

Ok now I am done. I need to do posts about our visitors we've had and christmas etc. one day.

Christmas Day Tobogganing

We went tobogganing on Christmas day because that is what you do on Christmas day. We had to improvise a little bit, however.

Dekker Christmas dance

Here is the video of Dekker's performance for school. He is the little blonde boy that is fourth from the right side. We think he was pretty awesome. He was so proud of himself and was pretty excited to dress up like an Angel. After the dance he was showing Zoe how to do a couple of the moves.

"Mom, you move your legs together and then apart." Awesome.

Hazel's performance

Here is the video of Hazel's performance at the Provo Primary School presentation. The play was called The Landlord's Cat. Hazel played the role of the smallest sheep. As Zoe mentioned in a previous blog, she kept the whole thing a secret from us. We had no idea that she was singing a solo. She did a great job and we were very proud of her. Of course, because we are good parents, we have to punish her for keeping secrets, and will be giving her a lump of coal for Christmas.

She starts out fifth from the left and then her teacher has her trade places in an attempt to get her closer to the microphone. Turn up the volume. She had been sick with bronchitis and had been coughing like crazy for the three days prior to the performance. Zoe made her miss school that morning to go see the doctor. She didn't cough once during the song and did a great job singing nice and loud even with bronchitis.

School Play

Part of the reason we chose Provo (Providenciales) Primary was because it was the more "artsy" school and their Christmas Play did not dissapoint! 

A pre-play pic with Hazel and her best friend at school - Miki

Dekker and his class were the opening act - Dancing Angels!

What I love about this pic is that all these kids are supposed to be dancing in sync.
Which one do you think is actually doing the right dance move?

He was SO excited to be an angel - but not so much about me taking his picture.

The surprise of the night was Hazel's SOLO!  We ran into Hazel's teacher a while ago and she was telling us what an amazing singer Hazel is and I thought she was just being sweet. Little did we know that she had been chosen as "The Littlest Sheep"  with an entire song about her! She had a few different singing solos throughout it and she nailed it!  I knew she had a good voice, but she has always been a bit shy and quiet about her singing, well she sang loud, clear and beautifully and amazed us all.  My Mom has always wanted to have a drama queen  in the family - maybe Hazel is the answer to her prayers haha!

How great is it that her school play was about the Saviors birth?

Watch out Broadway!!

Mom and Dad Harker Christmas pics

My parents started a new tradition this year to send them certain pics they've requested - here our ours...


1. Kyle doing something this year - Here he is recieving his CA.




2. A picture that describes Kyle that he is not in - Here is the longboard that he rides to work.




3. A picture of me doing something this year - I learned to play rugby this year and it is the funnest thing I've done in a long time.  Sadly we didn't get a pic during a game before the rugby christmas break so I had to get this lame picture of me holding a deflated rugby I borrowed from a sports store. At least I'm clean - I get sooo filthy at our games - it's pretty awesome!


 

4. Pic of Zoe that describes me without me in the picture - the beach of course!!
This is the beach closest to our house - doesn't it look like heaven?
  And that conch shell just happened to be on the beach when I went to take my picture!



5. Picture of us as a couple -  Snorkeling for our 7th Anniversary!

6. Four pictures of the kids - here they are playing tennis.

7. Hazel and Dekker running into the Ocean at Grace Bay Beach.

7. This is a pic of them after they ran in the parking lot during a huge rainstorm - they had a blast playing in the puddles together.

8. Every Saturday morning is spent at soccer - year round soccer - love it!

9. Some pics with the cousins - Here they are with Noah and Dash in Lake Havasu

9. With the same cousins at the Raymond Parade

10. How cute is Abby in this pic?

11. Frog catching with Everson, Cohen, Hazel, Boston, Innis, Dekker and Britton

12 More pics of Frog Catching with Grandma

I love this new tradition and I can't wait to see all the pics from my brothers and sisters.  I'm also excited to see what they make with the pics.