Friday has come and gone. Its been a long but great day. This morning we went for a walk and it was beautiful…. we waited for the pigs… word came that they guys in the purchase committee were on their way back from the second day of pig buying in Hinche…. they had 16…. which was great.The cost of livestock on the main island is higher than on LaGonave… more people on the main island and I serious food shortage so hence the costs are up. We were excited that we were able to get 16 healthy pigs. We also had to consider the cost of transportation to go to three markets… Port au Prince and Two in Hinche and then back again… I have never been to Hinche its in the central plateau and from what I have heard really pretty. So the day goes on and no pigs…. then we heard that the truck had broken down and they had to fix it but they were back on the road but had to go slow because of the pigs. So we waited… packed up while waiting….and then word came that they had broken down again in Port au Prince…. they did a bit more of fixing and got back on the road. Time ticks on and you know nerves were fraying when Father Roosevelt went up to the roof and held watch over the mountain road waiting for a tap tap full of pigs. Finally they arrived…. 6:30pm and I can tell you by the time those pigs pulled into the rectory yard the entire village was there to watch including the 8 families who had been chosen to get breeding pairs of pigs. You could tell that those families were the worse off in the village. They were so excited. It took a bit of time to get a rope around each pig’s neck and get them off the tap tap. Then we reviewed what the pigs were for… no need it was totally understood. Then we had photo time with each family head and their pair of pigs. Then they walked their pigs home. It was awesome!!!! Lots of times we send money or leave money for projects to be completed after we leave… but this time we saw the completion… and will be receiving updates as the pigs are born.

After it calmed down… it was time to visit a few homes to see how the solar lights were working. We had heard reports from villagers throughout the day that they were so proud because of their lights… we were thanked by people so I was guessing they were indeed effective but we wanted to see for ourselves. We went to the home of Mackelson. As you approached his house it was pitch black … even with flashlights it was still tough to see the terrain. As we entered his house which was a good size we immediately noticed that his light had been anchored by hook in the center of the room. It lit the entire room … I have to say it was awesome. We were in awe. He told us last night he stayed up late because he had light….. we then went over to a member of the church that works with Father R. Their house was so small just a skinny bedroom not two people wide. The only other room was a tiny kitchen nook… tiny. The bedroom had one little bed about a twin size and a few clothes hung over the bed.  This was a tiny place for a poor family. That light lit their entire home. Again they were proud and excited tro have the light… they kept explaining that the sun was free and that it saved money that they would have needed to buy kerosene or wood. We even got to visit four of our pigs was walked around visiting homes. The pigs and the lights are a great start in helping this village develop…. it is just the first step of many. We have plans… plans we have already put into play… stay tuned for more as Haiti Turns!

So after a nice final meal we went up on the roof to enjoy the lights of Port au Prince and a game of Pictionary. We had a blast… it was so much fun. Six of us divided into two groups… it was Pancha, Mike & me against Chelsie, Joni and Meghan…. Mike is an awesome Pictionary player…. I laughed so hard my sides hurt.

So now to end my blog and my adventure we leave tomorrow morning at 7am to go to the airport… our flight is at 10:30am … after a stop over in Miami we will return Reagan and colder temperatures. I am excited to go home and see my family, friends, and of course Meg, Molly and Manfred… I also love the luxury of a hot shower and my own bed… but I will miss Mont L’opital, Haiti and Father Roosevelt… so I guess its no surprise when I say … we will return.

Signing off from Haiti…

Rebecca

Where oh where to begin… This has truly been a memorable and life changing journey. I feel I must begin with our host, Father Roosevelt. The SIFE team has been involved with Father Roosevelt for six years now. He is among the most honest, kind, warmhearted, and all around genial individuals I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing the company of, even if it was only seven days. It has nothing to do with being a man of faith but because he listens to his heart. He is diligent in is efforts to bring prosperity and ease the suffering of people that are less fortunate in life. He opened his home here in the mountains to us, gave us shelter, food, and was an extremely valuable link to the people that live here. His work and dedication is as inspiring to me as the Sistine Chapel would be to an artist. Truly a remarkable man and the people are lucky to have him here.

So many amazing things I have seen on this trip and they have done nothing but push me to continue my education so I can continue to do more and help the people that need it.

We went for a walk today with Joseph who took us to a hill which had a makeshift shelter of leaves and branches with a flag in it, that originally we were told it was for voodoo purposes, but they use it for tiered irrigation farming. The view from there of the mountains behind us and the ocean and the city of Port-Au-Prince in front of us was amazing. Later in the day, the pigs that we purchased arrived and the eight families that the village delegates chose would receive them for breeding were there with smiles on their faces and warmth in their eyes. It was a truly moving spectacle. With the animals they are given a source of income due to being able to sell the piglets at the market as they are born. We went around and saw two of the homes of the people that lights were given to and it was nice to see them enjoying the light at night without having to buy kerosene or candles. It’s the little things in life that can make a world of difference. Father Roosevelt said that we did the work of Jesus and brought light into the darkness. That statement alone was enough to make me teary. These passages we write and post in no way paint a clear picture of the life and people here. It’s merely just a glimpse into the picture. My hope when people read these, aren’t they give up what they are doing and come here, but even as they are busy and caught up in their own lives and problems, that maybe they will at least think of those that have nothing and and learn to appreciate the things that they have. This world is confusing to me and I see no end to the strife that people struggle through on a daily basis. Where there is human error there is corruption, but that doesn’t mean anything other than those are people that are without love in their heart and need to be shown compassion. I hope that I have the courage to take these lessons to heart and use them to further myself and those around me and that I come into contact with.

Sorry people for posting this late – the generator went out early last night so I was unable to post this… this my Thursday night blog post….

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Thursday Blog Entry

A 5.0 earthquake this morning…. in the Dominican Republic….early about 2am… so was that what woke me or those blasted dogs????. What-the-what! Guess I can’t blame this one on Megan Samples…. but although it was not felt… it’s just too close for comfort. I think Pancha agrees. Last night it rained…. as this is the dry season… very welcome. Tonight it is pouring… unusual but then again welcome. All I can say is … interesting.

Last night Wednesday night) I was ecstatic the dogs were not barking.. I thought Father had banished them to the backyard after we kind of told him they were keeping us up…. never occurred to me that they were not barking because it was raining… but as soon as it stopped raining those blasted dogs started barking and barked all night…. It’s pouring now… hopefully it keeps raining!

Well happenings for today… Tuesday we had a village given our name as a honorary name for what we have done for the people of LaTorre Bouchan and today we were told by a village committee that we have brought light to the darkness…. wow how do you top that? Today we did “little” things… we toured the primary school and another large building that currently houses a part time medical clinic. This village desperately needs a secondary school…. the distance and the road the kids have to walk to get to school is unbelievable. The village told us that a secondary school was on their wish list…. after touring the set up the clinic building is really large and underutilized so we decided and Father R agreed that it would be perfect for a secondary school ….all we need is a building in a box building to make into a medical clinic.  All dreams but dreams that would change the daily plights of a few hundred students who have to walk or hitch rides down the mountain everyday …rain or shine to go to school.

Showing team spirit at the school

After our tour we met with the village committee that would help us decide who would receive the first batch of solar lights… I think we had about 27…. We taught them how to use the lights and ho to maintain them. That’s when they told us that we had brought light to darkness. They told us that many people either burn wood, charcoal or use kerosene to light their houses… if they had the money… many times they do not… so they live in darkness without the sun. Father Roosevelt explained that not only do children not get to do their homework but it is unsafe … he floors in these houses are dirt and insects and “things” come in when its dark… and now since there is light the people will have a better life, children can study, people can be more productive. The villagers are excited about the lights….  I mean really excited.  So they were going to give them to the families that needed them the most… Friday night we are going to visit a few of the homes to interview the people and also see how they make a difference in these homes…. I am excited about this. The company we purchase these lights from also matches lights so we are lighting the world one match at a time (Can’t claim that one … Meghan and Pancha came up with it )

Bringing Light to the Darkness

The pigs story continues… so two of our men left at 6am Thursday morning to drive to Hinche to purchase (hopefully) 16 healthy pigs … and they left in a tap tap J We received a call around 2pm on Thursday that they had bought 13 pigs… they were going to spend the night in Hnche as there was another market on Friday morning and they wanted to see if they could et more pigs…. They will return with all pigs Friday afternoon for the pig distribution. The key is that they are being really picky and only want very healthy pigs… hence this epic journey. Hinche is 2 hours one way … so I think this demonstrates that the community is taking this project very seriously. What more can you ask?

