The episode photo is of Yaya, his birth mother Clairdora Véillard or as affectionately called "Dodo" and myself at Yaya's going away to college party in 2016. All nicknames in Haiti originate from loving relations who grow up knowing that giving respect in this tender way makes one's nickname very special.

Here are some links to see Yaya in action in a video and other supporting links:

Yaya and I doing a fundraising video to rebuild our "beloved" choukoun

The historical mime/drama "3 innocents and a spirit" from our 5 year anniversary celebration on our Youtube channel, though Yaya was already away at college in the US at the time.

The N a Sonje Foundation, our home and Yaya's community on google maps location

The link to the “Memory Village blog” that we started when the idea came about in 2002 where you can see a slide show of the vision.

A short video of Judith’s commerce thank you.

The link to Najee's Etsy shop

Our band's award winning song "Women" video on our YouTube channel

Our band's album on Spotify

Folk band "Chouk Bwa Libète" links

And the English translation of our theme song "N a Sonje":

"We will remember, and not forget what happened

Let’s take a look back Into the world gone by and we’ll see

How our ancestors were in Africa before they carried us away to America

Ref: Sing for Africa, Sing for America Honor for Africa, Honor for America

Who lost so many in the years long ago it wasn’t the natives of this land that did that to them

It was another nation who had as their mission to make others slaves, making so many cadavers

Pillaging, killing - Indians and Africans in making them work for nothing

This is how their countries became powerful by spilling so much blood.

Ref: Sing for Africa, Sing for America Honor for Africa, Honor for America

Who lost so many in the years long ago"

The episode photo is in the Bluntschli home at the N a Sonje Foundation center in Gwo Jan with Yaya in the back far left with children from the local youth organization along with our 2 grandchildren in the mix.

Here are some of the links I refer to in the episode:

To see Yaya's mother/aunt in fine form on our YouTube channel here

Yaya and I making a fundraiser for our "choukoun" or meeting house gazebo in the middle of the N a Sonje Foundation center.

To visit the site of the school, LKM where Yaya is curerently employed.

And just to see the area of Gwo Jan in relation to Port-au-Prince on this internet map.

Of course credits to our songwriter Mona Augustin and band 2 Rasin for the song "N a Sonje" with the English translation below here and music video of UN award winning song "Women".

The band Chouk Bwa Libete

And our Etsy shop showcasing Najee's original art for sale and remember our listener support button to keep our friends and colleagues alive during this brutal time!

Here's the English translation of the theme song, "N a Sonje"

"We will remember, and not forget what happened

Let’s take a look back Into the world gone by and we’ll see

How our ancestors were in Africa before they carried us away to America

Ref: Sing for Africa, Sing for America Honor for Africa, Honor for America

Who lost so many in the years long ago it wasn’t the natives of this land that did that to them

It was another nation who had as their mission to make others slaves, making so many cadavers

Pillaging, killing - Indians and Africans in making them work for nothing

This is how their countries became powerful by spilling so much blood.

Ref: Sing for Africa, Sing for America Honor for Africa, Honor for America

Who lost so many in the years long ago"

We're back for season 2! We thought we would have been able to go back to Haiti before this so we put a hold on our podcast thinking it would be disrupted if we were to go back but we're still waiting with hope! For more info about the music in the other sections of the podcast go to the episode "Ground Zero" but still a shout out to Mona Augustin and our 2 Roots band as well as "Chouk Libète". Peace and blessings to all!

Here are the lyrics and the link to the awesome little reggae song by a dear friend who came to visit us in Haiti so he came to know us and our home where we actually do have a fire that we use to cook on!

