In spite of long hours of teaching kids about the importance of sportsmanship and self-control on and off the field, several AAF soccer players embarrassed the team with unacceptable behavior during two successive tournaments. WEC and I met with the team leaders, and they agreed to select four players who they thought needed help. 

I met with each one individually and spent a good amount of time listening to them talk about how they had managed to lose control even after so many sessions about being a good sport. Each case was unique. My psychology courses in school coupled with my own temper issues as a kid provided me with tools to help them. 

Then, I gave them an assignment that I had given myself years ago : find passages in the book of Proverbs that address anger. The conversations we had were frank and practical...like the book of Proverbs. There was laughter at how some passages could be so relevant to a teenager in 2025. There were a few moments of head hanging as well. 

The four players in our restoration program have played about four games each since then. There was only one yellow card, and it was not an emotion foul that he committed. It is a proud moment to see this kind of progress. I smile at players as they leave the field, but there is an extra smile with these four young men. 

They aren't angels on the field. They are growing in good ways.  This is part of what AAF (Asaph's soccer program) is all about...building character in young men. 

Follow our games on FACEBOOK LIVE.  Look for WECO on Facebook. 

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Sometimes months just blend together, and one seems like another. May in Haiti has always stood out to me. So many things happen in May and only in May.

Mango trees bear their fruit in May. You can't miss mango season. It sticks out. 

School trips happen in May. Students can't sleep the night before a big trip. It is the subject of conversation for days before and for days after the trip. 

AGRICTULURE and LABOR DAY happens in May. It is a rare National holiday that people all over the island actually celebrate with special activities as opposed to a simple day off from school. Then, the biggest national holiday of the year happens on May 18th...FLAG DAY.  School students prepare for weeks. Other activities take a back seat to FLAG DAY preparations. On the actual day of celebration, people from all walks of life are in the street wearing blue and red. It is a unique moment.

ASAPH's soccer team has been hosting a May 6-on-6 soccer tournament for a few years now. Matches happen on Friday and Sunday evenings all month long. Caribbean evenings in May are hard to beat, and with a good soccer game they are even more attractive. 

At ASAPH, we know lessons and classes will be slow in May. There are so many other things going on in May.  We don't fight it. The other activities are all good.  We are already making plans for a busy summer schedule of teaching here at the ASAPH Teaching Center.   


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MAY FIRST is a national holiday in Haiti. Schools close across the country. In cities, there are big fairs with craft displays, food sales, and expositions of local labor and agriculture projects.

Three years ago, ASAPH began organizing and hosting a MAY FIRST program on the local soccer field here in Pasbwadom. This year, we had some impressive successes.

1. The ASAPH "B" band started the day with live music to draw in people from the community. It was their first time playing that role.  

2. Our expositions were better than ever. A bee-keeper brought his equipment and bees! Groups of young people and adults gathered to hear him talk about his work...and see it up close. A local seamster brought his sewing machine and allowed people to sew on paper. He had a line of people waiting to sew all morning long. A nurse brought syringes and allowed people to give an orange a shot. A welder welded for a crowd of onlookers. ASAPH's agriculture booth allowed people to take pictures with a mask and equipment used to spray gardens. 

3. Kids from our soccer team hosted games for anyone who chose to play : horseshoes, cornhole, ring toss, and a soccer challenge. For each event, they recorded results and crowned a champion for the day.

4. Local vendors brought all kinds of food and drink to sell. Attendees could enjoy homemade juices, soup, stew, cookies, and more. 

5. At about noon, attendees gathered to watch some races : sack race, egg race, three-legged race, and a water race. There was also a short scavenger hunt. The ASAPH "B" band was there to bring more energy to the races.  

5. In the afternoon, a soccer game featured a team of kids dressed as farmers playing against a team of kids dressed as professional workers (carpenters, electricians...). The game ended in a tie. Penalty kicks followed, and the farmers lost to the professional workers.  

6. An evening program featured the ASAPH Brass Band playing some classic Haitian music and some Christian favorites. The AVJF girls choir sang with the band, and the ASAPH choir performed its tradition song about the food we get from the ground. 

7. Members of the ASAPH soccer team and the AVJF girls choir prepared and performed a PARADE OF PROFESSIONS.  We had almost 24 different trades or professions represented on stage this year.

8. A "make a vehicle" competition featured about 10 hand-made toy cars prepared by elementary age students. 

9. ASAPH distributed trees to the group of people who remained to see the end of the program. 

10. Technical difficulties prevented us from presenting a couple of short films that featured the work that happens daily in our community. Those films were shared online in the days after the event. 

A fair and evening program is a ton of work!  ASAPH leaders contributed greatly to this year's program and helped insure its success. WEC and Shelterline gave selflessly to make this event one of the biggest the year for ASAPH. 

A day-long program requires so many hands. ASAPH sponsors equip us with funds to encourage all of those who sacrificed their day to make the fair a success. ASAPH dollars allowed us to provide food for over 100 workers and helpers that day!!!  What a blessing!   

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ASAPH!!