An ordinary week ...

Chicken Little had every right to squawk when it seemed the sky was falling. Sunday morning was without incident until the concrete which was holding up our eaves trough gave way and came crashing down a few  feet from where I was doing laundry. In a country where small quakes are the norm,  I squawked. Call me chicken little.

Concrete and thin wire at each end held the eaves
trough in place. I vacated my laundry buckets very quickly.

Fortunately our 'kontremet' (foreman)  student  in training, Rosema, was working a half day so we cleaned off  the remaining concrete and removed the dangling troughs.

Before I go any further, some context. I began writing this blog at 3 am then the electricity went out. The mosquitos (all potential Malaria/Dengue/Chikungunya etc carriers) were unmerciful so I retreated until electricity returned at 5 am. My friend Daniel says writing is a creative process which requires time and a quiet space. At 5 am  roosters are crowing, homeless dogs are barking, rain is beating a steady rhythm, voodoo drums are throbbing , Lucy our cat is shamelessly begging for early breakfast, the Catholic order of brothers who operate the Azile (poor house) 2 doors down are slaughtering pigs and the makeshift garage in front of our place is operational and the mechanic is working on the starter in a tap tap for a driver who needs to make money today. The music of Haiti.Monday 8am our work week begins. Lakay Jasmine in Sen Rafayel operates 7 days a week.

Lakay Fondasyon in Cap-Haitien closes for the weekend as there is a lot of work that cannot be done with students here.



Monday 8am  Coordinator Lusnot

 prepares for students

Joceline cooks for students and dogs

Auguste stamps new  textbooks which are replacing  those damaged in
recent floods.

Dieugrand repairs a mosquito net in Joceline's room, then
covers text books

By the end of the day in Cap Haitien we had fed, tutored, counseled about 3 dozen students, many dogs and cats, prepared and packaged at least 200 text books, delivered them to the station, found a driver going to Sen Rafayel willing to take our text books, geometry sets, calculators etc... Fortunately Dieugrand knew one of the drivers who delivered our package (for a price) right to our door so Edeline began distributing that afternoon. Everyone is writing exams, every hour counts.

Next morning off to Sen Rafayel. We were hoping to travel without incident but that didn't happen.

 

Again we are sandwiched in stationary traffic.
These taptap passengers decided to try to pass the proses barricade on foot.

 

The taptap ahead of us was carrying ice to sell on the mountainside.
Sitting for  hours in the sun did not help business.

The number and intensity of anti-government protests have increased in the country. Our security coordinator Dieugrand has been trapped every time as have we. The further up the mountain, the more deadly the protest as police cannot intervene when protesters are perched on a mountain top, throwing bottle and boulders and firing guns. Boulders are the deadliest. Again we waited for PNH, the National Police Force.

After several hours as hostages, we were on our way but not for long. Bananas purchased in Dondon, we were 30 minutes from Lakay Jasmine when we got a flat tire. So near and yet so far. Being 'anpan' (broken down) on the mountainside is an opportunity to see a microcosm of Haiti pass by.

Kids attending schools in the village of Dondon walk miles

Upon arrival we are not out of the truck yet and student Angelene appears at the window. She woke in the  morning with a 'bouton' on the side of her face and it had grown into a crater about an inch across. Unpacking waits, Angelene is in distress and has to write an exam. Clutching Allimax and calendula gel, she heads off. Monese is sitting, patiently waiting for us. She has found a teacher who will arrange one of the sewing machines donated and shipped by Jasmine Foundation, so we unload supplies and load up and deliver the machine.

Loading sewing machine for Monese. Kids and dogs!! The puppies are almost 8 weeks.

Everyone is in study mode, from our dog walkers at 6am to the last to leave at 5 pm. We changed our hours as it is just too dark and too far for the kids to walk home. I have seen these great passenger carts/motorcycles around which hold about 10 people. On the wish list. 

 Angeline studies for Chemistry , text book packages
prepared by Edeline ready for distribution.

By 4 pm its too dark to study so solar lights the way for Cassimilia.
Jasmine eats as she studies - her only food that day.

6 am Dog walkers Junior and Isaac study for French before work.