So I finally proved to everyone that there is a Home Depot in Haiti…. Eko Depot. It took a but to get there but once there everyone agreed … Eko Depot = Home Depot. We plan to shop there in the near future for the next phase of the Mont Lopital Economic Development Initiative or MLEDI for short

We then went to see Father Roosevelt’s home for orphaned children. They were adorable! There are only 11 children at this home so far…. All orphaned and in the custody of Father R. We took photos for the sponsors… although we need about five more sponsors (hint hint hint)

Father Roosevelt, SIFE and Orphange Kids

Well once again our journey was ending… we climbed back in the van and head back through Port au Prince and up Mont Loptial….normally  a rock and roll ride…but tonight it was in the dark and wow was it ever dark. When we got back we had a wonderful surprise… they made us Plantain Pudding… now that may sound questionable to you… but let me tell you it is AWESOME! It was a great day… we had fun… and changed the lives of a lot of people. We may not be able to change the country of Haiti… but we are changing the lives of many of the Haitian people.  And tomorrow we have the official start up of our pig cooperative. How cool is that??

Let me leave you with this…Margarete Meade once said “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

Rebecca

Chelsie here, Today was jam packed with many different things. This morning we went and looked at the school here in our village (it is the primary school) the kids were so cute and there were six or seven classes all for different grades, each class we went in to to say hi they sang us a song! It was really cute. Then we went to go see the clinic, which we decided we want to transform into the secondary school because the kids that can go to secondary school have to walk a long way to get there, down and then back up the hugeee mountian…everyday. So we decided one of our upcoming projects will be creating them a secondary school. We will be working with Rick Davis who wants to build another building similar to the school we built, using the building in a box. So we decided to use the ‘clinic’ as the school and the building we are going to build as the clinic instead. We came back to the house and had a meeting with the church board and gave out the solar lights. My pretend husband was there (we all have one) his name is Mackenson hes so sweet. We went back to the school when the kids had recess and played games with them, I am going to miss them very much. I showed them the secret wave from ‘The Little Rascals’- the under your chin wave, accomponied by me making the tooting noise out of my mouth with my tounge followed by an Indian owowowowow sound and they loveeeddd it. That is how we greet and say good bye now. It is so cool how language barriers can actuaclly bring you together- we dont ever say anything with lots of meaning but we all give gestures, like blowing kisses or huging or holding hands or even my stupid friend signals that they love. Its very cool. The word for gum is “chicklay” here and so we all laugh and say I am the chicklay queen cause I always have the bubble gum to give the kids, Joni gives the stickers, Meghan gives her camera haha. They also say my name very funny it got to the point we would all look at each other and say “did they just say Chelsie or sea shells?” so now I am also sea shells barbie lol. After hanging out with the kids and watching Ben climb a tree we came back and had ‘dinner’ which we eat at like 2 or 3 pm. Then we went into Port Au Prince. We first drove for what seemed like forever to find “Eco Depot” which is basically a smaller version of Home Depot, seriously its kinda scary. They had armed guards at the doors and make you put your stuff in lockers (just like most large stores…not that there are many). After looking around the store to see what they had that we could buy here next trip instead of transporting it with us, we left to go see the orphans. The orphans that Father actuaclly has full custody over- apparently that is not uncommon and Priests can adopt numerous amounts of children here. We went to where they are living and visited awhile, there was a little girl named Chealsea there and I wanted to bring her home with me. I am making this promise to the future Hatian baby that I will adopt you someday when I have a good job and have a dad for you, Ill be back I promise. After leaving the house, where I taught them my new friend greeting/goodbye that I did with the kids from the village this morning (apparently they all like it which makes me sooo happy, they think its funny, probably cause I look redicous lol). We were on our way back and I saw this little boy. And the whole two hours back I was thinking and Im going to try and put it down into words. Rebecca said something the first day that we were here and Ive rememberd it almost like its embedded in my mind. She said: When you are born its a game of luck and chance, being born an American is like winning the game. In a place like Haiti, you pretty much were delt a terrible hand…  We continued talking and I remember saying something like yeah, and so its our JOB as the lucky ones with all the resources to help the people who cant help themselves. Well I thought that I understood that when we got here. But looking back, I really had no idea. Who can really have an idea until they have seen some of the things that we were witnessed to in just this one week? There is sooooo much more terrible things going on that we do not see, so shouldnt the things we see that are so terrible be enough? Being here and looking onto the faces of children that have survived more in their few amount of years and have done more back breaking long labor days of hard work than I will probably ever know in my life. The same children that BEG to go to school, or to have a bed, to have a LIGHT, to have a family that loves them. Through all of this Haiti is religious, they have kept their faith in God. When speaking to a normal Hatian looking back on a day that they just had, speaking of all of the terrible things that they endued…they will shock you and say something like, but hey it rained for 10 minutes last night oh how God loves us. How truely wonderful. Father at dinner tonight was telling us how he became a priest and I tell you it sent shivers down my spine. I do not think I have heard some one be so natural speaking of how great God is as if everyone knows already, yet is still humbed to the point of accounting God for all of the wonderful things that have happened to him to help others, not for one second saying that It was because he worked very hard. I am just sitting here tonight on my cot, extremely baffeled. I feel like all of the things I worry about mean nothing. I am healthy, no where near starving, I have people who love me completely and unconditionally, and I have people that I love that are safe and live in a land of opportunity. So today I thank God. I thank him for directing me and showing me what was missing, even though I was unaware there was something that was not filled. I will be praying for the flashes of faces that I see when I close my eyes, and for the days when the streets of Haiti are clean and all children can go to school. If you pray you are doing something. Pray for the little babies that are dying at the nuns home we went to, or the little boy on the street I saw and cried for today. That is all for tonight. I appreciate you taking time to listen. Tomorrow is our last day, and I am sad. Until tomorrow <3

Hey, Chelsie here.

Today was our chill day we got to sleep in alittle and do homework. We spent alot of time with the kids getting our hair braided and teaching them games and the chicken dance! We wrote down our needs assesment and are planning what actions we would like to take to make these amazing people a better place to live. We did not get the pigs today we get them tomorrow due to some complications. I decided today that I will defiently be saving and paying my way to come with Rebecca and megan downey and who ever else wants to come once a year for as long as they are coming. I feel very safe and needed also very loved by the children and I want to make their life better. Thats pretty much all for today. Card games to come with in the hour for sure. We will also be traveling to the orphanage where our sponsored children are tomorrow. Until tomorrow <3

So how does that song go… when this old world starts getting you down…. ep just come up on the rectory roof and look down over the lights of Port au Prince…. incredible. So to catch up our followers this was a down day for us… and after yesterday…. well received. Father had to go into PAP to retreat so we awoke to breakfast… after which the students did homework, we blogged … caught up on our needs assessment paperwork and just had time to catch up. Last night the dogs barked so I stayed up blogging… by the time I went to bed I was exhausted. The girls told me the dogs barked all night… but I never heard a thing to which I am thankful.Not to mention I beat Pancha in 3 out of 5 games of UNO….. sweet!

The key things of the day I think was teaching and doing the Chicken Dance with a serious mob of kids tonight…we plan a repeat performance tomorrow and have already talked Father Roosevelt into joining in. We also did a separate needs assessment for Father… again I know its not a event we can truly call a SIFE project … but since we plan to keep coming here and staying with him… its the right thing to do… when he moved into this new rectory there were no towels, sheets, blankets… he had to borrow them from another church for us… so we will have a linen drive for him and as we and other groups from our area come …. there is a constant rotation ….. we will send them over to him. We also needs a stove… the one in here is way beyond broken … there are rocks on it… tell you something. We are going to do a special fundraiser to buy him an oven. He is a great host… he makes sure we are always taken care of and safe…. I think its the least we can do… and everyone on this trip more than agrees.

Fishing Gear Distribution and Training

As for the needs of the community well they need a well and we already located a water source. I see some calls to Rotary Intl and Engineers Without Borders in my future. Hopefully we can get another group involved to help us raise money for it. In Haiti water offers not only life but so much more. Crops and agriculture, a saving of time and money… the opportunity for children whom otherwise would be spending their days hauling water back and forth to actually go to school. They really need the store I referenced in past blogs,…. which offers their staples, saves time and money and would create jobs and through profit reinvestment additional community development projects. They need a secondary school. The kids here have to walk 7 kilometers down a sand and rock road down the mountain. A road that is constantly used by massive sand trucks.. its dirty and dangerous. A bakery is a need … they lack those small businesses that you usually find in any village. Those businesses create jobs… among other things. I could go on and on.

Installing the sonar GPS

Gail I know you’re following this blog… today we sent Rummey and a member of our newly formed Mon Lopital Agricultural  Cooperative in PAP… we were not allowed to go with them – the site of the blanc (white people) would increase the prices dramatically. We sent $1200 USD with a wish list of 16 pigs…. 8 female and 8 male. They took a tap tap to bring the pigs back and then…. they got back with no pigs Seems the pigs in PAP were for slaughter the people thought they were not healthy enough. So tomorrow they are going all the way to Hinche to get the pigs…. tap tap and all. It was really interesting… and showed that they really want this coop to work and want only good breeding stock and healthy pigs…. still wish I could ride in the tap tap with 16 pigs though… I’ll take lots of photos and next trip you will have a big job…. doing check-ups on all coop pigs!! :-0

A treat Mangos on the roof.... I love Haiti

Tomorrow we are going to visit the new orphanage and take photos and meet the children the BRCC community have already sponsored (thanks to Greg and others) and need to get sponsored. I think we have 7 more ….on the way Father Roosevelt is taking us to Ecko Depot to price building supplies for the store and just because no one ever believes me that there is a Home Depot in Haiti. Actually there are now two… one near the airport that I have been to and one in Petionville. We are going to Petionville .. I told Father I had never been up there…. he said it is on our way … Sean Penn’s camp is up there… I think we will drop by and see how they are using our Building in a Box.

