Humble

Every day in Haiti is full of surprises.  Because we are traveling with a team of only three on this trip, we have been riding in a pick-up truck versus our usual mode of transportation in Haiti, a tap-tap.  Over the course of the last two days, we have learned the Haitian version of drive-through dining.  We have purchased everything from bags of plantains to cell phone minutes to large quantities of fresh produce through our truck window simply by having the vendor on the side of the road hand us our purchases through the window.  Sometimes they even need to run alongside of our moving vehicle to complete the transaction.  What great levity this has added to our more often very serious encounters.

With our hunger satisfied through the truck window, I then had a lesson in humbleness when we visited Reiser Heights today.  We made the long trek up the bumpy mountain road to visit the school, distribute shoes and backpacks to many of the students, and check on the progress of the new roof we are putting on the community building at the school.  When classes were over for the day, we asked the school director if it would be possible for us to walk home with one or more of the students and meet their families.  Several students eagerly agreed.   The first little girl ran just ahead of us down the tiny, muddy trail to her nearly hidden house and came out of the front door dumping a large dishpan of water outside to make her house more presentable.   We stepped into the tiniest home of a family of five—one small room with a tin roof, a dirt floor and one bed.  The family survived by raising and selling vegetables at the local market and by taking in some laundry.  As meager as their possessions were, they welcomed us with pride into their home.  They patiently answered all our curious questions via a translator and let us take photos of them standing outside their tiny shack. 

This was the reception we received at all three homes we visited.  Part of me felt ashamed of being in their homes, so tiny that you could touch the beds from the small doorways.  It seemed inappropriate that we were asking them personal questions and prying into their family lives.  But they seemed undisturbed by it.  They were people who had nothing to offer but yet had so much to offer.  They accepted us as WE were without ever questioning us.   And I felt so humble in their presence. 

Oh the things I learn in Haiti…

Blessings,

Ann

Little Miss Attitude

Reiser Relief pays teacher salaries at a school called Reiser Heights which is 2 hours southeast of Port au Prince via a steep, beautiful mountain climb.  We ascended today to check on a construction project underway.  We are replacing the roof on the community center of the school and adding movable classroom partitions so that students who are currently receiving instruction in a dark and uninviting out building can move into the main school building.   

I'm happy to report that construction is going great and we expect it to be completed shortly.  It was so awesome to see the sturdy roof taking shape that will not leak rainwater on the kids.  But that wasn't my favorite part of the day.

We passed out shoes and backpacks to about half of the students today that were collected and purchased by generous supporters.  The kids were so delighted with their new shoes.  And one teacher who received a pair of be-dazzled canvas sneakers literally did a jig of joy.  But that wasn't my favorite part of the day.

Our day also included purchasing vegetables from a street vendor for the guest house.  Before our purchase was finalized it started to downpour sheets of heavy rain.  We were frantically trying to find places for multiple bags of fruits and vegetables before we all got soaked.  A large watermelon ended up being stashed between my knees.  I'm wearing a skirt.  Ann had bananas on her head and Shelley had very ripe tomatoes in her lap.  We laughed until we cried.  But that wasn't my favorite part of the day.

We were at Reiser Heights at school dismissal time.  We asked the children if any of them wanted to show us where they lived. One little girl kept posing for me and sticking her hip one way and her elbow another (picture Madonna in Vogue).  When I imitated her she found it very funny and led us everywhere until we left.  Her name is Rose Danna, but I called her Little Miss Attitude.  Her joy was contagious and her smile warmed my heart.   We carefully followed her through steep terrain, gardens and footpaths to her humble home.  She lives in a tiny place barely large enough to hold 2 single beds.   Her mother Jean Marie proudly introduced us to her 2 month old daughter Rose Darling.  We also met her son Kensli who is 9 years old and attends Reiser Heights.  Jean Marie does laundry for other families to make money.  She and her husband Anel Pierre had a tiny plot of carefully tended fruits and vegetables that they grow to sell and market and feed their family.  No electricity.  No bathroom.  A little lean to with a charcoal pit to cook.  And smiles a mile wide.  Materially poor and spiritually rich.

