The school/church in the village of Lamarre, Haiti, was successfully constructed during a 10-day trip in the middle of January. The 52 by 30-foot building is ready for use after a six-month process of planning, raising money, getting material donations, shipping a 40-foot container from Maine to Port-au-Prince, and assembling a work crew.

Dan Cusumano, Alex Vise, Barry Kenney and Chuck House volunteered their time and tools in order to make this undertaking possible. The project was not without its challenges, including delays in Haitian customs, transporting the container into the mountains to the village, and a concrete pad which was thin and not level. But the work went forward.

The crew slept outside on cots under mosquito nets, ate meals cooked on a hot plate (run by the generator), and washed with water from a stream near the work site.

The long work days and hot weather left the guys exhausted each night, but they always had the encouragement of many adults and children from the village who were often watching the progress.

A number of individuals lent financial support for the project, which cost nearly $100,000 to complete. A special thanks to all those who gave so selflessly. Several area businesses donated materials, including Grover's Hardware, Damariscotta Hardware, Hancock Lumber, Reny Construction and Arsenault Electric, while Hammond Lumber aided in storing and loading the steel materials. Viking Lumber was especially generous with its donations — thanks to the owners and Gordon Bailey for facilitating this.

With the construction phase finished, Chuck and Barb House will continue to collaborate with their Haitian contacts to get the school, church, and the Compassion International sponsorship program in place, in this village from which their son was adopted.

Their hope is that this building will be a physical center for positively impacting many children and families in the coming years.

For more information, visit www.hopehaitian.com or email info@hopehaitian.com.