Haiti, part deux: outside our work site

My trip to Haiti was different in many ways from other trips I've taken-not so much having to do with the volunteering, but with the fact that there wasn't a lot of "wandering around" to be done-we worked long days, it got dark early (6:30 or 7)-and the sad reality is that many of the places I would normally explore are simply not safe. So many of the images that I have from outside our site were taken from a moving car-which definitely gives an idea of what I saw-but what I saw was limited. Other than my short (half-mile?) walk to visit the orphanage, I saw what one sees traveling between Kenscoff and Port-au-Prince airport, and between the airport and the beach we visited on Sunday.

As we drove through the city we passed several tent cities (still from the earthquake), as well as a couple parks which until fairly recently had also housed tent cities. I was told that Port-au-Prince (the city) was suited for 500,000 people-and there are currently about 5 million living there. I saw many people selling on the sides of the roads-clothing, food to cook, "fast food" to take and eat. We also passed people selling individual packets (doses) of over-the-counter meds-aspirin, cold meds, etc. I just finished reading a novel set in Ethiopia that mentioned the same thing-it hadn't occurred to me until reading it that this was indicative of the ability to buy (if one is lucky) only the meds that are needed. It is so easy to take for granted the ability to buy a bottle of pain-reliever, rather than 2 tablets.

On the day I left, we had to transport a couple (from another charitable organization based in the states) from their hotel to the airport. This was a very strong reminder to me that, as in most countries, there are different levels of living. The hotel was very upscale-made me think of being in an island inside of the city-one could easily go in and forget for a time the conditions elsewhere in the city. And, on the Sunday I was in Haiti, we had our day off and went to a private beach for the day. I am not complaining about either of these-they are simply part of the reality of where I was, and as such I am grateful to have seen/experienced them, as it gave me a more complete picture than I might have otherwise had.

One of the great things about going to the beach was that I was able to see some of the countryside out of the city of Port-au-Prince. Haiti is a beautiful country-green, mountains, rolling hills, gorgeous water. In some ways it reminded me (in looks) of other places I've visited (South Africa's eastern cape and Ireland come to mind!).

If you're interested in seeing some of the things I saw, you can see them here. Unfortunately, I don't see a return trip to explore Haiti in my future-as much as I would love to have been able to explore more of it, especially getting further away from Port-au-Prince. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be there once, and hope and pray that for this poorest of countries, the future will be more hopeful than the past.

A (work)day in Haiti

Best laid plans and all that...I guess the good news is that I was so busy in Haiti that posting was not really practical. So...herewith the posts I might have done had I time...

The project I worked on was in Kenscoff, Haiti-in the mountains about 15 km sw of Port-au-Prince-which had the benefit of being much less humid and also cooler at night-hooray!! Our elevation was about 5000', which gave me something to blame tiredness on besides age. Too bad I wasn't signed up for any races when I returned, I'm sure I would have done much better than usual.

The project was to build a clinic/vocational center on the grounds of a new orphanage. I volunteered with Lake Union Crew Outreach Foundation (in Seattle), and they partnered with Chances for Children, based in Phoenix. The project ran for 12 weeks, I volunteered for week 7. The week I was there we had 6 volunteers, all women. It turned out that the jobs to be done that week mostly involved prepping for and pouring concrete. I'm pretty sure I'm good on that job for awhile now...

We stayed in the "new" orphanage, still being finished inside. Our kitchen was a good BBQ with side burner, we did have a fridge to keep food cool. Although we were on "city power", it routinely went out, so we also had a generator, although it couldn't pump water, so if the city power was out, there was no inside running water-which happened for 4 of the 7 days I was there! Fortunately we could still get water from the tap outside the house, so we could boil it for cooking or washing.  My last "sponge bath" I imagine was appreciated by  the people next to me on the plane back to NYC !

Our work days started at 6:30, with a short break for "liquids and salt" about 10, then lunch about 1. We usually worked until about 5:30, although I know one day after I left went closer to 6:30 or 7. After dinner we visited or played  games, but bed usually beckoned by 9:30 or 10.

Speaking of bed...Thursday night two of the volunteers discovered that the little critters that we had occasionally observed in the house had invaded their room-and were getting entirely too friendly! So the next day saw several well-baited traps...and after close to a week, I'm pretty sure we'd at the least encouraged our four-footed furry friends to look elsewhere for their food. The joys of working in the countryside...although we were grateful that these were the small variety of rodents, and not their larger cousins!

Sunday was our day off, so we hired a van and driver and headed for a private beach for r&r. Let's just say the ride was not for the faint of heart-and I was for once grateful to be in the back seat without a good view to what was ahead. In my trips to and from the airport, as well as the trip to and from the beach (which was outside Port-au-Prince), I saw exactly ONE traffic light. Other than that, I guess you just go for it. Coming around mountain curves was fun-honk to let the people coming the other way that you're on your way down. But...the beach was nice and provided a much needed break. As much as I would usually rather explore, that really wasn't an option here, and we definitely needed some down-time after 8-10 hour days.