Anel Pierre, Jean Marie, Rose Darling, Rose Danna and Kensli

THAT was my favorite part of the day.

Peace,

Joyce

Rose Danna and Rose Darling

Questions and Answers

Yesterday morning, we attended daily Mass in a simple small chapel along with about 15 wonderful nuns.  It brought back poignant childhood memories of taking the train with my sisters to visit my delightful aunt who was a nun in Duluth, Minnesota.  My sisters and I would attend chapel with her, and I loved the devout elegance of the services and the simplistic way the nuns came together as one to worship God.  Without question or doubt, they placed every day of their lives in His hands.

I came to Haiti with many questions on this trip.  As our organization becomes more involved in Haiti, we find ourselves looking for more direction as to how we should proceed.  Our list of questions continues to grow!  But after a busy and exciting day yesterday, I found myself feeling frustrated that, not only had we found no solid answers, but our list of questions had grown longer.  I’m a person who loves “checking things off my list,” but my list had only expanded. 

After wrestling with that frustration all night, we attended daily Mass with the nuns again this morning, and suddenly my solution became so clear to me.  I don’t need to be looking for immediate answers as to how we can best be of help to the Haitian people.  I should simply follow the example that was right before my eyes this morning.  I need to place all my trust in God that He will guide me and guide Reiser Relief to bring us answers to our questions. 

I will be attending daily Mass again tomorrow!

Blessings,

Ann 

Turn at the broken down truck

Our day began with a lovely Mass surrounded by reverent nuns who dedicate their lives to Christ and service.  It a peaceful start to an adventurous day.

We spent our morning serving sick and dying babies who have loving parents unable to care for them.  I held a little one for a long long time who was sad when her mother had to leave...her mother looked heartbroken too.  It is hard to imagine the desperation parents must feel when they are unable to feed or provide medical care to these precious children.

After lunch we set off to find an orphanage that 'wasn't too far away.'   Imagine finding your way through narrow rutted streets where there are no street signs, no Google maps, no GPS and no rhyme or reason.  At one point we were instructed  to 'turn at the broken down truck.'  Now our challenge became:  WHICH broken down truck were we to turn by?  What ensued was a mad cap adventure involving a non-functioning cell phone, asking many many Haitians for directions, getting in and our of the truck a half dozen times and making even more u-turns.  We finally did find our destination only by the determination and good humor of our patient driver with a sprinkle of divine intervention.

The orphanage, home to 18 children, is managed by an American couple who felt called to serve after the devastating earthquake in 2010.  That call eventually led them to sell all of their possessions in the U.S., depend totally on God to provide, and start a ministry in Haiti.  Some of the children are disabled and all are 'adoptable' (meaning they are true orphans with no living parents).  One boy was 2 1/2 years old and had suffered from both Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and malnutrition.  His growth was severely stunted and his gentle demeanor stole our hearts.

We also visited a ministry called Apparent Project, a 'work initiative designed to enable parents to take care of their children and help in the prevention of child relinquishment and abandonment.'  Child relinquishment is a term I hear rarely if ever in the U.S. and is an issue sadly faced by many Haitian parents.  When poverty prevents proper care of their children, parents choose between watching their child starve or giving their child to an orphanage or even servitude to another family.

Back to turning at the broken truck.  It is my metaphor today for all that is so difficult in Haiti.  Driving from point a to point b.  Finding employment.  Providing for your family.  Finding shelter and adequate medical care.   My prayer tonight is for guidance and courage.

Peace,

Joyce

Acceptance

As my sister and I exited a “shop” in Haiti today, there were several men outside in the hot and humid sun shoveling gravel and dirt away from the building.   A young man named Peter stopped shoveling long enough to cheerfully greet us.  After teasing us and asking us our names and where we were from, I commented that I hoped he was getting paid fairly for the hard work he was doing.  He happily responded that he was making what translated to $5 US dollars every two days.   Inwardly, I was shocked.   But yet, he seemed grateful to have a job and wasn’t wasting a moment feeling sorry for himself, but instead, appearing to be facing every day filled with joy.

