About

Many Haitian children were left partially or totally parentless after the earthquake in January 2010. The area around Haiti’s capitol was in ruin and chaos, so relatives an neighbors went out in search of families to take them in.

The children eventually arrived in Les Cayes with their temporary guardians. When their presence was noticed, Pastor Aubourg and his committee, FONSEDHA (Foundation of Help for Children in Difficulty in the South of Haiti), had no choice. FONSEDHA was able to find provisional homes for 125 true orphans and another 64 with just one parent. Their hope has always been to bring these children together, where kind treatment and the opportunity to go to school would be guaranteed.

In February 2010, Paula Egan-Wright, a teacher from Wyoming who had formerly been in Haiti with the Peace Corps, returned to translate with a humanitarian mission. There, she met Pastor Aubourg. She helped establish a website and pledged to come back and do a creative arts camp with the kids. “Camp TAPTAP” (Haitian for Children with Promise and Possibility) was born and was held in July and December 2010 and July 2011. Paula raised funds by selling original watercolors of Haitian scenes, portraits of Camp TAPTAP kids, through a letter appeal, silent auctions, dinners, and a paper route.

The Price family affiliated with Wyoming Haiti Relief gave a generous gift in 2010 and 2011 so children dispersed in families around Cayes could attend school, which is not free in Haiti. Still, it is hard to oversee the quality of care and education when children are scattered far and wide. In January 2012, Paula realized Pastor Aubourg’s dream by opening Kay Lesli. The school was named for her mother, Leslie Egan, a music teacher and lover of children, who passed away in 2011 and whose bequest made it possible for the school to start.

Paula and Pastor Aubourg have big plans for the Orphanage and School. The first is to meet the daily struggle to feed the children. They are working to get officially recognized by the Haitian government and qualify for support from existing relief agencies. The school has a shallow well with a working pump, but lacks bed, textbooks, a library, and even basic toys. There is room for a garden and a place to build chicken coops for laying hens so eggs can be sold and children can have adequate protein.

Experts are helping Paula develop music and art curricula that teacher can deliver without her being present. She has written stories in Creole so new readers have the tools to become fluent in both French and Creole. There are invitations for the Haitian teachers to work in classrooms in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but it takes money to obtain travel visas and bring them to the US. Most importantly, the children need to be fed three times a day. Once these goals are met, bigger plans and dreams can be pursued.

The long term goals of Kay Lesli are to build a sustainable network of support, to train teachers, and to grow to a capacity of 200 children so that they all can call Kay Lesli their home.