Photos are from the project itself are  here if you haven't already seen them. The next post will have info about Haiti outside of our work site.

Peace!
Ro

A New Adventure...

After months of waiting-and possibly too few days thinking about packing-I'm finally at the airport, ready to start the first leg of my journey to Kenscoff, Haiti. I'll be doing construction work-no idea what but I'm good at following directions..."haul this wheelbarrow full of cement over there...dig this trench..." I'm fairly sure I will finish each day exhausted and possibly a bit sore so as to remind me that perhaps I haven't been doing quite as much working out as I should. I've been warned to be careful and stay safe, and I've even been cautioned about falling in love with the children I'm working for and with-and wanting to bring them home. I think I'm good on all these counts-but I'll find out soon enough. I'm due in to Port-au-Prince about 5 in the afternoon-and work starts Thursday morning at 6. whee!!

I have my camera (big surprise, right?) although I don't know how often I'll be able to post from there, I'll for sure put some up when I get back to the US of A. Until then, au revoir!

on parenting

Over the past many years (my children are adults) I have often been struck by the myriad challenges of parenting-all the lessons you teach (and hope are learned), the letting go as they step into each successive age, the reminders that this is still the circle of life and that though it may appear different in the details, you are dealing with most of the same things your ancestors did. This morning I was reminded of one that I think is never outgrown-and that is having to watch your child, grown or not, suffer a hurt.

While reading the paper I came across an obituary for a young man (I say young because he was only 43, which depending on your perspective may seem "old"-but I suspect young for anyone reading that particular page of the paper. This man had employed my son for a time, and in that brief period demonstrated a joy for life and a caring for others that clearly extended well beyond his family. It is by far not the first time my son in his 30+ years has been touched by the death of those near him, which is a sad statement in itself but one that I realize is shared in a much larger way by many others. It is often a goal to protect our children from this reality-but sometimes life (or death) takes that option away from us, and that door, once opened, cannot be closed-at least for me.

As a parent raising children, I often felt that one of the hardest things was dealing with the hurts that couldn't be kissed away: the exclusion to the birthday party or outing, the loss for whatever reason of a good friend. I don't think that ever stops-no one wants to see a loved one hurting, whether it's a child or not. The challenge became to do what I could to help develop the skills that would work to deal with hurts-and here's the challenge-those skills are different for each person. My life philosophy, colored as it will be by my personal experiences, will put me on a unique path, as will anyone else's. I realized this morning (again) that the real challenge may be in trusting that as adults, my children have likely developed those skills-and once again I need to step back and trust. Trust that those skills will be there, and that if I truly believe that there is a good to be found in everything (not that I am always successful in finding it!), then the same is true for my children.

So I'm off on my run, to work on trust and faith!

RIP Sean, and peace to your family

Paris, encore

Bonjour!

(I started this three weeks ago...I'm giving up and finishing it tonight-no matter what!!)

To continue my wonderful winter of travel-to really warm and really cold places...Skip and I took advantage of a great offer and spent Valentine's weekend in Paris-yes, as in, three nights sleeping-in the Holiday Inn Montparnasse! Now, before anyone thinks I've really lost it-this was an offer from an educational tour company, and as they pointed out-there are rather limited options when you're trying to put up 45 people in the center of Paris! 

After our flight from Seattle via Chicago we arrived Friday morning to snow on the ground-again! Lucky for us, it didn't stick around, in fact, Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous days with blue sky, although with the wind I'm guessing it was below freezing. After checking in and a short rest, we explored the area around our hotel-and found (surprise, surprise) a creperie nearby, where we treated ourselves to an afternoon snack of sugar crepes...mmmmm yummy!

Saturday morning we had a bus tour of some Paris highlights, followed by a guided tour of the Opera Garnier-what a showplace! to stop and imagine all the drama that has taken place there-on and off-stage-was amazing. 

Afterwards Skip and I explored the "Passages"-small alleyways filled with intriguing shops and stalls-great fun, even in the cold. Followed it up with a warm onion soup lunch. We enjoyed seeing the Scottish fans there for the Six Nations Rugby games-and yes, even in the bitter cold they were wearing their kilts! The rest of the afternoon included wandering along the banks of the Seine and seeing the variety of boats, and finding the Musee d'Armee which Skip was interested in visiting-but too late for a Saturday visit. On the way back to our hotel we did stop in the garden of the Rodin museum-wow, is it something to actually stand and see a statue like "The Thinker" in person! The garden is filled with some of Rodin's works and was a delight, even in the cold. 

Our Valentine's dinner was at a creperie near our hotel-very cozy and very delicious-especially dessert!! mmm

Sunday found me at a meeting but Skip was able to visit the army museum and see the dioramas that he'd heard about-very enjoyable. After I finished my meeting and visited an outdoor market, we met up to explore the Canal St. Martin. 