Lyrics

Old man Ron with his locks so long

Inna the world, he stand up strong - strong-willed

Carla by his side with her sweet, sweet tone

Humming songs to make their house a home

Everyday, she shines her love, oh yes

[Refrain]

Ron, he's rough inna this town

Lion soup on the stove a-simmer low

Carla’s love, it make the hard man glow

With his dreadlocks swayin’ he ain’t movin’ fast

But with his Carla by him, their love's built to last

[Verse 2]

'Round the fire, Carla plays her strings

Songs of love, of life, of all simple things

Past the fields where the wild irie blows

Through the trials, their love only grows - grows strong

Old man Ron with his heart on his sleeve

Finds his calm in the tunes Carla weaves

Inside, their spirits, they soar, endless bliss

[Refrain]

Ron swears he's a warrior, tough as the stone

He's like the oak and she's the gentle breeze

Carla’s care, it puts his mind at ease - ease his rage

Smooth as the sea, her melody flows

In the kitchen, where that lion soup's in rows

[Rhythmic Bridge]

Ron may be stern, but he's her anchor, her charm

In Carla's arms, there's no need for alarm

The women of our community spoke about their reality in a recording I did in 2022 but still is relevant if not even more so in 2024! Enjoy the variety of ages and stories from their lives in this episode.

We, of course, feature our band's award winning song "Women I'm Defending Women". It is a music video as well that you can see at this link

And you can also find that song as well as the songs from the Intro and Outro portions of each episode at this link on spotify or on amazon here or at apple.com

Looking for some unique and original music for your Valentine's Day? Take a moment to listen to Mona Augustin's songs that our band, 2 Roots (2 Rasin (ra-seen in Haitian Creole) recorded a couple of years ago and Najee's beautiful song about the essence of love! We hope your day was filled with the love that is embued in our universe, we just have to tap into it!

The music in the intro is from our album with the UN award winning song "Women, I'm Defending Women" as the title song which you can see our ⁠music⁠ video here and about our album ⁠2 Roots album.⁠

We Will Remember is the English version of the Haitian Creole phrase N a Sonje which we use to name our Foundation, the N a Sonje Foundation.

Our first or Ground Zero episode is where we weave our own band's music, 2 Roots and music I recorded in Haiti over the years adding some of Ron's special fingerpicking audio together with the voices of co-hosts Carla and Ron (that's us), currently refugees in the US along with audio in Haiti from our Haitian colleagues, co-founders of N a Sonje Vèt, Rocky (see them in this video) and Najee.

The music in the intro is from our band, 2 Roots', album with the UN award winning song "Women, I'm Defending Women" as the title song which you can see our music video here and about our album 2 Roots album.

Here's the English translation of the theme song, "N a Sonje"

We will remember, and not forget what happened

Let’s take a look back Into the world gone by and we’ll see

How our ancestors were in Africa before they carried us away to America

Ref: Sing for Africa, Sing for America Honor for Africa, Honor for America

Who lost so many in the years long ago it wasn’t the natives of this land that did that to them

It was another nation who had as their mission to make others slaves, making so many cadavers

Pillaging, killing - Indians and Africans in making them work for nothing

This is how their countries became powerful by spilling so much blood.

Ref: Sing for Africa, Sing for America Honor for Africa, Honor for America

Who lost so many in the years long ago

This is/was a surprise edition dedicated to co-host Ron Bluntschli for his 69th birthday. Enjoy the diversity of voices, songs, wishes, and wisdom from our home community in Haiti, Canada, the US, the DR and even Costa Rica! Ron's guitar makes the day!

The video Djalòki refers to is one that our granddaughter made while Ron was making his ritual ramen and egg breakfast, it's quite a hoot! Things you do when in exile!

Blessings and many thanks to all the voices and well wishes from everyone and to those who take the time to give a listen. It's good to be connected even virtually!

N a Sonje!

A UN designated day for Education, January 24th. To be educated, what does that mean, especially in Haiti, what does it take? Amazing stories from our community and this is just the tip of the iceberg. As always we believe that each life and each story on our podcast represents thousands of others, like precious gems in a toolbox, as well.

Dieuny is staff with the N a Sonje Foundation and the photo for this episode is Dieuny, me and Mackencia in costume for a history presentation we were giving to a university in the Dominican Republic in 2018, I think. In Dieuny's story he tells about the play he saw for the fist time and then became a staff person himself as well as one of the actors too! There is a video of this play called "3 Innocents and a spirit" that was filmed for the Foundation's 5th anniversary celebration. And remember the listener support for this episode will go to help Dieuny finish his dissertation to finally get his degree!