For most of the 3 days we were on site, Edeline and others showed their winter finery. Although day time temps were between 85 and 90 (31 C), everyone was cold. Night temperatures dropped to a comfortable 50-55 (11 C) but not comfortable if you're Haitian and sleeping on a concrete floor.

Dressed in wool toque and winter jacket, Edeline boils 60 eggs at a time.

Lilia came dressed to study.

With all supplies on board (for a while) and the staff with everything on hand, Auguste and I changed our duds and started to give the center a base coat of paint for Christmas.

Not quite finished but looking 'belle'

At noon all 13 of our Nouvo Secondaire 3 (Reto in the Traditional stream) students at Lycee Charlemagne Perault came en masse for lunch. Post exam adrenaline was running very high. Those studying for afternoon exams cloistered themselves in the library and homework room. The layout of Lakay Jasmine is proving very user friendly, accommodating many needs simultaneously.

Post-exam adrenaline and chatter and appetites!! I couldn't get everyone
in the picture.

I couldn't resist snapping  this 3 year old outside our gate, reading/singing a page she found out of a magazine. Always one to encourage life-long learning, I scrambled to find some primary easy read books and passed them on to her mother.

 

Our neighbor loves to read and sing so we're
looking for more picture books for her and
others in the neighborhood.

Heading down the mountain provided more surprises-- ruts so deep the undercarriage of our truck was damaged -- twice-- and we were moving at a crawl. We made it back just a little late for the staff but they waited for us without complaint. Next day we had home visits scheduled. That's another blog - perhaps Sunday.

To update: with our support, student Paudeline did make a Rape complaint to the National Police and had a thorough exam at Justinien Hospital. Results will be ready in January. Possibilities of Aids, STD, pregnancy etc all weigh on her mind.

Myriame and Fatia's baby brother Daniel, born in November, died last Saturday Dec. 6. He outlived his mother by 3 weeks.

Namaste
Sharon



It's only Wednesday

Where to begin? It's only Wednesday. Monday began with the usual hunt for water - both potable in 5 gallon jugs and well water for cleaning and laundry. That job (which can take up to 2 hours) finished, Dieugrand headed to town again to search for text books.  He gave us an extra day of work this week which really helped out. We have been scouring  the book sellers for textbooks to replace those lost in last months floods.  With 30 students (that we know of) out of the 142 we have registered losing everything, an average of 12 text books each, we had made lists, emptied our bank account, and wore out the pavement looking for text books. So much for a budget. And no list is ever finished.

Dieugrand distributes water after a 2 hour hunt
around town - kitchen, gallery and carport.

While Joceline cooked and Lusnot and Auguste looked after the office, Dieugrand returned and covered textbooks while I stamped each  to remind students to return them  in July.

Whatever was behind me on the shelf made me look like
Pinocchio. After a good laugh, the opportunity to translate the story.

Kids continued to drop in, all looking for money and adding books to the list of books needed. We covered as many as possible and left the rest for Sen Rafayel the next day.

Tuesday was an up and back same day trip as Auguste had an appointment with one of our kids late in the day.  He never turns his phone off unless I take it away from him and give him a temporary. Tuesday up and away in good time, but the universe had other ideas. We hadn't made it to Grande Riviere yet (the first of three benchmarks on our trip) when we were stopped by the line of stationary vehicles.

Traffic in both directions held hostage.
Anger on the mountainside in not new.




Some vehicles were allowed to try and cross. We were not because
I'm an 'etranje'. The anger toward me by the youth with the rock in
his hand was palpable. We retreated.

Everyone has an opinion on the problem and
shares it during a crisis.

I was taking pictures of everything and Auguste asked me not too. He offered to take one of the barricade but when he got out of the truck, a fellow hostage strolled over and asked him to hide the camera. He reasoned that those staging the protest might think we were journalists and kill us. The camera went away. After a 2 hour cat and mouse wait while some vehicles were allowed to try and make it to the other side, Auguste moved the truck to the head of the line. The anger toward me from one youth was palpable and to avoid the rock he was holding doing severe damage, we turned and headed away. A few miles down the 'road' we caught side of a PNH vehicle and made yet another u turn, joining the line which followed the police. It took 6 heavily armed officers about half an hour to disband the protesters and clear the barricade.