So now I have several students who are telling me that they want to come back and plan to pay their way… On top of Meghan Downey, Cheslie also is hooked… I think its great and I true testament to the power of the Haitian people they hook you! The sense of community and appreciation for everything from a sticker to a motor… its addicting. Now if I could just muzzle those dogs!!!

Yesterday was a pretty big travel day…I think we spent a total of at least 9 hours by car/boat yesterday getting to and from Lotore Boucan, but it was definitely worth it. Lotore is the village we went to last March; Father Roosevelt took us there and we found extreme poverty. Most people slept under ripped tarps held up by sticks, the lack of any latrines whatsoever in the village created a pretty overwhelming smell on the island. The people had no access to a school or a doctor unless they walked two hours at least. It’s a pretty isolated village and it seemed that no one had ever seemed to notice their need…it felt like a village at a complete standstill. I can’t tell you the differences I saw yesterday.   First of all, while we were taking our little speed boat (using TWO motors!! …basically meaning we were flying..really fun) to get to Lotore we slowed down when we were almost there and our driver told us he was going to fish. He didn’t have a fishing pole, so he just gets out this reel of fishing line and uses his hands to throw it in. I think it literally was less than a minute before we saw a pull on the line..again he just used his hands & he pulls up a HUGE fish!!! It was incredible!! We all started cheering. (Except then he gets out a giant stick and clubs it in the head, we stopped cheering after that….whatthewhat.) But the fish was large enough to feed tons of people..and the most amazing thing is that at the end of the day the man who caught the fish (he’s from Lotore) gave it to our guide/guardian for the day, Romi. Then, when we were back in the van and driving back up to Father’s we made a stop and Romi passed off the fish to his family. The fish changed hands twice just in the time we saw it…pretty amazing. Nobody is thinking about themselves..they are all about sharing and community, they use the little they have for giving.  As PUNcha would say…that was very..unselFISH.   Anyways, when we got to Lotore, I could see enormous differences right away. The community, once with just a few spread out “houses,” is densley packed with huts, tents, and even a few buildings created by Food For the Poor now. Food for the Poor also gave them a refrigerator and a generator so the fish they catch won’t spoil and go to waste!!!! Really, really exciting. If I posted pictures, it would still look pretty bad…none of the houses are up to any kind of real standard of living…but comparitively, more people on the island are at least sheltered, and the person to hut ratio seems to have gone down. Food For The Poor has also already talked of building some real, acceptable houses for the village. Really incredible progress to have been made just in the past 10 months. They now have latrines, they now have 3 or 4 legitimate fishing boats which they also rent out to others from other villages on La Gonave to use. But the biggest difference I saw was with the people..it’s kind of hard to explain unless you see it, but the community is vibrant now; the people are full of life. They have a purpose, and they have hope that things will continue to get better, that progress will continue to be made in their village. Last time we were there, the villagers were at a very, very basic state of just survival, and now they are living. They have goals: to build a school and to improve their homes…and these goals feel attainable. They can slowly chip away at these things; there is movement happening and it’s an obvious change in atmosphere. They are clearly determined and it’s exciting that they now have the means to put that determination to good use. It was overall an amazing day. I’m so glad we were able to make the trip as a team and actually deliver the materials to Lotore. For one thing, it was a pretty awesome experience to witness, with everyone helping to figure out the fishing materials. Pancha translating, Mike using his fishing knowledge, Chelsie putting her fishing pole mad skilllzzz to use, all with the help of the Lotore villagers. It wasn’t any kind of “here, we’ll show you what to do” but our team and the villagers were working together and sharing ideas to figure everything out, which made us feel a real sense of connection with them. I also think it was very important for us to come back, just to make it a more meaningful experience for both us and them. I think that did more to say that we haven’t forgotten them, and that we’ll continue to be there and help them and connect with others who can help them than it would have if we had just mailed the materials or sent someone else to deliver them. The president of their committee talked to us and told us “thank you for keeping your promise, for coming back to help us.” It was really moving. So proud of the Lotore community today, and thankful for everyone who helped contribute to the progress being made there!

Quotes of the day:

“I am pleased to announce….that I have opened my Ragaman!” – Pancha

“I’m way too big for this computer. I feel like I’m sending a text message” – Jeff

Pancha (seeing a cow): Oh look! That pig has horns!

Ben : Are we going to La Gonave? Can we swim there? Rebecca: Well you better start now

How bout them mangoes!

Just woke up and breakfast smells delicious. Speaking of food, the meals in Haiti are absolutely amazing! Typically they serve chicked fried, rice, beans, and a spicey sauce to go over everything. We always eat two meals a day; one in the morning and one at about three p.m. Whenever we’re thirsty we have the choice of Coca Cola (it tastes so much better here), Ragaman (a Haitian energy drink; SIFE team favorite), coffee (made specially for certain individualson our team..), and water (which we always always always drink out of a bottle). Oh, and our cook always puts the table cloth over our food, to protect it. And if you haven’t noticed I’m talking a lot about food; we’re about to eat breakfast.

Okay well, I’ll resume by ‘blogging’ in awhile. I have so much to talk about!  Bright and early yesterday morning, we said our goodbyes to our friend Jeffery and loaded up in our infamous white van. We then drove through Port au Prince and picked up our boat motor and began our two hour drive to Lotorre. After an always eventful ride in the van, we reached the shore. It took awhile for the Haitians to get the motor started, but they always seem to figure things out and before long we were on our way. The boat ride across was absolutely breathtaking. The water was not only clear, but was the definition of aqua-blue. It looked like someone poured gallons of blue Kool Aid into the ocean. About three-fourths of the way to Lotorre, our guild casually mentioned that he was going to fish. By fishing he meant, throwing a single fishing line with bate attached, out of the moving boat and into the water. About seven minutes later, we heard Pancha translate “he caught something!”. I think we all expected to see a cute little fish, because, as we all thought, “what can you cach with just a piece of line?”. Well, much to our surprise, the man pulled a massive Marlin out of the water and we all scooted to the back of the boat to make room. It was so fascinating to not only see the fish, but watch how it was caught.af  After the Marlin was caught, we arrived at Lotorre. When I first arrived in Haiti I was totally shocked at the massive amounts of poverty. Stepping ashore Lotorre was like experiencing all those emotions all over again. Children ran around naked and homes were nothing but rusty pieces of metal propped up against old branches. It felt like we had stepped back in time hundreds of years. But as we were shown around the village, I began to change my mind. A simple community building had been built which contained a solar powered freezer to keep the day’s catch fresh. Next we saw a solar panelled light that had been constructed. The light allows the village to put the night hours to use. After we presented our gift of fishing poles and gear to the community, we gave out gum and stickers to not only the children but their parents as well. As I was giving out stickers I was amazed at how excited the men, women and children were to receive a sticker on their hand/ forehead. Mother’s were bringing me their new-born infants, toddlers were pulling at my clothes and teenagers were putting their hands in my face; just to get one sticker.

Although the people of Lottore have so little, even as a first time visitor, I could tell so much has been done to assist these people. I am so excited to see what they can do with their new equiptment, because I know it will be put to good use.  Oh and how could I forget my star-fish!? While we were waiting to get on the boat I noticed a perfectly shaped star-fish lying on the shore. Using what Kreole I know, I asked if I could take the speciman home with me. The village man near by began shaking his head, which I thought was a “no”, but five minutes later the same man came back with three beautiful star-fish the color of sunset. I think the village didn’t understand why I liked the star-fish so much, but they were so proud that I took such interest and fascnation in a product from their island. Let’s just hope my stars make it back home without breaking!  Overall, the day was tiring, but in a refreshing way (Ragman did help). At the moment I’m sitting on the roof soaking up the sun, taking in the screen-saver view, and listening to the noises of village.

Just got in from playing tons of games with the kids! I’ve never seen Pancha run so fast in my life! I love teaching these kids new things, especially games. I taught them how to play capture the flag, which is a semi-complicated game, and they caught right on. After running around awhile I sat while four Haitian girls played with my hair. Today has been so nice, we’ve just relaxed, caught up on homework and spent time with the village children. We found out that the pigs are not coming today but instead tomorrow morning. Should be, as Chelsie would say, “interesting”.

Until next time!

z

So there are seasons in my life when i have this recurring dream. In my dream I find my self walking through a narrow, uneven, and unpleasant pathway. All I know is that I am anxious and eager to find my way out, in the blink of an eye boom! I’m in this old, run down house, in pretty bad shape. Any ways, I walk, climb up stairs, go through different rooms and make it to the door. At the end I see the light and what I am confronted with takes my breath away…its beautiful!, everything is green, full of life…simply amazing! Then I wake up!

