RUN ACROSS MAY RUNNER PROFILES: Serena Beeks
Serena Beeks
This summer, I’ve been interviewing 2021 Run Across May participants to hear more about their experience and involvement with WORK. With the interviews, I’ve been writing blog posts to highlight our amazing supporters and share their stories.
Serena Beeks took on an interesting challenge for her RAM campaign. She committed to learning 200 Kreyol words and phrases from Haitian sayings. After traveling to Haiti for the past 20 years, Serena said she’s picked up a lot of Kreyol, though she wanted to learn more. RAM presented her with the opportunity to learn more Kreyol and fundraise at the same time, and Serena surpassed her initial goal and raised over $1,000 for her campaign!
It’s not often that we find a supporter who brings another perspective of Haiti to the organization. Through the Episcopal Church, Serena’s had lots of experience working with early education which led her to the education system in Haiti. Serena works with Episcopal schools in the US to form partnerships with Episcopal schools in Haiti, most of which are in the most rural parts of the country. Serena loved that her work allowed her to encourage and support children's interests, as she spent a lot of time in Haiti at the schools assisting with the programs.
Serena’s story with Haiti started long before WORK, and it was so wonderful to hear how much of it aligned with what WORK does to accomplish its mission and support its values. Serena discusses how important it is that non-profit organizations don’t run the entire show:
“There are several things I want to emphasize with people, one is working through an organization that has people on the ground in Haiti that are Haitians. A Haitian aspect to oversight, building Haitian capacity for running its own affairs… they [Haitians] are smart, they are capable of solving problems, they just don’t always have the tools to do it”.
Serena has seen the disconnect between a country and the non-profit that is supposed to be helping, and how often, it causes more harm than aid. She recognizes that WORK stresses the importance of “treating root causes” to ensure positive, permanent change for their families in Haiti.
Throughout her interview, Serena talked about how her work allows her to educate others about Haiti and share her love and appreciation for the country’s rich history and culture. My insightful conversation with her offered me a different perspective regarding Haiti than I was used to. Serena’s commitment to learn 200 Kreyol phrases was so inspiring, and showed how truly passionate she is about her own work and Haiti.
Serena learned 200 Kreyol words in total. From Fanm se akajou: plis li vye, plis li bon (Woman is mahogany: the older, the more beautiful) to Le ou krache anle, li tombe sou pwen nen ou (When you spit upward, it falls back on the point of your nose), she learned a month’s worth of Haitian sayings and proverbs. Learn the rest below!
Day 1: Tig vye, men zong li pa vye. The tiger is old, but its fingernails (claws) are not old. (Dedicated to Neil McDonald)
Day 2: Tambou rete danse. The drum stops the dancer (i.e., when the drum stops, the dancing stops.) (Dedicated to all friends who are percussionists or members of Gamelan ensembles or members of Ram Haiti.)
Day 3: Lasante se pi gwo riches. There should be an accent on the second syllable of "riches'' but I don't know how to do that on Facebook. Ree-SHESS. Health is the greatest of riches. (Dedicated to all terrific Haitian health care professionals, including but not limited to Kenloo Desormeaux Carmel Valdema Marie Kenite Decamps Drouillard Ydelie Etienne Widline Celestin Widoo Hilda Alcindor)
Day 4: Si ou gade sa poul manje, ou p'ap manje poul. If you see what the chicken eats, you won't be eating chicken. (Dedicated to Nora Evans who has a fabulous chicken named after her.)
Day 5: Inyorans pa touye ou, men l'fe ou swe! Ignorance doesn't kill you, but it makes you sweat! (Dedicated to teachers everywhere who labor to get this message across to their students, especially teachers with whom I've traveled to Haiti, some of them so many times I've lost count Guenivere Vinnedge Denise Gideon Kristi Bradley Beth Strauss Carson Jimmy Cinnamo James Casey Rob Krueger Alex Morales Charles James Reynaldo Macias Kimberly Scott John Moon Cheryl Herried Ward Diane Miller Williamson Mei-Ling Leonard Nerni Mink Miller and so many others!)
Day 6: Le ou krache anle, li tombe sou pwen nen ou. When you spit upward, it falls back on the point of your nose. Dedicated to me, I guess!
Day 7: Yo pa janm fatre chen de fwa. They never neuter the (same) dog two times. Really can't imagine to whom this should be dedicated.
Day 8: Chak kochon gen samdi pa-l. Every pig has its own Saturday. (Butchering day, so the sense is the same as, "He'll get what's coming to him.")
Day 9: Pou dimanche -- for Sunday: Bondye di ou: "Fe pa ou,; M'a fe pa'm." God says to you, "Do your part; I will do mine." Dedicated to everyone who tries to do the right thing.
Day 10: Li pa jamn two' ta pou chat soupe. It's never too late for cats to dine. Dedicated to Julie Mari and Kate Flannery who share the best cat videos ever.
Day 11: Mennen yon koulev nan lekol la pa gen anyen; se fe'l chita ki dificil. Leading a snake to school is easy; it's making him sit down that's difficult. Dedicated to everyone who occasionally has the job of wrestling a snake into a sitting position and making it stay there.
Day 12: Le ravet ap fe dans li, li pa envite poul la. When the cockroach is making (throwing) a dance, he doesn't invite the chicken. (i.e., don't invite trouble.)
Day 13: Se soulye ki konnen si choset gen trou. It's shoes that know whether socks have holes. Dedicated to Bombas, best socks ever.
Day 14: Zepolet se pa zo zepol. The shoulder decoration (rank) is not the shoulder bone (character.) Dedicated to leaders everywhere who think their title alone gives them authority. Thankful to have known so many leaders who are not like that!
Day 22: Fanm se akajou: plis li vye, plis li bon. Woman is mahogany: the older, the more beautiful. Dedicated to Ellen Kaye who pointed this saying out to me, and to her late mother Nancy, solid mahogany with a lovely and hospitable spirit to go with it, and to Madan Santano, pictured here, with the same lovely and hospitable spirit in Caracol near Cange and Peligre. (Not the Caracol in the north.)
Day 23: Moun ki pa manje pou kont yo pa janm grangou. People who don't eat by themselves (i.e., selfishly) are never hungry. Loaves and fishes. H/T Keith Yamamoto's sermon today about community.
Day 24: Pi gran neg, se moun ki rete trankil. The "biggest shot" is the guy who stays quiet.
Day 25: Gwo vitès kouri otou pa konte; li mache byen ki konte. High speed racing around doesn't mean anything; it's walking right that counts.
Day 26: We jodi; men sonje demen. Look at today, but remember (think about) tomorrow.
Day 27: Maladi pa konn vanyan. Illness doesn't recognize the valiant. Dedicated to all of the strong, smart, careful, healthy, clean people who caught Covid anyway over the past year and a quarter.
Day 28: Twop pwofi kreve poch. Too much profit rips the pocket. (So save yourself and send some to WORK!)