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

WE'RE OKAY! , Back to school, Elanie

"I'm Okay!" If you haven't seen the You tube video of toddler Tristan in minion Halloween  costume (what's a minion you ask -- I have no idea) falling on his face and reassuring the adults that he is not hurt, take a minute. But only if you need a laugh or chuckle. During a recent phone conversation with my sister, who is going through a major health crisis, she asked if I had seen it. Her description alone started me laughing and I laughed even harder when I saw it. Laughter - good medicine.
Click here to see video. 

And the message "I'm Okay!" to everyone who has asked about the long time between blog posts. When I returned to Canada 2 weeks ago, I left behind 142 students and 20 staff members, 7 dogs and 1 cat.  Our numbers are down from 160 as we had 18 graduates this year (20 last year). Of that number, 65 students and 8 staff members were/are infected with the mosquito borne Chikungunya virus (myself included). Only 1 student has recovered. It is the gift which keeps on giving. Six of our students are repeating the school year as they were unable to write final exams due to the infection. It changes lives but one adjusts and copes with the joint pain, stiffness and swelling.  In addition it destroys appetite and thirst, causing the body to lose strength rapidly, as seen in Carline, Inea and Claudine.  BUT WE'RE OKAY!

Carline

Claudine

Inea

Last week Starthrower received a generous donation of Allimax capsules from the CLM health group, thanks to the collaboration of their web admin Jennifer and company president Kate. CLM has been helping us since 2010. We are so fortunate. This will go a long way to help build /rebuild immune systems. It will travel with me when I return to Haiti in 2 weeks. 

In my absence, Auguste is doing his usual admirable job holding down the fort. All high school students and university students in the Dominican Republic are in school and attending classes, while the remaining 4 nursing students will begin classes and hospital placements this week. Our nursing graduates Brunie, Gaby, Wisly and Alland are back taking classes in preparation for writing State licensing exams, which will complete their nursing degrees. Brunie has asked if we can find the funds to help her continue her studies as she wants to specialize in Obstetrical nursing.

After a grueling 5 years of university, Brunie
wants to continue her studies and  specialize in
Obstetrics.

 In our Cap-Haitien center, Auguste searches for Philo text books for Viola,
 while Lusnot (who is much taller) coaches from the floor.

In Sen Rafayel, staff members Danius, Sabine and Angelene sort text books and prepare
packages according to grade and school. (Lakay Jasmine, Sen Rafayel)

The 1500 plus textbooks we repaired and recovered between our 2 drop-in centers in the summer have been distributed and our shelves are bare. However we still have a list of more than 200 textbooks needed as schools made and continue to make changes to required reading titles. No such thing as a final list. We will be hunting the market place until first term exams begin. 

Not everyone chooses high school graduation.  Monese is entering her 4th and final year studying cooking and sewing at Sant Professionel Sen Jozef in Sen Rafayel. It will give her skills to help support her 9 younger brothers and sisters. Rosema has just begun a 4 year program at Fondasyon Vincent to study construction. He will come out of the program as a licensed Contremet (Foreman), able to facilitate all aspects of a building project from planning to final touches.

 What would we do without our truck?
Senior student and part-time staffer Rosema arranges his new drafting table and
chair, hand made by his professor at Fondasyon Vincent .

In spite of the challenges: too many young people on the waiting list, insufficient funds, roads closed, schools closed, protests turn violent, gunfire at our gate, no supplies, no electricity, no water, no ice, too many disease bearing mosquitos..... WE ARE OKAY!

Recent trips up the mountain had everything from an unadvertised detour to road surfaces sabotaged with burning barricades and large holes which required waiting for dump trucks filled with gravel to fill in before passage. Like Chikungunya, a new norm.

Unadvertised road closure - in order to get to the mountain base
we blazed a new trail through the nearest field.

After losing a morning being turned back by bridges roped off
we followed police vehicles and gravel bearing trucks. 

Regardless of the late arrival, whether Cap-Haitien or Sen Rafayel, first on our list is finding water.

It is now nearly a year since our well dried up in Cap-Haitien. When we have the resources to purchase pump, storage chateau  and generator we will have our own water supply in Sen Rafayel. We are accelerating the hunt for property in Cap-Haitien, which will also give us a new water source.  But in the meantime,  WE'RE OKAY!

Everyone  pitches in when we return victorious from the hunt
for water. It is taking longer and longer to find it.

Last week I began packing my suitcase for the return trip. I'll repack until I leave to get the weight acceptable for the airline. Tucked in the suitcase liner I found a letter from one of our girls in Sen Rafayel. She had written it in August and delivered it to the center. I knew it was there but forgot about it. It was written by Elanie , who lives with her widowed mother. Manman Elanie (Elanie's mother) suffers from debilitating asthma.

Elanie

 This is a translation from the Kreyol.  It is addressed to Madame Sharon and the object, she writes, is thanks (ranmesiman).

"Today with honour and respect I say hello to you.

The reason I am writing is just for me to say thank you for your help, your support,

your courage, your counsel, your guidance in my new school life.

And I say thank you also for the support you have given towards my mother's health.

I thank each member of the center staff who encourage me and give me counsel."

Elanie

What a beautiful young person - no prodding from anyone, just a spontaneous expression of gratitude. Her gratitude is intended for everyone who supports her activities. I'm just the catalyst.

Chikungunya also causes fatigue so intense it is too difficult to hold a book let alone read. I know I'm on the mend because I'm reading again. I recently borrowed The Tao Of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (Penguin Books USA, 1982) from my Naturopath.