Yesterday’s journey in many ways compares to my recurring dream. before arriving to LaTorre in the Lagonave island, we drove through many busy markets; narrow, dusty, bumpy, many paved and again busy roads. A “challenging journey”…for some foreigners…other foreigners, not us…ha! a part of daily life for our hosts and new friends here in Haiti. Any ways, if you remember my dream you could will know that, what was next for us to see and feel was simply fantastic! A gift from the creator was awaiting for us in Miragoane: a boat ride, the blue sky, splashing salty water and a Marlin. Not a Marlin’s fun or baseball player, a Marlin fish. I have never seen one in person it was AWESOME!!!
check this Marlins fun.

I was woken up from my dreamy fabulous boat ride by the harsh living conditions that the people in Latorre are living under. Two things are abundant in this Village. One is Needs. There is a myriad of them, the most popular needs are (like in any other developing country) health services, education, sanitation, waste management, employment and many more. SIFE/BRCC is alleviating the heavy load this community carries by providing some of the ‘tools’ they need to address some of these needs and to sustain themselves. I/we need to admit however that the tools given to the LaTorre community won’t work by themselves, they won’t bear any fruit unless the hard working hands of the men and women of this community puts them to work. And is this determination and sense of ownership, in my mind my dear reader, what constitutes the second thing that is also abundant in LaTorre; determination, sense of community, resourcefulness, and much more, that’s just some of the many strengths that I manage to identify in the short time I share with them. So the point I guess that I am trying to make is that no one can do anything without the other.
Peace to you!

Today was a GREAT day. Although it was preceded by a night of dogs barking outside our window. I swear …the eat dog in China and these dogs will be boxed and shipping tomorrow morning if they bark again all night….

The barking was accompanied by the high shrill buzz of the generate alarm. When the generator kicks off the alarm goes on… it went on about 2am and stayed on all night. So if it wasn’t the dogs it was the generator alarm. Brutal!

We woke early to have a quick breakfast with Father Roosevelt before he headed to his retreat for the day ad we headed to LaGonave. We learned this morning that  truck lost its brakes last night in the center of PAP and killed 23 people. Kind of freaky… When we were all going out to load up in the vehicles the van that Father was taking (with Jeffrey and his mom) to the airport and then the retreat was dead. It was amazing to watch these men just throw together a set of jumper cables out of plan wire. It was amazing…. I don’t know how it worked but it worked. We then all piled in and off we went.First we stopped in PAP to pick up the motor ….then we headed to Mirograne. This took about 2 1/2 hours…traffic on a good day is slow and Mirograne is a long way away. When we got there it was a challenge to find where we were meeting the boat… but after going up the wrong side of a one way street…. we made it. Then it was time to get the motor and all our fishing equipment to the dock. One thing about Haiti there are ALWAYS people waiting EVERYWHERE waiting to be hired to carry your things. For about $4 USD they carried it all down an alleyway and we met the crew. Now they had come to get us with their boat and their 25 horsepower motor and automatically decided that they would use our 40 horsepower motor to cut our travel time over to the island in half. No problem that they had to install it and also fill it was oil and gas… all was complete in less than a half hour and we were ready to go.

Well as everyone will be posting the boat ride across was spectacular. During the ride Pancha and I started grilling the boat crew about using our motor….. this motor was to be used by the people of LaTorre Bouchan… well the captain of the boat told us it would be. We told him we wanted to leave it there and take his boat back later today with only the 25 hsp motor … he told us we would again use both… we kept telling him the motor was for the fishing village and he kept agreeing…. then he handed us an ID type of badge that stated he was the President of the Fishing Cooperative of LaTorre….. and he told me (or should I say reminded me) that he was the man that lead our town hall meeting last March  – yep he was right and we looked like crazy pushy American women.

We tested that motor …. and it passed with flying colors. The boat flew across to LaTorre … then the crew started fishing going across…. with only fishing line and a hook and within 2 minutes caught a HUGE marlin. They must have thought we were crazy as we were cheering and applauding them as they pulled this beautiful BIG fish into the boat. Then they hit it was a club to kill it….we stopped clapping

When we arrived at LaTorre the entire fishing village was there and  we went to the village center and started showing the villagers all the gear we had brought… rods, reels, line, nets. and then we pulled out the sonar fish finder GPS….. it was like handing them a million dollars! The next hour or so was challenging trying to set up this highly technical electronic equipment…with at least 25 men watching over your shoulder. Thank goodness we had Mike – I could never have pulled that one off – they wanted to learning everything. Mike showed them how to wire it to a spare battery and when that GPS screen lit up there were smiles EVERYWHERE…. then we had to go out to the boat and show how to install it…. Pancha translating and Mike doing the technology thing. All the while the people of LaTorre were showing Joni, Chelsie, Meghan and Ben everything else. It was crazy … in a good way. We were shown our latrines that we had built and told that since they were built cholera and tyhoid has pretty much disappeared. Very cool. The head of the village asked us to come to hear a few words before we left… he basically thanked us for coming back to LaTorre and actually doing what we had promised them we would do when we were there in March. He told us that many people go there and promise to help but never come back and we had made them happy because we did when we told them we would. We told us the motor would help them be able to navigate the deeper waters and they were so happy they wanted to honor us by naming their fishing center a name we could chose… it was like an honoring naming…. we told them we wanted it called BRCC SIFE….. they wrote it down and said it would be… we are not quite sure how that will all work but it was a nice honor that they gave … it was their way of giving back to us.

When it was time to leave the island we left them waving and smiling… we promised to visit again to see how they were progressing but from the look of the island … they are on their way to sustainability. They now have three really fast fiberglass boats… three 25 hsp motors and the 40 hsp motor… new fishing gear and the GPS/Fish finder. Food for the Poor also has done what they have told us they would do by proving the village it a large solar panel by which they run a generator and a freezer – this allows them to freeze their catch and not waste it by it being exposed to the elements. A very cool compliment to everything that was being done to increase the quality of life and standard of living for these people. So back we went over the ocean to Mirograne and then the two hour ride back to PAP and Mon Lopital. It was a long but productive day… tomorrow promises to be another great day. We are buying 16 pigs for our pig project (aka goat project) starting eight families on their own pig farms.  We also are going to work with a committee from the village on a business plan for the store and bakery we plan to open later this year. I think the chicken dance is also planned sometime during the afternoon with a lot of kids!!!

Well its late… everyone else is sleeping… even the dogs so  will sign off and say more tomorrow!

Rebecca

Hey Jeff Here!! The friend that was met along the way, once a stranger but now a part of the family at BRCC SIFE.

Haiti is truly an amazing country and what’s most beautiful are the people that are met along the way. The people of Haiti are extremely ambitious, determine, and their relentless nature is both aspiring and motivating. I do however wanted to share a little on the family that I lived with for a few days. Of course there’s Rebecca with a heart so big it’s impossible to see the end from the beginning, one Who breaks the mold of any traditional accountant teacher and brings caring to a definition which is truly shown in her actions. Who would have thought an accountant teacher could be so cool, down to earth and extremely selfless. It’s amazing how one person can truly make a difference and how together SIFE has truly made an impact. Mike, a man of few words but when he speaks he gets you thinking, similiar to the weather unperdectable yet powerful at times, a man of wisdom and kindness, an honest man who would give Honest Abe a run for his money. Aura (Puncha) Esperanza etc… Just like her names imply, a woman of many depths, one who would surprise you by speaking a language (Kreyol) known by few yet speaks it better than most Haitians in America, a colombiana who heart beats louder for Haiti than most Haitians I know. Ben, a army guy who pants and boots could cause even the most fearless child to shake in their boots, a guy who might have been perceieved as scary until he smiled. Amazing to see how he won the hearts of the children, as we heard from the rooftop the chants of “Ben Ben give us more candy!!” Megan, one who moves with the wind, goes where life takes her and sees no limits as to what could be done, one who’s heart could cause her to come to a foriegn country and desire to explore a foriegn language. One whose’s hick-ups could scare even the scariest people out of practicing voodoo. Chelsea, One who is no where near as clumsy as she thinks she is. Someone who is a joy to be around, one who sometimes speaks first before thougts but when she speaks it comes out positive, in a good way. . Joni, one who see’s no barrier, whether it’s outside making up random games because she desire so much to keep the children entertained or one who mangage to convince kids to catch lizards without knowing what their rewards would be.

Overall my trip to Haiti was amazing and the people who were met along the way were truly life changing. It’s an honor to say I know people from such a powerful and impactful organization, such as SIFE. Elourde Colin, Father Roosevelt and I have started a non-profit orphanage in Haiti where our head qaurters are in Orlando, Fl. We are currently going through a name change so our website is currently down for construction and our Non-Profit is now called Mother’s Love Children’s Village. Honestly without the help of Father Roosevelt and Oraganizations such as SIFE, none of this would have been possible. I truly thank you for making my trip a memoriable one and most importantly making an impact in Haiti.