Heavily armed PNH arrived to quell the protest.

On our way at last we hadn't gone more than a few miles when we spotted a rig drilling for water. Because we hope to be building in the new year, we stopped for information. It was a Canadian company, LifeWater drilling from Alberta. What a great connection!!



LifeWater drilling, operated by
 Abe  from Alberta

On to Sen Rafayel with only one stop to purchase bananas (fig in Kreyol) in Dondon then on to Sen Rafayel. Okay two stops. The new Sen Rafayel bridge, which was destroyed and not replaced for 3 years has already begun to disintegrate. So we now carry 2 heavy boards, stop the truck, place them over the holes. Auguste drives over, I pick up the boards and follow him. We often leave them in place for a bit for other travelers.




Auguste covering holes in order to cross the bridge
safely.

Finally at Lakay Jasmine. A full house to help us unload the truck. Then "who want an hour's work?" John-Steevenson, Marc-Arios, Sterlin and Dieuner stepped up. You would have thought we had handed them the moon when we offered an apron to cover clothes. John-Steevenson was the only one with experience so between us we showed the newcomers what to do and why and everything was accomplished by the end of the afternoon with good humour.

John-Steevenson demonstrates how to lay out text books,
measure and cut. Sterlin looks on.



Dieuner and Marc-Arios take in instructions.

Outside on the gallery, a full house for food and conversation after school. Exams have begun so the need to replace lost textbooks and notes is pressing.

One by one the after school club drifts in.

Last month we took in a neighborhood female dog with the permission of her owner to give her a safe place to have her pups. It's almost time for them to go but they have been goodwill ambassadors, helping our young people get over their fear of dogs.

Like spokes on a wheel...The 7 pups are helping our students
conquer fear of dogs.

Edeline our coordinator takes information from the kids on the gallery and together with Auguste makes what we know will not be the last list of textbooks needed.


Auguste and Edeline prepare yet another list of
damaged items in need of replacing.

Driving up and back the same day is tiring but next week we have the luxury of at least 2 nights there and we're going to paint the exterior. Hurray. Coming into Cap-Haitien at supper time is a revelation. There is still no electricity from EDH so it looks like this:

Rue L in Cap-Haitien - no electricity.

That was last night, but I began by saying "It's only Wednesday." This morning I did laundry, Lusnot went to town for textbooks and Auguste ran the drop in center and office - phone calls from students in the Dominican Republic and Port-au-Prince re: budgets (bilan in Kreyol) for the upcoming term.

Laundry 2 or 3 times a week. Dream for the new
center - a washing machine!

About noon, Lusnost arrived back and Philo student Paudeline dropped in. She is writing exams this week but had to talk to Auguste. Her home (tikay) had been broken into Saturday night and she was beaten and raped. One eye was swollen shut. She talked and talked. Auguste set off with her for the police station and hospital. He just arrived back. The police were full and couldn't take any more complaints today. Come back tomorrow.  We will but she is adamant about writing her exam first. Courage has many faces. This is one of them. She now has to wait a month for results re AIDS, other infections and pregnancy.

It takes a great deal of courage to talk about rape, as anyone who has been a victim will tell you.

In a paper entitled "The Link Between Poverty and Violent Conflict", author J. Brian Atwood writes "...poverty more than any other factor contributes to feelings of alienation, exploitation and dependency and these feelings in turn contribute to a break down of social cohesion and to violent conflict."

Violent acts, like those against Paudeline and on the mountain are daily happenings here, along with robbery and kidnapping. It will take more energy and more clout than I have to change the world, but we can stay the course in our corner of the world and change some minds and hearts. Seems like a good use of a life.

And it's only Wednesday. How is your week going?