The canal and locks date from Napoleonic times, and it is possible to take a boat from a few places in Paris and travel up the canals-unfortunately we missed the boat, as the saying goes. But the canal is lovely to walk along-we had lots of company since it was a sunny, albeit cold, Sunday. 

Sunday evening we were treated to dinner at Le Train Bleu, a very nice restaurant overlooking the Gare de Lyon. Wonderful food, wine-and fun watching the traffic in the station. 

We left Paris Monday morning for our return home, via Chicago. It was a great trip-and short enough that I didn't really feel any jet lag-yay!! A great introduction to Europe for Skip as well.

Noqhekwane village (Poenskop on maps)

This village is located near the Ubimvibu River, across it from Port St. Johns. A friend of my guide’s, who lives here, was our guide for the visit (this is how he earns his living). The village is situated in the hills (looking very much like the glens of Ireland!!) and has a population of about 4000-although you would never know that because they are spread out over such a large area-some homes are accessible only by foot.

 

Many homes here are the traditional rondavel style, made with dried-clay bricks and thatched roofs. The home where we parked the car was putting up a new rondavel, a woman was in the yard bundling grasses for the thatched roof. These are one-room homes, sometimes with dirt floors that are polished using cow dung, while others have cement floors. Sleeping might be on a bed, although more often a grass mat that is rolled up against a wall during the day. The “kitchen” would comprise some shelves-perhaps a paraffin stove, although cooking could also be done outside on an open fire.

 

While many homes have water tanks to catch rain water, going to the river to collect water if there is no communal tap is also common-indoor plumbing is NOT available here. Some farming is done both to raise food for eating as well as to sell. (The roadside stand selling steamed ears of corn is fairly common in the area). In villages like these, the simple jobs of providing water and food can take up the day’s work.

 

As we arrived, the primary school had let out-our first sign was the “taxi” full (and I mean crammed!) of children being taken home-this would be people who could find the money to pay for the service. We also encountered a group of children (likely ages 6-9) walking home-carrying their brightly colored plastic chairs, which they bring to and from school each day. The primary school is in the part of the village we visited-but because of the size and spread of the village, some children may need to walk as much as 1-2 hours each way to attend school-the state which provides the education only up to age 13 does not provide transportation. Parents are expected to purchase uniforms, books, and any other necessities for school.

 

While in the village we visited with an “Herbal Doctor”-a traditional healer who uses herbs to cure your ills. This is considered a calling-the women (or men) are called in their dreams, they will then attend a school for several months until they have learned and demonstrated their abilities. After explaining the process of being called and educated, she took us to the rondavel where she does her consultations and keeps her herbs and the gowns she wears when she is working. One consults the doctor, but does not present a list of symptoms-the doctor is expected to visit with you, make a diagnosis and treat you appropriately.

 

After walking through the village, we drove down to the nearby beach on the (Indian) ocean. As we left the car and walked down toward the beach we encountered a group of village boys heading for an afternoon at the beach with their “cars”-wheeled things on a stick. These cars ranged from the single rubber wheel to the most elaborate wire mesh jeep and trailer. I watched the boys running near the water’s edge with these, then later saw them swimming in a sheltered cove. The boys were probably about 10 years old and were definitely having a great time.

 

On our way back to the main road, we saw a group of older (probably high school age) students walking across the hills on their way home from school. They had would have walked a good two hours each way-and recall that they live in the hills! Fortunately there are groups and individuals who are working to set up bicycle projects and other initiatives to make it easier for the kids to get to and from school-thus encouraging them to stay and further their education. Unfortunately, for many the value of education is lost in the efforts to get there and lack of support at home. One can only hope that this will improve in the future. Tourism is the primary income generator in this area (most people work in one of the resorts or guesthouses that dot the area around Port St. John’s). There are volunteer projects working to support education, especially at the primary level-much like the Head Start initiatives here in the states.

 

It was a good visit-I felt privileged to have a peek into another way of life. 

Au Revoir, Paris

Tonight is my last night in Paris before leaving tomorrow am to fly home. Since I love crepes, and was not up to a full dinner, I decided I'd like to have crepes for dinner tonight-which you might think would be easy here but apparently not too easy where I'm staying (and not wanting to walk two miles again-in the dark). However...I did manage to stumble upon a creperie a few blocks away. My dinner was a marvelous "crepe des Vosges"-buckwheat crepe filled with goat cheese, drizzled with light pesto and a tomato coulis-mmm. Followed by dessert-beurre, sucre et l'orange. I am so in heaven-should tide me over for a few weeks. My very favorite thing about eating in France is that the portions are reasonable-no matter what I've had, I've never walked away feeling "stuffed". I'll get off my soapbox now...

Since my original plans to post or at least to write nightly sort of fell by the wayside-I'd like to blame not having internet, but I think it had more to do with being so busy working, or seeing new places and people-anyway, I have lots more I'd like to share so will probably continue writing about my trip, even though it will be from the comfort of home. So although I'll be home tomorrow night, stay tuned for further adventures-or at least reflections on same.

au revoir,

Ro