Jeffery Compas

Today was truly a remarkable day. We went and picked up a 40hp motor and took a two hour car ride to the port at Miro Grane. It was one of the most crowded streets that I have ever seen, and people are wedging big trucks down these mini lanes with such grace it was remarkable. We then took an hour boat ride to the island  of La Gonave which was truly amazing. The water felt so warm to the touch and was a crystal blue, the sun was shining bright, the wind was in our face, and the view was spectacular. There was mountains on both sides of us and the view of the town as we were driving away was amazing as well. It was straight out of a movie, with an ancient cathedral that was the prominent fixture of the scene, surrounded by old homes that seemed to jut out from the mountainside itself, as if they were grown from the earth and trees themselves.

When we got to the village of Latorre Bouchan, the people greeted us with open hearts and arms. They were overjoyed when they saw that we had returned as promised, with fishing poles, a motor, a gps fish finder, and a solar recharging station. My mother (I love you MOM!!!) gave me a big bag of soap which the people loved, and a huge container of hairbands for the girls and ladies which they were oh so happy about. They were laughing and strutting around with the new accessories and it was awesome to see something so little bring such a smile to their face. I got to see a little more of life on an island like that. There was a gentleman that had a machete that was chopping the end off of shells for hermit crabs and conch for food. I offered an older man a cigarette which he gladly took and sat with me and a friend of his in the shade as we tried to carry on a conversation which involved a lot of hand movements due to an enormous language barrier, but it was fun. Afterwards, he bade me follow him to his home where he shared a swig of what I think was tequila…. (whatever it was, it made my stomach churn instantaneously whether it was the substance itself or the fact that it felt like 100 degrees outside!) then introduced me to his son, and we talked about our families. He then introduced me to a man that worked so hard, he injured himself to the point that he had an abcess growing from his head the size of a baseball… It was heartbreaking. I felt so bad and I sat with the man and held his hand and I couldn’t help but start to tear up. Afterwards I walked to ocean’s edge with a group of the locals and I could not help but take my shoes off and jump in the water. The ocean was the warmest I have ever swam in and it’s the middle of January. Beat that California!!! When I got out of the water, you could see my tattoos through my white soaked shirt and they all wanted to see them, the loved the dragon and even knew the word scorpion. I’m not sure if they were making jokes at me or not due to the fact that I couldn’t understand almost any of what they were saying but they seemed happy and seemed to enjoy just seeing something different. Just as we do I assume when we come here and see different things we aren’t used to. Whatever it was, I felt like I could connect with the people there just as I could with the people in Mont L’Obital. It truly was a moving feeling to be able to bring some type of comfort to them, something that will make at least some part of life easier. They are all so full of happiness and joy already just being close to one another. Family. Truly amazing and something to admire and take notes from. Although, as much fun as I had, not a member of my group wanted to sit next to me on the bus ride home due to me jumping in the ocean, but it’s okay, it was worth it!! 

Chelsie here,

Today was absolutely crazyy and I have to say I was extra thankful for the fluid in my head that keeps my brain from hitting anything. We spend alot of our day in the car and traveling from place to place to ultimately get to La Torre Bucan where we delivered the gps/sonar system, the 40 hp motor, and the fishing equipment. On our 4 hour journey to the Island, I noticed something that I have not seen in full anywhere else in Haiti sence ive arrived. Out past port au prince there would be places that looked like they were stable. They were clean, people were building, there was trash pick up, and they were growing things. It looked like how Haiti was meant to look. Being here in the mountians where the smallest things we do impact so much, it is easy to feel as if its not a problem, and that we will fix it with motivation. Then going into the city its like that feeling gets completely washed from your system. There are people everywhere and trash where there should not be trash. Everytime you think your entering into an area that has been fixed, you turn the corner and boom, theres another tent city. It has really got me thinking. We had alot of time while traveling today to talk of the recycling and all that. well suposedly there was a large NGO that wanted to be stationed here on the mainland and be soleley for recycling trash. This would completly benefit the people because its not because they are lazy that there is trash everywhere, they literally have NO where to put it. NO WHERE. the government is not even providing some sort of disposal of the trash that is lining the streets. So the problem that this company had was that the government wanted 50% of their profits. Well this is not an incentive for a large NGO to come in to. If we could get a large company to strike a deal (how ever out rageous the cut) with the government, and that be their tax write off each year…just imagine with the determineation of the Hatian people, this place would be CLEAN. That would be the first step. and then you can go from there. Im really thinking about how to do this so if anyone has ideas (partnerships) or wants to help me please let me know! But back to our day- very wonderful I got to teach the villagers how to use a casting rod which they thought was just awesome! The boat ride was amazing and I got lotsssss of sun. The people were amazing and I feel like we had a sucessful day. Right now we are having our meeting with Father Roosevelt talking about the buying of the pigs for the familes here tomorrow- which will be soooo cute! I cant even describe how many pigs and goats and chickens…animals in general that I never see and the people here must think Im crazy cause I run after them and try and pet them- which they just are not having haha. Everyone else is egar to blog so I will be handing over the computer. Tonight is donkey round 2, raining champion right herrree. I also get to take a shower tonight which is exciting. Until tomorrow <3

SO MANY QUESTIONS.

What’s a school bus? Is a cucumber a fruit or a vegetable? Who teaches at the school? Is it toilet paper or a paper toilet?! And how do you save the tatas? ….Wear a sports bra!! (all quotes provided by…anonymous).

Yep, today was pretty awesome. We all took a van with Father (and our new friend Jeff!) and drove first to the SIFE/Davis School to visit and check up on things. Everything looks awesome there and the school is clearly a huge asset to the kids and the entire Rivierre Froide community. We got to see all the kids while they were in school, talk to some of the sisters and all the kids sang to us which is always so cute and fun and endearing…they have it pretty rough but they all seem so happy.

We went to the Sisters of Charity after that, which is always really hard. The kids are so tiny and fragile and sick. Some of them are on IVs, some of them are clearly in pain. But both of the infants I held were smiling and laughing and playing with me. One of them was even strong enough to grab onto my finger, which was encouraging…she seemed to be getting better which was good to see. The hardest part is at the end, when you have to leave. Every one of them hates to see you go, they will burst into tears and reach for you with their little arms…it feels awful. I love being there and think it’s so important because you can see how much the kids love and need people there to hold them..but what you see stays with you and how it feels to leave can be pretty hard to take.

We also stopped by a huge grocery store (complete with armed guards at the door who check you out before you can go in..yep, imagine that at wal-mart) and picked up staples…like ragaman and coffee and paper toilet and haitian rum. everything we needed!

we were headed back through the city to go home when suddenly…

THIS happened:

the brakes in the van went out!! what the WHAAAAT!!!

they stopped working just as we were driving on a slight downhill and straight into a pretty busy intersection. after it happened we all talked about what we thought we were about to hit and we all had a different fear..if that helps explain exactly how many obstacles there actually were (people, a pole, another car, a giant wall…) but Toto, our driver, was AWESOME (haitian drivers are seriously crazy..in a good way!) and he pulled this shouldve-been-impossible miracle maneuver which was basically a 90 degree turn of the entire van in about 2 seconds into a tiny space and we were good to go!! we switched out vans and all was well.

When we got back we found the kids and created a scavenger hunt for them which was a  ton of fun. They loved it! One of the things on the list was a lizard, which we put on the list as something to be more difficult..but they found one in literally under 3 minutes! It was so much fun and I really feel like we’re getting to know the village a little bit, even without being able to speak Kreyol, so  that’s a pretty cool feeling.

I wish I could add more pics but it takes forever and I need to go back to eating my mango on the roof!

Au revoir!!

Best Quotes of the Day:

“It’s positive..in a good way!” – chelsie

“what’s a school bus?” – pancha

“sometimes i’m just really thankful for that fluid in your brain that keeps it from banging around everywhere” – chelsie

Kreyol:

mwen ap eseye apren kreyol **I am trying to learn Kreyol

si Bondye vle, mwen ap tounen anko **Godwilling, I will be back soon

I took some time yesterday to go out with the locals and see more of the village here on the mountain. I walked with a man named Joseph, who helped teach me a few more sayings in Kreyol, brought me to a little outpost building to buy a few supplies, and then brought me to a rooster fight… I didn’t really want to go, but I wanted to see how the natives responded to me by myself in their environment. A few didn’t seem to enjoy my presence very much, but most just ignored me and carried on about the bloody conflict engaged in the pit. It was kinda scary really, but, the longer I stayed and watched, the more people started to talk to me. They tried to teach me to play dominos, which I found that I’m kind of good at, which suprisingly bought me some brownie points. I think they like the fact that I didn’t look down on thier activities and tried to engage in the native behaviors. Joseph and I talked about his family. He told me how his mother died during the earthquake, how she was in her home here on the mountain washing clothes when the earth started shaking and a landslide crushed her roof and the building collapsed on her… So very sad. I started to swell up with emotions and tears thinking of what it would be like for my own mother, or family member, or anyone I knew for that matter to suffer such a tragic death. He told me how he had a degree as a laboratory technician and was working at the hospital till it shut down and now he is working in the rock quarry, where most of the villagers work, performing backbreaking work for as little as a few dollars a day at times, half of which is spent in travel costs to go to town to just buy a loaf of bread, or a pair of pants, or just fresh water. The longer I spend here the more I want to help.

