August 22, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 13 Haitian visitors (continued from page 5) He said that, since Ridgewood has about 16,500 voters, each candidate had to have a petition signed by one percent of the voters and presented to the village clerk before the election. “When someone makes a bad thing, will you judge him here?” a girl student asked of the council chambers. When she learned that they were meeting at the courtroom -- also used as the council chambers on Wednesday nights -- she was duly impressed. The students were also impressed that Riche has a fulltime job in addition to his work as a council member. “What kind of work do you do in your community?” one young man asked. Riche explained that he is the owner of a telecommunications company outside Ridgewood and that he had to take off time from work to speak on Aug. 14, the last full day of the Haitians’ visit. “I’m the boss, but I still have to ask people if I can take time off,” Riche said with a smile, which the Haitians returned. They applauded warmly at the end of the brief talk, and everybody wanted to take home a miniature key to Ridgewood as a souvenir. Back at the YMCA, the Haitians filled out an evaluation and heard a motivational talk by Arturo Lewis, an ordained minister and YMCA Trustee who grew up on the tough streets of Paterson but earned three college degrees and studied at Princeton University. He urged the students to practice civility and never give up trying to make a constructive difference in their communities. The Haitians gave Ridgewood top marks as they prepared to set out for a tour of Washington, D.C. before they return to Haiti next week. “It’s a wonderful place,” said Ivens Dalmacy, one of the tour leaders, said of Ridgewood, “so quiet and so green, with some many trees. Beautiful!” “The people are so generous and kind, they invite you into their homes and everyone smiles and is glad to see you,” said student Ricky Valery. “We all love Ridgewood.” Left: Ivens Dalmacy and Ricky Valery. Right:Zamord Rose Alicine Lovely The Haitian students finished their stay in Ridgewood by offering a concert for the younger children who are enrolled in some of the YMCA programs. The visitors sang “This Little Light of Mine” in English and two Haitian songs in Creole with some African words. “We will recover from the earthquake just as we did from slavery,” one young man vowed. Everyone applauded. Zamord Rose Alicine Lovely, who wants to be a psychologist and loved Ridgewood, said the tour meant more to her than she ever thought possible. “This was my first time away from home and a learned a great deal,” she said. “I gained a new knowledge, I found I could do a lot of things, and I learned I was more intelligent than I ever thought I was. I think that now I can do many things to help my own community.”