Namaste
Sharon






Homecoming, Loss and Perspective

Charlie died last Monday at 10:30 in the morning. His owner, student staff member Rosema was at school. Charlie (Tchaly in Kreyol) was the 4th born of our Jolie's 5 pups (March 2013). Charlie was ill when I arrived in the country Friday. That afternoon, Auguste took Charlie and Rosema to the only person in Cap-Haitien with veterinary training. He had no idea what was wrong with Charlie so he gave him vitamins. When Rosema told me Charlie's eyes were yellow, I said there was something wrong with his liver. I checked his symptoms with a few reputable web sites and came up with infectious canine hepatitis (a virus). Symptomatically his death was textbook and painful. Oh for a visiting vet or a donation of veterinary supplies, the time and money to take some vet courses myself, or BETTER YET send a student through a veterinary college. Or all of the above!

Charlie at 6 weeks

Charlie at home with Rosema and
visitor Monica

Rosema was inconsolable. So we buried Charlie in our yard with a short ceremony which celebrated his very brief life. The ground was baked and it took Dieugrand and Rosema a pick axe, shovel and 45 minutes of intense teamwork to create a resting place.

Dieugrand loosened  the earth and Rosema shoveled.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. My arrival in the country was 3 hours late. When I finally emerged from Arrivals, I scanned the crowd for Auguste. He had told me he was ill while I was in Canada, but he had lost so much weight I did not recognize him. Anyone who has met Auguste knows he did not have a spare ounce to lose. After my initial shock began to recede and he reassured me that he was on the mend, I asked what else was happening S'ak pase?

Manman Myriame te mouri madi a. "Myriame's mother died Tuesday" he said very quietly. Another shock to my already reeling system. Myriame is a second year university student (Nursing) and much missed student staff member. She came to us in 2010 after living through the January 12 earthquake during which she saw her aunt, uncle and cousins killed.  Although she had both parents living, we admitted her to our program as she was suffering from post-traumatic stress and I thought the casual nature of our drop in center would offer her friendship and support without making demands. I gleaned this from her mom on our home visit.

Manman Myriame was at least 30 years my junior. She died of infection after giving birth to a son, Daniel. Because she was the breadwinner in the family, working in the market 7 days a week selling rice by the cup (gode diri ) , the one room apartment they shared has been lost. The new baby will be put in an orphanage as soon as one can be secured. In the interim he is being cared for by our housekeeper/cook Joceline, a widow with 7 children living in a 6x8 tikay. Talk about a big heart.

Myriame and younger sister Fatia, also in our program, returned to school this week. We will do our best to keep them in school. With the death of a parent, the care of younger siblings falls to the oldest, in this case Myriame.



Director Auguste and coordinator Lusnot help Myriame
catch up on homework before returning to school.

Loss is part of life, no matter where you live. It just seems larger and closer here. And more pervasive.
Driving in from the airport, I was stunned to see that the dozens of thriving businesses, churches, schools and apartments which populated that stretch of road were gone. All had been marked for demolition before I left and some 'deconstruction' had begun. But the speed with which the project was completed must have left former owners and tenants stunned. As with the airport, the huge number of homes lost and persons displaced was about tourism. According to Le Nouvelliste, the stretch was being cleared so that tourists could see the ocean as they drove in from the airport.


Dozens of businesses had the death sentence 'a demoli'
spray painted on their fronts

   Demolition began with a couple of buildings.




    Each week as we passed en route to Sen Rafayel,
more 'signs of progress.'

I'm not against growth, change, progress. But when they take place without planning, without consideration for those who will lose everything, one has to wonder.  Hundreds, maybe thousands have been displaced, no remuneration, no relocation strategy. Looking at the project as we passed one day Auguste finally commented that it looked much like Port-au-Prince after the quake, which was a war zone. We had passed through on our way to a ceremony for our then nursing students in Leogane. So he had first hand knowledge.



    I had to pry a comment out of Auguste as he
       watched the demolition.

Driving in from the airport this time, everything  is gone. Just a peaceful vista for the tourists to look at as they drive in from the airport.

A seascape for the as yet unknown 'tourists' who will drive by.

Here loss and suffering are partners.  6 of our students lost their housing in last months rain/floods. Another two dozen lost all their belongings, including school uniforms, shoes, text books etc.  A parent, a pet, a home, a business. There is no eradicating loss --  anywhere  but we can ease suffering, wherever we are planted. There are often no words and no consolation, but being present and bearing witness, telling the story are gifts we can give.