I hope you feel taken to location as you hear the children play and the wind blowing from time to time in Dieuny's story as he sits outside to record on his phone since the internet connection wasn't strong enough to do a direct conversation.

2 Roots music, uncut version plays another song as intro and outdo to Dieuny's story.

January 12th 2010 - 14 years ago a more than deadly earthquake hit Ayiti. As a memorial to the day, we offer this episode to the memory and the miracles that happened not ever forgetting the instantaneous death that has haunted the streets of the capital for years and perhaps to this day as we will share these stories of our community with you.

To see the actual ⁠Discovery channel YouTube⁠ that I refer to and the damning evidence for the extreme level of death and destruction of "Goudougoudou" (Haitian's nickname for the earthquake) watch the video we watched even as we reeled from the effects in our own community and the psychological fall out of this event just a month afterwards. 

Hear in full Mona singing and mournful howling out the anguish of this event in his song "Ayiti an Dèy" or ⁠"Haiti in Mourning⁠" that our band performed at the French Institute about a year or so after the quake. Here are his poetic words:

"Haiti in mourning"

(poetry is difficult to translate all of the cultural meaning, but I believe the beautiful expression of the spiritual and hopeful feeling comes through)

When Ayiti was dancing

All her children were thinking

She was dancing a dance of hope

Their hearts had a folklore joy

Their lips had a galaxy smile

And their eyes contemplated another life

But in a very short time

Ayiti was beaten down on her knees

It was Mr. Catastrophe

Crushing, wiping out, killing

Haiti's in mourning

Her children are boiling leaves

So they don’t die

They are so traumatized

Haiti is sick

Please come and clothe her

She is trembling

She is biting her nails

She can’t any more

She saw too many children die

She’s going crazy

She calls out for help

With her father, the sun

Who always gives the best advice

And who said to her

She’s in trouble

The enemy is making war

With her mother who is the earth

The sun says my child I’ll give you light

To bring your mother out of her sadness 

Now call your mother’s other children

To come help you and your children

Haiti did that

And they came in willing to help

They said, you are our family

We owe you love

Here, we’re helping you

To help yourselves

Because today it’s your turn

And tomorrow it may be ours

Your problem could be ours too

Haiti is remade

Because it understands Mother earth

Who smiled

Life isn’t over

Now it’s to work

Even the night gave the unemployed work

She did that

Because she’s behind

Haiti is pregnant

It’s the time she needs more strength

For her to give birth

To many children

She called Father Sun

Who always give her good advice

To ask for more energy

To replace those that were lost

On the earth, our dear mother

A double portion episode as Independence was fought and WON and then Pumpkin Soup brought health and healing right afterwards until this very day!!!

Some notes for the first part, Madison Smartt Bell's trilogy of the Haitian Revolution, if you don't have time for 3 books, the first, All Souls Rising, is well worth the time!

If you want to know more about the author of the Act of Independence and his writings, he can be found with his name, Boisrond Tonnerre.

If you want to watch a documentary about the real defeat of Napolean that the movie Napolean won't give you: Jean Jacques Dessalines, the man who defeated Napoleon is a great place to go!

For the second portion of the episode, about Soup Joumou, or Freedom Soup, here's a link to a beautiful interview with Dominque Dupuy who was elected as the permanent delegate to UNESCO in 2021, when Soup Joumou was selected to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. She says in the interview with NPR: DUPUY: "This soup means everything."

And of course to know more about the Fondasyon Felicite and their work towards serving each Independence Day, Freedom Soup to thousands across the country.

Thanks to RAM and Smith Joseph for the blast of spirit filled hope in the song "Nan Ginen o, peyi a chanje" With the spirits or angels of Ginen, the country is changed.

And as always to the roots vodou band Chouk Bwa.

And beyond thanks our dearest beloved "son" for his deeply inspiring words.

May yours be blessed in every way! N a Sonje