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http://www.dipity.com/megannehme/Senior-Project/

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Dear people of the internet,

It's already looking bad because I JUST said that... meaning I am so tired and my mind is in a fuzzy mess.

Also, I am not feeling well whatsoever ( I feel like the room is spinning). Anyway, despite my life being a complete wreck, I have decided to give up on Delto because he's been so inconsistent, my trust with him is diminishing. Thankfully, Daniel is coming so I can talk with him IN PERSON and figure things out.

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So I have been on a tennis roll where I have been missing school for the past two days because I have going to the TCAL Tournament. However.... I lost the first match because the #1 and #3 singles from Albany played as doubles ( yes, it is allowed because for TCAL, you bring your 6 best players) and the #1 Singles ( Alison) is also the number one girl in California ( she won TCAL 3 and NCS 3 times in a row) and her sister (claire whos #3) is getting to her level so its jusrl akjsahfjkasgfkasdhfkjashfkhasdfkjasdfhjk

we got to play them the first match and if we win, we got to move up, but we didn't so im really upset. but its ok ill be fine.

DANIEL IS COMING BACK. SO THAT MEANS I GET TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT SAKALA. this is progress.

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Hello Blog

I have been here at Senior Project, but I have been distracted with so many things, I haven't had time to fully blog. There is no recent update. I really want to get this project going but no one is really reaching out to me. I must talk to Sutphin soon to let him know what is going on

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Blogggg I am half asleep. This week has been extremely weird. No one is responding to my messages... and I don't know what to do. SOS

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Well blog, I am in a really sticky situation. I am having a hard time putting my trust into people when nobody is talking to me or responding to my messages. It is quite weird and I do not know where to go from here. I am starting to have doubts about this project... is it really worth it to do something that will only be temporary? Who would actually carry this project once Im done? But I want to have the people who are going to Haiti to correspond with people from Sakala. I think I just need to breath and start shifting my focus away for alittle bit from college and school. and go into this project. Haiti holds a special place in my heart.

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So I tried talking to Delto and he hasn't gotten back to me yet so I must wait in order to put things into motion.

Lately, I feel like I am struggling to maintain my interest in this project. It is really hard to maintain a correspondence when people are flakey. Should I change my project? I still want to center it around Haiti but should I do something more effective?

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Today hasn't really been productive. Since I am involved with Peace and Justice, I've been focusing on that. However, I have received a message from Delto and we must act quickly.

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My wrist has red marks and it hurts ( no need to worry, I am ok) but it serves as a reminder. A reminder that there are ACTUAL people going through THESE situations. I wanted Joey and Tony to be forceful because I wanted  to make a point.  Playing this role as a migrant women being abused scared me. It frightened me because I knew that this isn't fictional, this is REAL life. It made me nervous to perform because with those four lines, even though it was short, would carry emotionally weight. I was shaken up by how disturbing and eerie the atmosphere changed once the scene was over. Despite reading the script over and over again, for a split second, I couldn't even tell  the difference between fantasy and reality was because I was so caught up in the moment. Many people came up to me and told me how they wanted to avert their eyes from the scene, but they couldn't look away. They were uncomfortable and to some extent, a few people were scared. They felt like it was too real.  It made me feel, in a sense, proud because I fulfilled my goal. I wanted to instill in peoples' minds the gruesome realities at the border and this shouldn't be taken lightly and this shouldn't be forgotten.

Throughout the day,  I just kept thinking about how there are innocent people, carrying with them whatever hope they have, are only to be stripped of that, and becoming  bare to the truth of the monstrosity within humans. Innocent people, are  holding onto a dream. A dream that is only to be  crushed by the weight of a heavy body, a coyote. They are  violated because they want to find  safety. Their desperation and vulnerability is manipulated and used to the smuggler's advantage. People would do anything to get across the border.  It breaks my heart. I know that this is only but a fraction of the problems  produced from the journey  to the border, however I had no idea how sexually violent it can be. Today took me by surprise. It is something that I, unexceptionally, will treasure but haunt me for the rest of my life.