To day we traveled to the main city of Port-Au-Prince and visited the SIFE/Davis school for the disabled which was amazing, as well as visited Mother Theresa’s orphanage which was heartbreaking again… 20+ cribs in one room with sick children that the parents did not have the means to take care of, so they dropped them off with the nuns who care for them and give them medicine till they are better. 2 and 3 year olds that had hardly meat on their bones. Their skin was cracking and dry, soft spots on their heads still had not closed, IV’s running to tiny hands and feet… It was traumatizing. I have such respect for the people there that care for them, trying to help and care. The people here love each other and care for one another. It’s amazing the sense of family and community. The children want to go to school and grow up to be respected and to be someone in the world, yet they lack the funds to pay for books and uniforms. 15 year old teenagers that are still in primary school, not because of lack of intelligence as you will find if you spend anytime talking to them, that they are smart, diligent, respectful, and want to better themselves, just lack the opportunity, and that’s where we come in. I had a sense of SIFE and what the group did before I came here, this trip has only; reinforced those feelings and strengthen my resolve to do what I can to help them. I don’t even know what I can do that will matter, but if it just helps on person, it would be worth it.

Everytime we drive through PAP, all I can think of is post-apocalyptic Los Angeles after a few bombs have gone off. Streets filled with walls and big buildings that are just destroyed. Trash EVERYWHERE! Piled high in the streets, on the side of the road, filling the canals. 1000′s of people filling the streets trying to peddle imported goods for some type of sustainment, to feed themselves, to survive… The struggle for life here is nothing like anything in the US. This is an experience that I will never forget and I will carry with me forever.

Hey! Chelsie here.

Our Internet was down yesterday so heres the post I wrote yesterday:

Its our second day in the Hatian land. We got woken up at 530ish by some weird sound which was followed shortly by some legit roosters bringing up the sun. So we woke up and the bells were ringing telling us that church mass would be starting with in the hour. First church- we went to a Catholic Mass that was brought to us completely in creole. But I have attended mass before and the experience was completely different, people were singing loud and proud and bongo drums filled the air with the ethnic version of these old prayers and traditions I recognized even in a different language. It was wonderful we were engaging and clapping and humming and raising our hands up while the back drop was the mountains and the altitude of our location made the temperature perfect. Towards the end Father Roosevelt introduced us as friends to the people we had not met and we were greeted with smiles and soft handshakes. After the service we went back to our house and changed, we had breakfast which was this spicy soup stuff- really good, also we had our instant coffee…thank God for that. We then had a meeting with the towns church board which consisted of Father Roosevelt, they basically make the decisions of the community. We took their needs assessment and told them we would be giving 21 families solar lights that we had brought with us along with about 10 pigs (we were going to buy goats but they said pigs were better) to give to families and to breed them and hand them off to other families…basically pay it forward the wealth to others in their village. The man I am guessing was the lead of the group went on a five minute talk about how thankful he was and how much this would help their village. It was very gratifying and very humbling to look in the mirror and realize what I have. After the meeting we pretty much spent the rest of the day hanging out with the villagers who were awesomeeeeeeee. We got to spend a little time with them yesterday but today we really got to know some people. Later in the evening we spent dancing, teaching each other games and dances that we have learned over time and that are important. Joni and I taught them Duck duck goose, which they renamed it using creole words (which I of course forget), while playing the game when I was the goose I fell so hard everyone (like 100 kids) all stopped and looked waiting to say that I had broken something or that I was bleeding in some way- I jumped right up! Said I was fine and we continued playing but I officially got accepted as myself today cause they got to see what a dork I am. Later on after they had been teaching me lots of dances (which are so hard) I taught them a dance my sister and I used to do with each other It involves alot of twirling and dipping and the girls loved it, the boys were so funny every time I would do the dance with one of them all the boys would start laughing and pointing and give each other high fives as if I had just accepted a marriage proposal or something, it was awesome. I wore my jacket out later and some boy asked me if he could have it cause it was so cool- that was when I realized that I should probably wear more feminine things lol. I am exhausted but so so happy, the people here are amazing. The sense of community and happiness and energy that they exert at any given moment is almost like a life source pumping. Last night we were all sitting on the roof (some other people are staying here too) we were telling stories of people that had made an impact in our lives and just sitting and taking in the beautiful feeling of togetherness. I was thinking while we were sitting there so high in the mountains, looking down at the lights of the city (which most aren’t real lights) they were flickering all over the place. And in most cities it looks almost like a christmas tree with beautiful lights all over. But its different here its like the city has a pulse and a rhythm that beats with its people and the in-sync feeling is almost swaying how everything is moving together, in the same direction and for the common purpose of good. It makes me so happy to see it on such a basic level. Tomorrow we will be going allllll over Haiti so I will have so much to talk about! MOM-I miss you and Im fine and I love you. All my other family and friends I love and miss you! Keep updated so we can just talk about it when I get back! Love love love. Until tomorrow. <3

Here is my post for today:

Hi, Chelsie here.

Today was pretty epic. We woke up had a spicy spegetti type stuff and real hatian coffee which I have to say is growing on me. After breakfast (which we had to wait for Father for because the Hatians in this village have mass 7 days a week!!) we got ready and left for town (port au prince). Our first mission was trying to find Father a part for his car which was crazyyy riding through the craziest and most desperate areas in all of Haiti. We then went to Rivera Froide were we built our BRCC/Davis School and Home for the disabled. To get there we had to hike a mountain Im guessing at an incline of 90 degrees haha it was awesome! Very exilerating the Hatians were looking at us like we were crazy for wanting to hike this mounitan and laughing and falling all over each other. The school is an amazing thing because it takes the children that would be more or less on the streets and puts them in a learning and caring environment, which is run mainly by this very loud/ scary nun. The children there were happy and taken care of, but this is not and can not be as nuturing as anyone would hope, some of the children were in situations that makes me so sad I cant even say- they are sick and you can tell they need help that we can not give to them. We went into the class room and the children sang and danced for us, it was beautiful, the sisters thanked us and we left. After this we went back down the mountian which I had thanked God for wearing the shoes I did or else I would of had to roll down. At the bottom I got a beautiful wooden turtle box from this lovely man for 10 bucks, which is over priced but I was happy to pay that. We then went to Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity. It was very nice inside- they didnt NEED our help, we were just going to be with the children. I heard once that someone read a study that just holding children when they are sick or talking to them or singing to them, it makes them better. So thats what we did. We went into the infant section, but some of them were not infants they just looked like they were. Mothers bring their children here when they have no other options, when they are dying. Most of the children had distrophe of the muscles which is basically disinegration of their muscles, so they could hardly move. I walked in and started looking around, some were asleep, I look to my left and there are these big brown eyes looking right at me. She lifted her hand and I ran to see if she needed anything she just wrapped her little hand around my finger and then closed her eyes as if thats all she wanted. I immidently picked her up and started cooing towards her “bonjor little one bonjor” I looked at her bracelet and it said 3 years old. I couldnt believe it, her legs did fall far on my body but her tiny stature was fragile and barely felt like a new born. I took her out into the patio area and into the sun she loved it and was smiling. I proped her up and she layed on my chest to look around, so I hummed to her and rubbed her back. She loved my face and hair she just kept stroking my arm, and my hair, and my face. She just felt so happy and I felt so sad. we stayed for awhile but I could have stayed forever.She was so good when I had to put her back I blew kisses towards her and rubbed her blanket on her face (my niece loves that when she is about to fall asleep) and she closed her eyes and was out with in the minute. Even though I was walking away my heart is still there with her. I would love if anyone whos reading this if you could pray for the kids. Until tomorrow

Chelsie

Soooo much has happened today I feel like it would be impossible to describe it all. We woke up this morning and had spaghetti for breakfast (weird but strangely delicious). Then we went to the city and had many, many adventures. Right now I’m just sitting in the courtyard, listening to the kids playing in the street. Meghan and I just finished conducting a scavenger hunt. The two teams had to find 10 bottles, 1 flower, 5 rocks, 1 leaf and a lizard. The two teams found everything within 5 minutes until they got to the lizard. Once Jeffery, a friend of Father staying with us, translated what we were talking about the children frantically started running and climbing trees. Within 3 minutes both teams had lizards. The children here love learning new things, whether its games or simply learning. Yesterday I tried showing the kids how to use the mass amounts of trash littering the ground for pratical purposes. We used bottles for bowling and chip bags to weave into chains. Not only were the children interested but they learned unbelievably fast. I am so attached to them and I can’t imagine how difficult it will be when we have to leave.

p.s. Pancha doesn’t know what a school bus is.

