Leslie's Wish Foundation

My name is Paula and I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti in the late 80’s, and so after the devastating Haitian earthquake, I  felt compelled to go down and help.  In February 2010, I spent two hard weeks translating  for  a team of Wyoming doctors . During this mission,  we took our clinic on the road to a southern city, Les Cayes. There  I met Piervé Aubourg, a pastor whose church had opened its doors to a flood of children , orphaned or abandoned after the quake. Pastor Aubourg was delighted to meet a Creole speaker and poured his heart out to me. Of course, I promised to help if I could.

That summer was the 25th anniversary of a summer camp I’d been teaching almost 2 decades. I decided that doing a similar camp in Haiti would have great potential impact on the pastor’s Haitian orphans. So, In July 2010, I returned to Cayes and did the first Camp TAPTAP ( an acronym in Creole which means “ children with promise, children with possibility) for 400 kids ( the 200 orphans and 200 community children. )Activities included theater, music, watercolor, drawing, storytelling, crafts,  and games.  A tremendous success, I did another camp in December 2010 and in July 2011. For each camp, I fundraised about $6000 to feed all the kids for two weeks, as well as  to pay the helpers, and to transport the kitchen staff daily.

While it had impact, a camp was not enough. These children needed a school and a better life than living in semi-slavery conditions in the homes of others. So, after much talk, the pastor and I found a building, recruited two teachers and started the “KAY LESLI” orphanage and school, which I support through music, artwork, and other odd jobs like delivering newspapers and giving French lessons. Your support today goes COMPLETELY to feeding these kids and keeping their school running by providing school books and teachers! You won't meet a sweeter and more wonderful bunch of kids, and both they and I will be eternally grateful for your help and support!