Much of it resonated with me. I couldn't help but think of Elanie and her letter, and the rest of our students and staff as I read this passage:

'Do you want to be really happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you've got. Do you want to be really miserable? You can begin by being discontented. As Lao-tse wrote "A tree as big around as you can reach begins with a small seed; a thousand mile journey starts with one step."  Wisdom, Happiness and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line; they're part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They're not only the ending but the beginning as well. (Hoff, pg 137)

Wishing each of you Wisdom, Happiness and Courage

Namaste

Sharon

My week, Chikungunya the new norm, back to school

Greetings from Cap-Haitien - finally

It only happens when you are packed and  anxious to go. The scheduled flight was first delayed, then cancelled then rescheduled 3 times. I did arrive in Providenciales Wednesday then over to Haiti Thursday. Fourth time was the charm. Almost a  week delayed but Mother Nature was calling the shots and setting the schedule.

At the Cap airport, Auguste our director of education,  was allowed into the arrival area because I was in a wheel chair, due to my new friend the mosquito born virus Chikungunya. While in Canada I was an oddity, the only person with this nasty problem. I noticed Auguste having difficulty with my suitcase, probably because I have the same difficulty.

When we got to our vehicle, I noticed the problem he had with the keys to the truck. When questioned, he told me that he too had the virus. As did Joceline, our cook and Lusnot our Cap-Haitien coordinator. At a time when our energies are directed to getting our young people  ready for school and paying registration fees, we have become both clinic and dispensing pharmacy. All of Joceline's 7 children are infected, Auguste's mother and sisters and Lusnot's cousins.

Joceline has difficulty cutting 
vegetables. We now share the chores.

I had been home about 5 minutes when Emania and Norceline arrived. Both were suffering from the effects of the virus and had been infected for about 2 weeks at that time. Emania has 5 neighbours and 3 sisters infected. Norceline has 1 cousin infected. Both girls are orphans.

 Pharmacist - one of the hats I wear, not as fetching as Norceline's hat.

Norceline and Emania slept the afternoon away
in the quarters for our security staff. 

Emania could hardly stand and I have personal acquaintance with the fatigue which is part of the package. We began to document who was ill and what symptoms presented : intense headache, overwhelming fatigue, high fever,  full body rash - sometimes itchy, pain and swelling in the joints making all movement difficult and numbness in the extremities which adds to the clumsiness when trying to walk or use one's hands. In the vernacular, been there, done that. I could empathize with everything everyone said. We put the first 2 up in our security quarters for the day and sent them home in a taxi when we closed. In their tikays (little houses) there are no beds, no potable water, no peace and quiet. Given the number of people infected, we're going to look for sleeping sponges Monday, making more room for people to sleep during the day.

Shortly after they were settled, Claudine came in with the same symptoms. Everyone in her family -mother, younger brother and sister are also ill. We began to prepare Chikungunya kits to distribute to our young people:

• ibuprofen 
• vitamin c  (chewable)
• Allimax 
• B complex
• potable water sachets  
• crackers and cheese to take with the ibuprofen

Nursing students Myriame and Camiose arrived shortly after. Only Myriame was not ill, but the other 11 members of her family are all infected. Camiose, and 7 other people in her family are ill.

Lusnot talks with Myriame about support for her ailing family.

Coordinator Lusnot talks with nursing student Myriame while a pensive Camiose looks on. The pain and fatigue which are part of the package, make it very difficult to follow a conversation, let alone enter into one.

Friday was a repeat of Thursday. By the time Auguste and I left for the bank early afternoon, we were out of Allimax, Vit. C and Ibuprofen. We are only able to distribute to our young people, not their extended families. After sitting in the bank all afternoon to open an account, we headed to Digicel to get a new phone number for me. For some reason - nobody working there could explain - my number had just disappeared. I was told that line no longer existed. Time spent in both places ate away our allotted time, so Monday we will search the pharmacies for more meds and vitamins. Allimax is not available in this country.

Although this virus has gone viral here, we still have school prep. Many of our young people still do not have year end results, but for those we know we have already registered. Our book repair program was healthy in both Sen Rafayel and Cap-Haitien. More than 1500 text books were cleaned and recovered in preparation for the first day of school. School opening is optimistically slated for Sept. 8.

Carline (purple dress) coordinated the book program in Cap.
She just completed Philo and needs a sponsor for university.

Lakay Jasmine, our Sen Rafayel center has the luxury of space.
Coordinator Edeline checks the 3 locations, each looking after a different aspect.

We have to get to Sen Rafayel this week (its payday), but it may be the weekend before we get all supplies together for both locations. Here in Cap we have the added problem of sick dogs. Our 3 puppies have broken out with a skin condition which looks like small boils all over their core. Fur is falling off in clumps . Only faces and paws are spared. I consulted a vet in Orangeville after staff apprised me of the situation and sent photos. Thanks to Dr. Ann Voyame and the staff at Dufferin Veterinary Hospital. I came armed with antibiotics, homeopathic creams and a serum which is applied on the neck every 2 weeks. The fun part (you have to laugh) is  thinking of ingenious ways to disguise the antibiotics because the amount needed (twice a day) depends on body weight. We have already used all the cream - 3 tubes of Calendula gel. Also not available here.

As if the homecoming welcome wasn't enough, the quiet of Sunday morning was broken when 2 gun shots rang out. I was listening to the corner church choir and blissfully composing an email. Another reminder to get busy finding land to build in Cap-Haitien in a setting more conducive to study and blissful composition.

Our well is still dry. Today there has been electricity. However it is so weak that everything in both fridge and freezer have melted. The inverter and solar panels would do a better job but we have had 2 overcast days so the batteries are not charged. 

Despite or because of the seeming chaos, it's good to be home. I was thinking before I left Orangeville how fortunate I am to be 'at home' in two countries. Just lucky I guess.

That was my week. How was yours? Let me know. Life is about sharing stories.

Namaste

Sharon