We're still okay. The challenge is to find perspective.


Namaste
Sharon





Rain is water

Two blogs in two weeks. My brain hurts just thinking about it. But if one is  anyplace that has weather, then there is  something to talk about. As I prepare to head back to Haiti, Canada is showing her finery... mountains of multi colored leaves carpeting sidewalks and lawns. And they weren't shed  a minute too soon because last week's snow gave a preview of the winter to come.

In Haiti, a different story. After more than a week of no communication from staff, I finally got through by phone last night. Auguste is sick - most unusual, but his immune system like so many others, has been compromised by the Chikungunya virus. Other opportunistic invaders have seized the day.

With Auguste temporarily out of commission,  it falls to our security coordinator Dieugrand to be the liaison between Sen Rafayel and Cap-Haitien. Up and down the mountain every week in a taptap. For the last month that trip in an open vehicle has been made more uncomfortable and dangerous due to the return of the rainy season. On our last trip to Sen Rafayel before I returned to Canada, it rained. Sen Rafayel is used to rain. It comes fast and furious, destroying gardens, washing away soil, rocks, anything in its path. Heavy rain slows everyone and everything. We're never in a hurry on the mountain . Some of the taptaps which shuttle people and goods up the mountain had pulled off the track to wait it out.

Riding inside is a luxury which costs more.
Supplies such as rice purchased for resale in the village, are ruined.

Every public transit vehicle is always packed, with passengers
hanging off the end.

But Cap-Haitien has been a different story. With no rainy season for 2 years and dry wells everywhere, it seemed as though Nature had bypassed us. Not so.

                      Poor donkeys -- always urged to do more than is physically possible.

Coming into town, the pace picked up. Business as usual. The difference between the haves and have nots is  evident. So many needing to get someplace but with no shelter. Donkeys mingled with push carts and motorcycles. 

The men pushing and pulling the cart go barefoot.
 They work as hard as the donkeys, doing that which seems impossible
for a few pennies.

Roadside signs (above) are printed on canvas.
When the wind picks up, they're gone (below)

RAIN IS WATER. For those who have no access to running water, it is an opportunity to shower.

Although I did not know it at the time, this was the beginning of the long overdue rainy season.

  (In addition to not being a writer, I am also not a photographer. Those blurry objects are  windshield wiper blades and bits of car hood. All pictures taken from inside a moving truck.) 

Running water, no matter how dirty, is a chance to shower. 
One temperature only - cold.

Rain is also an opportunity to get clean and play soccer at the same time.

This young girl took advantage of the rain to shovel
garbage from the street into the fast moving gutter.

A month of heavy rain and thunderstorms has made life very difficult. At least 6 of our kids have lost their housing due to severe flooding. Auguste knows of 7 people (adults and children) who have been killed. Mold and mildew are growing everywhere, bringing more illness.  Waterborne illnesses are  reemerging. Once it stops, mosquitoes will renew their relentless quest to spread Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya to as many as possible.

For the time being the garbage smells are masked by water. But that won't last. Even the rats are hiding. But that won't last.

                                              Garbage and rainwater - a noxious soup.

Day 1 of a month of rain. Inside a katye popile

Whether inside a katye or on a main  street, shelter is anything that gives 
some coverage.

For the second week,  schools  are closed. They did just open last month but the real threat of flooding, mud and rock-slides makes it a prudent decision.  School closure means our drop in centers are busier. In Sen Rafayel, it will keep those who live on the other side of the river away. 

Today is Remembrance Day. My dad was a vet from WW II. My mom died on Nov 11, 2009.   I appreciate a day given to memories and celebration of courage. There are so many battles in life, some personal and some that make the front page or go viral on the internet. Rain in Haiti isn't big news. The battle to survive on this planet is often relegated to a statistic.

Statistics have  faces.  We can't fight the elements, but we can be present and be witness to the struggle. We can put names to the faces. And we can make a difference - even if its  one at a time.

"Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing

economic growth...these are one and the same fight.

We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity,

energy shortages, global health, food security and 

women's empowerment.

Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all."

(Ban Ki-moon)

Namaste

Sharon