Okay so this morning I woke up around 6:30 and around 7:15 we headed to the “church” (a slab of metal held up by wooden planks of wood/trees). Not only had I never been to a Haitian church service, but I had never been to mass. First of all, I could’nt believe how dressed up people get for church; more so then most Americans. These people hardly have anything, yet it is rare to see a poorly dressed Haitian. After church we had breakfast that consisted of soup and rolls. So far, I’ve been spending lots of time with the children. They are sooo fascinated with the smallest things. Like this afternoon, a group of girls came up to me wanting to touch my skin and hair. I know I’ve only been here for a day, but I absolutely love it here. The weather, at the moment, is fabulous, the people are so pleasant, the food is delicious, and the environment is extremely laid back. I’m so sad a day has already gone by here and I look forward to what tomorrow will hold!

Mind, body and soul, my whole being has been nourished on this our second day in Haiti. Usually one of the three gets neglected, not today. Seeing familiar places and faces, savoring familiar foods and beverages filled my heart and soul more than my actual body, ha!
I have met lots of new people, the warmth, generosity, and openess, are the same wherever you go in Haiti. How fortunate we are. Among the many things that I am enjoying right now is my team. I am loving and appreciating how each one of them is experiencing what they are hearing, seeing, feeling. Thanks for sharing team!

HAITI!!

Father Roosevelt picked us up from the airport this morning, and we hopped in our van through the chaos that is Port au Prince and made it safely up the steep, insane mountain road to his home at St. Jude Parish in Mon Lopital. This place is AMAZING. Perfect weather, and an incredible rooftop view of the city, ocean, and mountains. We got to taste Pancha’s favorite energy drink, Ragaman! (SO GOOD), enjoy a huge and delicious dinner & settle into our home for the week.

After supper, we went on a walk around town to get to know some of the people around the village. Father Roosevelt had let everyone know ahead of time who we were and why we are in Haiti, and it was great to start meeting people around Mont Lopital. We communicated with the “peti peti” (very little) Creole, English, and even Spanish that we all knew. Again, I am so amazed and impressed by the joy, kindness, friendliness, and sense of community that is so ingrained in the Haitian people. We met lots of kids and played with them, tried to talk to them, & gave them gum…which they responded to with a song and dance that said, basically “THE GUM! THE GUM IS GOOD! GIVE US MORE!” in Haitian Creole and made us all laugh.

The walk led us on along the road which is made of a white, crumbly, chalk-like sand. We picked up lots of kids and met many people along the way; walked past a kind of quarry where people work digging out this sandy/rocky/chalky stuff which they then sell in Port au Prince and use for building (really unstable and unreliable building material). Eventually we walked up a rocky, grassy hiking path up to a grassy field which they use as a soccer field, and includes an INCREDIBLE view overlooking the ocean, mountains and city of Port au Prince. Best of all 3 worlds.

After our walk, we met with some of the kids/teenagers of the village who are in school right now. They have the opportunity to attend secondary school in Port au Prince because another US group of volunteers has agreed to pay their school fee, but they still need money for textbooks or else the school will not allow them to attend. A few of them & Fr Roosevelt talked about how much they love going to school, and how incredibly important it is to them to be able to continue their education so they can do something important and meaningful with thier lives,and experience more than just life on Mont Lopital, where there are few, if any, job options. One of the older teens brought up his worries that, although his education is being sponsored right now, many kids lose their sponsorship once they get older and then don’t have enough money to either finish their education, or get somewhere where they could get a job. As a group we also discussed the issue of what people do with an education in a country where the government is so corrupt, and therefore lacks in job options. This leads to many of the people who do have the chance to become educated leaving the country to find jobs, which makes it more difficult to improve life for Haiti as a whole…a really frustrating cycle. The people here have so much ambition and a desire to learn and work hard, it’s just hard to make progress because of the difficulty of getting an education, and the lack of opportunity available even after education is achieved.

Learned lots more about Haiti today, like the fact that before the 2010 earthquake happened there hadn’t been an earthquake here in 200 years…such a freak thing. And that right beforehand, things here were really improving; better roads being bult, etc. Also trying to learn more about the history and government and general culture of Haiti..it’s hard to really get the hang of anything in a week but we’re all learning little by little.

Quotes/Creole of the day:

“the chickens are really cute…until they’re delicious…they’re really…multifunctional!”

mwen konta we ou: “i’m happy to see you”

ki reve ou genye: “what dreams do you have?”

Well here I am in Haiti once again… is this trip five….six…seven? We had our five am wake up call… quick shower and then through check-in and security once again. We barely had time to grab our last cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee before  our flight took off at 7:35am. Landing was a breeze… then through Customs, baggage claim and out through all the people trying to get you to pay them to help you….nothing changed since March but there seemed to be more control over the crowd outside.  We hit the end of the walkway…. and what no Father Roosevelt? You know you have gotten used to this country when your ride is no where to be found and you don’t panic. I took out the trusty handy dandy Droid Pro Global phone tried a couple of different numbers and voila… Father Roosevelt was on the phone telling us her would be there soon. It was about 10 minutes before he got there but it was fine. The UN guys were right next to us and we struck up with a Haitian who was telling us all about the differences between people from Santa Domingo and Haiti.

Once Father Roosevelt arrived we all piled into the Land Rover …. 10 people and all of our luggage and fishing gear. It was typical. We crisscrossed around Port au Prince and stopped at a sister parish to visit our 40 horsepower motor which was in pristine condition. We will be going over to LaTorre Bouchan on Tuesday with our motor and gear.We then continued our ride across Port au Prince stopping to get bottles of Regomon a high energy (pure caffeine) drink which is incredible. We then went through the Presidential Palace area of Port au Prince… two years later and the palace still is a shambles… then turned north and continued up up up the mountain to Mon Lopital. All I can say is it is incredible up here… we are so high we are now sitting on the roof of the rectory and blogging to the view of Port au Prince at night…. unbelievable.  After dinner we walked around the village with two tour guides who brought us to the sand quarry… this is what the people do in their village if they are lucky enough to have a job. It seems that the land on the mountain around us is owned by a drug dealer…. Toto… yes a drug dealer named Toto and he is very rich and mean… we he is stripping this mountain for its sand… the sand is then trucked down the mountain to PAP where it is used to rebuild unsafe houses that use too much sand  in its concrete… what a vicious cycle. So we walked to the sand pit and watched them digging with shovels to fill these massive dump trucks… its really unreal. Along the way we must have picked up at least 50 children…. running with us, grabbing our hands and of course capturing the hearts of everyone (especially Joni and Cheslie and Meghan) on this trip. My Kryeol is getting better so I was able to talk a tad with them. They are sweet.

Upon returning to the rectory I was introduced to the officers of another nonprofit that works to provide a home and education for orphans in PAP. Then we were summoned to a meeting of the secondary students of the village. There were 28 students there all high school age…. from this very ppor village but all with a love for education and with a solid understanding that education is their gateway to a more sustainable life. They told us that they were going to school in PAP and a twin parish had agreed to pay their tuition and uniforms (school is not free in Haiti) bu they did not have them money for their books and the school was threatening to throw them out of school because they had no books or calculators. We sat and listened, asked questions of them and then tried to put a figure to this request… the probable is the list of books was not with them – they had not known about us until they came to their prayer meeting. The way we left it was of course… no promises but we asked for the list of books and prices to be brought to us before we leave next Saturday …I do recognize the power of education to the young people of Haiti and these kids WANTED to go to school…. how refreshing! We will see what we can do….maybe this means changing Haiti one student at a time.

Rebecca

Hello, Chelsie here!

We arrived in haiti this morning after leaving Miami, where unknowingly ben, megan, and I all checked our bags to pick up in Haiti instead of Miami…needless to say we roughed it and sure did look like we were coming to do some work haha. Other than that it was an experience from the moment we got on the plane. I was completely amazed by how many people, from all walks of life and different professions were coming to Haiti to help. Ive got to say I was proud of the human race today. Getting off the plane was soooo awesome, we stepped onto a bus-type thing that took us to customs where we were graced by a marriotchi-band-alike, they were celebrating the people that were coming to help. After customs we were told that people would be grabbing at your bags and asking if they could help you, and anyone that knows me I like to do things myself anyways so this concept annoyed me alittle but of course I was not annoyed because they do all of this awkard pushing and trying to help for a dollar! So we go out into the mob and I trucked right through, we made it to the end of the line and UN police were there to keep the peace. Father Roosevelt was just as I had heard of him, very very nice and determined. As we drove the 2 hour and some change journey from Port au Prince into the mountians where Father’s home is, I literally saw soooo much I dont think it has even caught up with me yet. First of all the cars- there is absolutely no order the only thing that is a common thought is that two beeps means that your going, you speed until you come to a complete stop. next I saw rubble…after rubble..just in massive piles, there was trash where trash started to even look normal. there were small villages of tarp tents where you would see children playing with a stick or each other smiling. I saw a boy going for water with a huge jug (honestly I dont know if I could lift), just skipping along. I cant even try and explain the wonderful almost happiness and energy and willingness, I cant even really find a word that describes it very well, of the Hatian people. Once we got to Fathers, which is just amazing the view is nothing like ive ever seen, we got situated and ate then we went out to meet the people of the village. VIDEOS TO COME of that experience. The kids were soooo fun. We danced and took a hike and they performed infront of my “Flip” like they were on national tv, and they love my blonde hair- some man shouted at me “AMOUR” over and over with some other things in the thick creole hatian accent I didnt realize he was confessing his love for me haha! There was much more but Im taking up alot of space. Until tomorrow

We arrived in Haiti!!!! The weather here is amazing. After getting off the plane we had to wait awhile to get through customs, and then we walked outside to wait for Father Roosevelt (the man who acts as a guild and host for our team). After meeting up with Father, I had one of the most exciting/ scary car rides of my life. First of all, there are ZERO lines on the road. So we would be driving and all of a sudden a car would be drving towards us head on! The cars use their horns, a lot. Our ride was about two hours long, through the extremely busy city Port Au Prince and up the side of a mountain; literallly. When the reached the our house, I couldn’t believe the view from the roof; it is simply breath-taking. From the roof, you can see the ocean, mountains and the entire city. I can’t get over how much I love the kids here. I wish I could bring them back with me!

