August 15, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 15 Haitian visitors (continued from page 3) about as a home for tribal Indians. The Haitian visitors had supper hosted by Jim Delia at Old Paramus Reformed Church shortly after meeting their Ridgewood host families at the YMCA last week. “The World Service Program is one of the Ridgewood Y’s Good Works Programs which strive to provide programs focused on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility,” said Peter Kurshan, president of the Ridgewood YMCA Board of Directors. Most of the Haitian aspire to professional education in the fields of medicine, law, education, and the sciences. The World Service Program, Kurshan said, aims to “empower young people and adults with the knowledge, life skills, values and resources to reach their full potential. It helps The Haitian students and tour leaders outside Old Paramus Church in Ridgewood. Dalou Andressol at left, Sindie Frederic second from left, Rose Aline Famoud near center in plaid, Ivens Dalmacy second from right, and Rootchaire Jerome at right. Rose Aline ‘Lovely’ Famoud them, create a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities.” He thanked the Ridgewood residents and their entire Ridgewood community for their support and hospitality. During their stay in the United States, the Haitian students will visit Ramapo College in Mahwah, tour the U.S.S. Intrepid aircraft carrier museum and the Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, and return to Ridgewood for visits to the Ridge Red Cross, Valley Hospital, the Ridgewood Firehouse at East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood Village Hall, the EMS Center, the Ridgewood Public Library, and enjoy activities at Graydon Pool. Former Ridgewood Deputy Mayor Thomas Riche will offer a talk on local government and former Ridgewood Council Member John Clark, who holds a doctorate in history from Princeton University, will lecture on government. The Haitian students conversed among themselves in Creole, an archaic but elegant form of French, but most of them spoke excellent English, and they spoke a lot about how much they enjoyed their first sights around Ridgewood. Boys and girls alike dressed with a notable flair for fashion, and the students enjoyed posing for photographs -and photographing each other. They were warm, friendly, exceptionally polite, and very grateful to be in the United States -- and to be in Ridgewood with their host families. “I’ve had my picture taken so many times I feel like a superstar,” Frederic said, laughing quietly. “I like it here. It is so quiet,” said Rootchaire Jerome, who wants to major in forensic medicine. “I like looking at all the trees,” said Dalou Andressol, who wants to be an agronomist. “So quiet -- there is not much noise here. I feel OK about New Jersey. I feel like I am in Haiti!”