Later, we were having a conversation with Elder Moreland, the wonderful gentleman who runs Terre Promise School in Cite Soleil, the slums of Port au Prince.  He explained that his students need to go to a different school for 12^th grade, because he can’t afford to pay the salaries required for 12^th grade teachers, $5.00 per hour.    How amazing that $5.00/hour in Haiti was considered an exorbitant amount of money to pay for a high school teacher’s salary.

During that same conversation with Elder Moreland, we were discussing setting up a college scholarship program for some of his graduating students.  We learned that sending a Haitian student to a local University Port au Prince for two semesters costs less than the price of books for a college student in the U.S. for two semesters.

There’s a part of me that is filled with guilt over the huge difference between the “haves” of those of us in the U.S. and the “have nots” of the Haitians.  There are moments as I’m parading through their world that it’s almost hard to make eye contact fearing what I assume looks to them like we spoiled Americans.  But yet, I’m continually amazed at how accepting they are of their own lives and how accepting they are of us.   I have so much to learn from them.

Blessings,

Ann

Beans

Beans

What creates poverty and what creates wealth?

Haiti is poor.  Very poor.  We've heard it time and again.   It's hard to comprehend the level of poverty until you've walked through it, felt it, smelled it, heard it and seen it.

The results of this poverty are immediately apparent:  lack of food, shelter and lack of medical care.   The 'relief'' side of our organization is black and white.  Provide food and water to those who have no means to provide it for themselves.  

The 'development' side of Reiser Relief, and for any organization attempting to address poverty, is much more complex.

Today we explored both relief and development.  Let me start with beans!  We started our day chatting with a Haitian who explained to us that, as a child, he rarely got to eat rice and beans as they were too expensive.  Instead his family often foraged for native grown vegetables and fruits such as breadfruit, yams and bananas.  In the rare times that he got to eat rice and beans it was a huge treat!  Make rice and beans for you family tomorrow night and explain to them what a rich feast they are privileged to eat!

We discussed beans again when we met with the director of a school we support.   We partner with this school providing Feed My Starving Children food to supply some of the caloric needs of the 650 kids who enter his school daily.  Beans and rice take propane to cook.  Propane is expensive.  He is often faced with this difficult decision.  Do I spend my last dollars on propane tanks that will feed these kids at school today, or do I send food home with the kids, in which case I will run out of food more quickly?  I can't send home food just to feed my one student, but I need to send enough food home to feed that student's family.

We also visited a soccer program today located right in Cite Soleil.  The big-hearted director of this program gives boys in the slums a positive outlet for their energy in a safe and supportive athletic environment and then feeds the kids in a large nearby kitchen owned by Lasallian order of Catholics.   One by one he, and the organizations that partner with him, are lifting kids up.  What an inspiration.

And on a light note, we saw beans in what I called "Haitian McDonald's."  Our guides pulled over to the side of the road and negotiated for a carton of hot fresh rice and beans from industrious roadside entrepreneurs operating with a tarp, kettle and large spoon.

On the development side, I've been mulling over the question of what creates wealth.  How can we as a non-profit organization make a long term difference in improving the economy of Haiti?  Our current focus is on education.  We pulled together the rough skeleton of a scholarship program where we will sponsor talented Haitian high school seniors to further their education in studying disciplines such as accounting, agriculture and computer science.  Our hope and prayer is that these students will go on to develop skills that will, even in small increments, lift to economy of Haiti.  We met 3 new students today in need of sponsors and toured a university that some of them will attend, by the Grace of God.

What an awesome days.  And to top it off, guess what I had for dinner?

Spaghetti!

(Gotcha)

Peace,
Joyce

We made it!

Just a quick update to you let know we made it to Haiti in one piece.  The sun is shining, I'm already nice and sweaty, my Haitian friends are smiling, I can hear chickens clucking, diesel engines revving, bougainvillea are blooming, my feet are swollen, kids are yelling 'hey you' and asking for new shoes, time is slowing down, and  my heart is opening to what God has in store for us.

More tomorrow!

Peace,

Joyce