Haiti is absolutely… breathtaking. We are staying at a rectory high in the mountains outside of Port Au’ Prince and it overlooks the ocean and the whole city. The view here is truly amazing, although it is drastically different than the view from the impoverished city streets… The damage that was brought with the earthquake can be seen everywhere. Buildings half knocked down, piles and piles of rubble litter the streets and side avenues. Out of the buildings that remain, most are still only half standing with enormous gaps and huge metal bars that barricade holes in the walls where windows once stood. The streets are lines with walls that are either topped with razor wire or shards of broken glass cemented into the tops. Every available surface, shops, cars, trucks, houses, walls, and anything else was tagged with graphitti of some sort or littered with old election photos or some other form of advertisement. The streets are filled with vendors trying to peddle thier wares, men and women walking around with huge baskets they are carrying on thier heads, dodging the heavy traffic on the crumbling roads. The buildings are very small, and most are ruined, yet people still live in them for they have no where else to go. Their are tent cities all over capital. Even the prime minister’s house has an entire village of people living on the lawn

As we made our way up to the rectory, you could see for miles along the cliffs, rows and rows of broken homes running down the mountain face. The sight makes your heart sink and become heavy. You can’t help but feel sadness for those that are going without the basic necessities that we take for granted, food and shelter. The children we drive by hold out their hands and call out to us for food. Trash covers all the roadways and seems as if it has been years since the streets were cleaned. I only wish there was more I could do for them… I’ll think of something.

http://www2.newsvirginian.com/news/2012/jan/13/helping-rebuild-ar-1607521/

Hi Everyone,

My name is Benjamin and I have been given the opportunity to travel to Haiti with the BRCC SIFE team this year. The closer the time comes to depart, I have to say, the more nervous I seem to be getting. I have never traveled outside of the country save for a few border trips to Mexico and Canada so this will be an extraordinary new experience for me. I am looking forward to meeting the people that we have been helping and seeing how life really is down there, not just what I see in pictures, but actually living and bonding with these people in thier time of need. The world is a scary place at times, and it is good to know there are groups like SIFE that are willing to sacrifice their time to see those that are under privelaged given a chance and to rise from times of strife and trouble. Nothing I do will prepare me for the reality of the w ay life really is down in an impoverished country, but I will do my best to make a positive impact on the people there and I hope to be able to give at least one person a reason to smile. This truly will be a remarkable and unique opportunity.

Hi! Me again.

So, as I was driving home today cruising I-81 south, I turned the radio to hear what was on The Story, the NPR daily interview program hosted by Dick Gordon.  I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that today’s guest was nothing more nothing less than Ayiti!!! How awesome! The second coolest thing that happened is that the woman that interpreted for Gordon was someone I worked with while I lived in Haiti. I have not met yet anyone that can interpret Creole-English-Creole as well as she does. She puts mind and heart to the task.

Any ways, I’d like to invite/encourage you to listen to the podcast and learn about what is happening in Haiti two years after the 2010 earthquake. Inspiring stories, really. Enjoy and get inspire.

http://thestory.org/archive/the_story011012_full_show.mp3/view

Hi All

Testing the blog from my cell phone

Rebecca

Continue reading →

Hello! Chelsie here, I am a second year SIFE student and have been on the Haiti committee for about a year. I just got out my suitcase last night to begin filling it with things that are on our list and I decided this would be a good time to start my blogging venture. I am packing the Costco size amount of baby wipes, which to me seems a little excessive but Ive heard that they come in handy. In all seriousness, I am very very excited and I really have been looking forward to this trip since I learned of its existence and have worked very hard to be a part of it. I think what got me was the kids, the pictures and the stories, I am a sucker for kids. and when they were finishing up the school and Megan Samples was telling me about all of the things that were going on there, I have to say I was completely astonished. These kids lived in the streets at one point and knew poverty in a way no National Geographic spread could ever teach us, yet in the pictures (all of the pictures) they were smiling. They were smiling because they had a place to sleep, they had a new tee-shirt, they had some chalk…they were so thankful of these small things it made me thankful for them. So next week we will be boarding a plane and going to a place where I will know no familiarity to my home here and I couldn’t be happier. Until next time!

Chelsie

Countdown to Haiti is down to 8 more days!! I had the opportunity to attend last year’s trip in March with the SIFE team as well, and I’m so thankful and excited to have the chance to go back. I think I’m most excited about the trip to La Gonave, and especially to Latore, a village Father Roosevelt brought us to last year where a community of people lives in the most extreme poverty I’ve ever seen. Since then, SIFE has built the community a latrine and is now in the process of providing them with more advanced fishing tools (two of the things they told us they most desperately needed), and it will be so exciting to see the progress and improvement being made there.
Last year’s memories include 7am screaming goats and roosters, fish eyes, dusty pick up truck rides, a mardi gras fiesta, a donkey parking lot, kids running around everywhere, and so many new friends from La Gonave and Port au Prince. The sense of community, kindness, and joy that we found among the Haitian people are things that I took with me last year and never forgot, and I can’t wait to get back, reunite with some friends, and learn and experience so many more new things too.

Sok Pa Say!

Hey do Gnomes need to take Malaria meds?? I would throw caution to the wind…but Malaria is nothing to play around with! Chloroquine to start this Saturday… I’m prepping!

See  ya in Haiti!

Tim

Hi friends near and far. I hope this New Year; this 2012 brings all of us joy, and beautiful surprises. Also strength and wisdom to cope with the challenges that I am sure will be present in our journeys.

It was January 2008 when I went to Haiti for the first time. I stayed there for two and a half years. During that period of time I learned what one could learn in 18 months: to communicate in Creole, to understand a little bit about the complexities of this country’s history and politics. But most importantly, I learned to train my eye to observe more than to just simply see what lies beyond the superficial and what it may seem the obvious. Nothing is obvious, really. I guess this helped increase my respect and admiration for the courage and resilience of the Haitian People, that’s for sure!

I returned to the U.S. in 2010 to attend Blue Ridge Community College, always wondering when would I be able to return to the Pearl of the Antilles. Well, the answer is: one week from tomorrow, on January 13, 2013!  I regard this as a blessing. Not only I will be returning to Haiti, but also will be traveling with the Students in Free Enterprise Team from Blue Ridge Community. I will serve as an interpreter for the team during our stay in Haiti and of course I will participate in all the activities planned during the week.  I will share with you more details on what we will be doing and of course my observations

I am looking forward to get to learn more about my team and leaders, and of course to learn more about Haiti. I invite you to pray for us for an open mind and an open heart as we all, host and hostess, embark in this new journey.

A little insight in what our itinerary will look like: We’ll be arriving in Port the 13^th, we will meet with our hostess, Father Roosevelt. He will lead us to Miragoane, about 2hrs east Port-au-Prince, where we’ll take a boat to La Torre in La Gonave (the Island of the Island), the ride will be about…you know I don’t really know.

See what is happening here? We will be traveling by air, by boat and by land, in one day, how awesome is that!

Well, that is all for the moment. Please keep us, and everybody we get to interact with, in your thoughts and prayers.

Please visit again.

Pancha

Merry Christmas!!! I just finished opening presents and am overwhelmed with the the abundance of things we have here in America. With each new season comes closure to the old. After completing my first semester at Blue Ridge Community College, I was relieved and surprised at how fast time passed. I am currently pursuing a Business Administration at BRCC and hope to eventually major in Marketing. Honestly when I first joined the SIFE Haiti committee I did not think I would, in the end, journey to Haiti. Yet, as I began working towards this cause I realized this experience would change my life and others forever.

As our departure date grows closer, I am trying not to procrastinate and gather one thing each day for my suit case. On the 20th I received my needed shots/vaccines for the trip and Malaria medication. Yesterday I packed earplugs for ease of sleeping, bug spray to avoid the masses of mosquitoes and granola bars in case goat body parts don’t appeal to me.I still have a long way to go on my list but hopefully checking off several items a day will help the process.

For my first time blogging, I think I actually enjoy it! You will definitely be hearing from me again!

Until then,

Joni

As we prepare for our next adventure in Haiti we invite everyone to follow along and prepare yourself for “Haiti 2012″