By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

D

alinda Carpenter was with her husband Charles and their 13-year-old son in Haiti in 1994 when a Haitian official inquired as to what they were doing in the conflict-ridden country.

“We told him, ‘We’re just here on vacation,’” Carpenter said. “He thought we were crazy, but it was so much fun!”

Since that first visit to Haiti, 55-year-old Carpenter and her husband have been visiting countries you’re not likely to find on any travel brochure. Their experiences and photographs of their overseas adventures has resulted in the formation of the International Childhood Enrichment Program (ICEP), a non-profit group based out of their Scarborough home. The ICEP raises funds to improve the quality of life for children living in poverty by creating safe play areas for them. 

Carpenter grew up in San Antonio, Texas, where she met her husband, a sergeant in the Air Force, whom she would eventually follow to Westbrook in his pursuit of a career at INDEXX Laboratories.

“By the time we came to Maine we hadn’t lived in a single place for more than two years,” Carpenter said. “I had lived in Anchorage, Alaska, so Maine wasn’t a big surprise.”

The Carpenters moved to Scarborough in 1992 with their two boys. Shortly after their move, Charles Carpenter coordinated their 1994 visit to Haiti through a Haitian coworker.

“We saw an article in the paper about the government being overthrown,” Carpenter said. “We thought, ‘How do people live when there’s a constant threat of violence?’”

Carpenter said their first trip was an eye-opening experience. They were able to see the war-torn country first-hand, as well as the friendly nature of the people there, she said.

“It’s a different world,” she said. “It makes you realize Americans really don’t have a clue what is a ‘want’ and what is a ‘need.’”

Many Haitians live without electricity or running water, and are prepared to be house-bound at any moment, should fighting occur, Carpenter said.

“It’s not very different from how we react to a snowstorm in New England; you just shut yourself inside until you hear that things are getting better outside,” she said.

A photograph taken by Charles Carpenter on their first trip, depicting three nude Haitian children playing with the village toy, a homemade dump truck assembled out of scrap metal, inspired many of their friends to give the couple money, Carpenter said.

“They were just friends saying ‘Here, go do something,’” she said.

Carpenter said after their return from Haiti, her husband traveled to Afghanistan shortly before the war began, always using a friend who lived in the country. He had intended to live there, but continued traveling to Somalia and Siberia before returning to Scarborough. 

The Carpenters worked with the headmaster of a school in Afghanistan to use the funds to purchase an indoor-outdoor carpet for children to sit on during classes and in a play area, rather than the rubble covered ground.

In 2004, the Carpenters co-founded the ICEP organization, and worked with contacts in Haiti and Afghanistan to allocate $23,000 in raised funds for the construction of nine playgrounds: four in Haiti and five in Afghanistan. Last year ICEP raised about $15,000.

“All we do here [in the U.S.] is raise money,” Carpenter said, adding the playgrounds are bought, erected and repaired by local residents.

Carpenter said each playground costs about $3,000 and are not necessarily structures that meet the U.S. standards for safety, as the seesaw, merry-go-round, slides and swings are constructed of metal. Carpenter said wood can’t be used since the structures would most likely be dismantled and used for cooking fires or building purposes by locals. There have been no accidents caused by the metal structures so far, she said.

“What’s worse; having them use a metal slide, or playing in a mine field?” Carpenter asked.

The playgrounds also are in constant need of attention, she said. Due to excessive use, the paint wears off many of the different parts, and sometimes certain welds and other connections can come undone. ICEP provides for the repairs, which are arranged by their contacts in the foreign countries.

ICEP raises money through hosting various talks and photography shows, in addition to fostering school programs, Carpenter said. The program has just completed a program with the Pond Cove School in Cape Elizabeth that raised $3,200.

“It is so wonderful to hear what [the kids] come up with,” Carpenter said.

The poverty level in Haiti and other countries constantly poses problems for organizations like ICEP and those who wish to help, such as the Cape Elizabeth students who wrote letters to the children they hoped to help.

“They dropped the letters in the mail,” Carpenter said. “Haiti doesn’t have a postal system. [The letters] probably didn’t get much farther than Florida.”

Carpenter said she instead will hand deliver the letters on her next trip to Haiti in early March, an excursion she makes every six months.

“I see the trips as my own personal vacations,” she said.

Other obstacles ICEP faces can be more serious, as playground construction parts have been delayed by closed roads and fighting in the past.

“They had to spend three days on the road when they were transporting our first playground by truck because of bandits,” Carpenter said.

Since the incident their contact has communicated with the local people, who allow him to pass, she added.

Not all efforts are welcomed, either, as two ICEP funded playgrounds have been destroyed, she said.

“We require schools have a wall to put around the playground to prevent this kind of thing,” Carpenter said. “The principals told us all they could do was get the kids inside and lock the doors. There was nothing they could do.” 

Principals of the two schools where the playgrounds were destroyed informed ICEP it would not make sense to rebuild, Carpenter said.

Carpenter recently was appointed the executive director of the ICEP, which has also added a professional fundraiser and a University of Maine professor to its executive board, which was formed just last year.

“We’re really excited about the possibilities for the future,” Carpenter said.

The ICEP is planning on sponsoring playgrounds in Somalia and Liberia in the upcoming year. 

For more information on the ICEP and how to donate, visit www.ICEPkidsplay.org.