This is a parallel that is drawn to Haiti with the women in Canaan. It made me stop and think.

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I did talk with Mckiernan and helped her with her senior project ( creating a list for a breakup)

I am justklasdnfkasdfbiaejks

^^^ brain dead.

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I am struggling. I cannot seem to focus on senior project, especially when deadlines are coming for college. As much as I have been trying to stay determined to get this done, I keep glancing at my essays, tweaking things here and there. It consumes a lot of my time and I do not feel compelled to work anymore. The stress is killing me. I haven't given up, But I am just stuck in a rut. That's also why I haven't really been blogging that much either. My capability to keep up with all these projects, essays and grades is putting a huge weight on my back.

But next week will be better.

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so...

Yesterday, I admit was very unproductive. So there isn't anything to really blog about.

However, today, I talked with Benoit to see which kids have a Facebook and which don't so we shall see where this takes place! If the majority of them don't, we shall do it via actually mail.

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Delto and I have been communicating and talking about getting the project started, its been kinda a slow day because my mind has been wrapped in other matters. However, slowly but surely ill make it.

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agreed. planning something and planning it well is hard.

deadlines: if you're in SP in the Winter, deadline is Feb 13; if in the Spring, deadline is Apr 14

so backwards-plan...you're smart, you can figure this out

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Dear Ms. Long and Reader,

It is extremely hard to plan an ongoing project. I do have goals to start connecting students, however since there is no "termination date", I don't have a deadline. I did not include January-May because that will be me translating conservations and interactions between students. I will be recorded the process and new information I receive from Haiti.

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Hello reader! great things have been happening today. Delto and I have been speaking in French and hes more than excited to be planning everything. Benoit and I got in contact and he thrilled that I have started this project and has agreed to give me the information of the kids. ITS ROLLINGGG

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So I have been in contact with Delto and he really wants to help me on this journey in creating this project. He believes it is super amazing and wants to keep this project alive. So we've been planning AND speaking in French. I also just messaged Benoit, telling him about my project and asking him for his help/ getting contact info so we are moving.

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I am so sorry reader, I completely forgot to blog yesterday. So alot happened this weekend. My phone lit up and I FINALLY received a message from Delto! He contacted me telling me that I need to speak with Benoit Jeff to make the connection possible. He told me that he already connected Benoit. THIS IS GREAT. Now I just need to message them both back and we shall see where it goes. Yesterday, we met in small groups and discussed who is on the roll and sharing successes/struggles

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So I am in a predicament; Delto viewed my message but never responded to it. ( Just for people who don't know, on facebook it shows whether the person opened and saw the message or not). I am stuck because if he doesn't respond to me, what am I going to do? If he doesn't message me by next week, I will have to reproach him with a different strategy ( maybe use email?)

Today feels alittle bit of a let down.

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Hello reader!

Ok so I actually made some steps today:

I recently talked with Vanna and we agreed to colab together; she wants to use Sakala kids to make bracelets as a fundraiser for the community center and she will be advertising them to our community here. Since I am going to be connecting with the kids, it just works out perfectly! We are going to be in contact through the project and helping one another so its nice to have an ally other than my mentor.

ALSO: I FINALLY MESSAGED DELTO! I don't know why it took me so long to do it, but I finally did, asking him for the name of the kids at Sakala who have facebooks. We are finally making progress. My goal tomorrow is to set up the facebook page. We are on a role.

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After I write this blog, I will be sending Delto a facebook message to get all the information of the Sakala kids and start working ASAP. WOO

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So it's May 15th. My project..... Oh man:

Here are conversations that show the continuous interactions between students from Haiti and Berkeley (they will be projected or printed) and I'll project the page of the universal "dumping grounds" where everyone can communicate as one. I'll show the progress and new insights that are gained between the students.

If you scroll down my blog, you can see a section that describes a detailed purpose

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I am going to talk to Delto and gather information about which kids have facebook from Sakala and form the facebook page; its a big week.

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Megan, I love the frank discussion that you're posting. What are your next steps?

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I keep writing and raving about Sakala and Narivé and it hit me: I never defined what these places are. so... what are they?

Sakala is a sanctuary for children to escape the poverty, violence and famine in the poorest city of the Western Hemisphere; Cité Soleil. These children enter this community center, shedding off the challenges they are forced to face everyday and enjoy a game of soccer or blast music to dance. Sakala is highly respected and people do not tamper or disturb the peace this place provides . Enclosed within the safe walls, Sakala shelters the children and steers them on the right path, away from gangs or drug smuggling.

Narivé is an after school program that is correlated with the What If foundation. It provides aid and support for kids who need the benefits such as employment, tutors, technology ect... It is run by Lavarice, a wonderful, wise and caring human being who continuously expresses his passion for helping his children of Haiti from ALL his actions.

WHY IS THIS RELAVENT??!?!

Well.... Most of the children are around the same age as me. I am using these two organizations to connect our students at Saint Mary's with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

To be frank, there is nothing really to blog about today, I just wanted to get you, the reader, educated about who I am going to incorperate in the project.

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I have a question????????????? Do you want this to be like a pen pal program? Do you want it to be just Haiti or maybe other countries? Have you thought about make it an organization?

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So if you could get this project rolling before people go to Haiti for Enrichment Week that would be awesome because then some of the students that the kids have been corresponding with will actually be there to meet them in person!

- Jessica

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I feel awful because I haven't been blogging. I glance at Megan Mckiernan's blog and I see she updates it quite frequently. My eyes grow wider as I realize: I have to talk about EVERY SINGLE THING that happens during my process. So here we go....

I have a mentor; the incredible Sutty. I feel like I am always in his room, talking to him about anything that pops into my mind: from Haiti to a disagreement with a teacher in class. He's definitely an authority that I highly respect. He always shines a light on my true potential and continuously challenges me with my mindset. He is also brutally honest and looks me straight in the eyes and says "BULLSHIT" when he knows I can do better. I admire his accomplishments and how his brain works because its so intricate and he has SO many connections, I sometimes get lost. I should probably stop raving about Sutty or else I am going to get more sidetracked.

2.) Delto, a wonderful man who works in Sakala came to visit San Francisco a few weekends ago and I got to spend the day with several other students who attended the trip. We talked for a long time about my program that I want to start. We decided to incorporate the Sakala children, however have a more intimate relationship ( one-on-one) with students from Saint Mary's. They will be added to the page and can connect with us more universally as well as personal.

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Dear Reader,

I am having some difficulties and challenges on how I should get this project rolling. I have all the pieces together, its a matter of fitting them in the appropriate slots. I still need to contact Delto and Suzanne to get the contact information. I have Facebook, I just need to set up the page. Unfortunately, Facebook is blocked at our school, so it will limit my work on the page. I am afraid that the project is going to fall through the cracks because its hard to connect with a country that has limited internet access and is on a different time zone. I am also afraid that the people here in California will lose motivation or get too wrapped up in their life to pay attention to these individuals that are trying to communicate with us. However, I AM NOT GIVING UP; the project hasn't even started yet. My objective today is to email Suzanne and get some info on which kids have a Facebook so I can get this project rolling.

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Herro reader. I wanted to make something clear: I am not here to change the world or fix any conflicts because I am seventeen and I do not have the resources to do so. However, my intention is to bring awareness to what really matters; connecting our brothers and sisters globally. Breaking down the language barriers and cultural differences, we are all just humans. However, there is this physical and intangible separation that divides us into secluded sectors of the world. I had the opportunity to travel all the way to Haiti and experience what life is on the "other side". I got to discover the hidden treasures that were concealed deep within poverty, corruption and famine. I created deep bonds and found a lot of similarities between teenagers who are my age, and younger. And I don't want them to fade. That is why I am creating this project of connecting children from Sakala ( a safe haven for children in Cité Soleil) and Narivé ( an after school program, connected with What If Foundation) with students from Saint Mary's, particularly teenagers who went to Haiti. With my bilingual background, I will be translating the conversations between students to the best of my ability. This will be a challenging journey, however I am determined to bring California and Haiti together through Facebook and build a bridge of unification.