Day 16 (9/30)

Friday – Today was such an event filled day that I thought it deserved a page all by its’ self. Tom, John and I left the Guest House at 7:30 with our Driver/Interpreter Oge for points west. Traveling in Haiti is an endless series of near misses punctuated with a lot of honking. Of course honking in Haiti has a different meaning than honking in the U.S. In the U.S. it generally means “Get out of my way – you idiot.” In Haiti it means “Warning – Warning – I’m about to do something really stupid.” Over time you gradually get used to it. You graduate from white knuckled terror to an occasional raised eyebrow. And no self-respecting Haitian would be caught dead wearing a seat belt. (Mull that one over).

Despite the trials and tribulations of travel, we managed to get all the way out to D’Olivier about 2 ½ hours and 80 or 90 km. The church is in a pretty remote location– about a mile of dirt road off of the main road. However, when we got there, there were 40 or 50 people – mostly mothers with children – there to see the doctor who holds a clinic every Friday. Apparently so many people come to this church that they are going to have to expand. We will probably start the expansion within the next month or two.

We then came back about 10 km to Fond Douxe. When you think of the term “the middle of nowhere” you’ve aptly described Fond Douxe. The road is more goat trail than road. In the middle of this tropical forest stands a little church with absolutely nothing around it. We pull up in the truck and within 2 minutes there are 20 kids and a dozen adults standing around. I have no idea where they came from. The little church is about 85% completed and replaces one that was leveled in the earthquake. It still amazes me to see so much damage this far from the epicenter of the earthquake.

The next stop on the way back was in Petit Goave where we are building a library next to the church. Again I was pleased at the definite upgrade in the quality of construction but still have some issues with the stem walls and a couple of other items. I am going to have to have another meeting with Roger LaPlanche the head EMH engineer to find out more about his standards and some of the Haitian technics.

Then it was back to Carre Four – the worst of the worst – to look at an addition to the Guest House there. Then to Thor to see how the repairs to that church were coming along and talk about adding a clinic. The final stop was at Rev. Jacob Presume’s house. He is the Superintendent for the Carre Four District and his house was substantially damaged. The repairs are about 90% completed and look very nice. It was fun to watch a couple of Haitian woodworkers doing cabinet and trim work with just hand tools - skills you won’t find in the states anymore. Seven project sites in one day – Whew!

Days 14 & 15 (9/28-29)

Wednesday – We had a meeting this morning with representatives of the EMH (Haitian Methodist Church), community leaders from Carre Four and Mellier, World Hand Alliance (contractor), engineers and UMVIM/UMCOR. The purpose was to finalize the contract for the 40 house pilot project. I think that we have everything ironed out – finally. Now it just needs to be translated into French and signed by all the parties.

After the pilot project meeting I had my meeting with James Lazarre from Thomas. He reported that several homes were destroyed, animals killed and personal belongings lost in the flood. The community has come to the aid of the victims and everything is under control at this time. I have asked him to give me a detailed list of damages and will make a site visit on Monday to determine if there is a need for UMVIM/UMCOR assistance in the recovery.

Tonight I’m going to watch a DVD of “True Grit” – the original with John Wayne. But, what’s a movie without popcorn?

Thursday – Week 3 begins – time flies when you’re having fun. “True Grit” was great last night. There is and always will be only one John Wayne.

 I spent most of my time today doing online research. I’m trying to find sources for building materials. I’d like, for many reasons, to procure as much material in-country as possible. It eliminates the headaches of packaging, shipping, customs, port fees, delays, bribes, etc., etc. and helps stimulate the economy. But, it’s not an easy task in a country that has no natural resources and little or no manufacturing. And, obviously, not all Haitian suppliers maintain websites. With upwards of 60 houses to build and a major renovation of the Guest House complex, we’re looking at a significant amount of material. Oh well, that’s why I’m getting the big bucks. J

Tomorrow is going to be a travel day. I’ll be visiting 4 or 5 sites between Port au Prince and Mellier. It will be nice to get out of the office and see some of the country. Hopefully, I’ll have some more pictures to post.

Days 12 & 13 (9/26 -27)

Monday – Just another day in paradise. We had 1 team leave for the airport at 5:30 AM and 1 team return from Mellier at about 10:30. We will get the Mellier team to the airport at about 8:00 AM tomorrow and then have about 8 days without any teams - bit of a breather for the staff. Sarah leaves for a week’s vacation on Wednesday.

I spoke too soon about the breather. We just got word that there was some serious flooding this afternoon in Thomas (where my team is going in a couple of weeks). 17 families lost all of their belongings. No one was hurt – Thank God. These tropical thunderstorms that blow thru here on a daily basis are generally short lived but can produce torrential rains. When there is virtually no vegetation on the hillsides, flash flooding and mudslides are pretty common occurrences. I have a meeting in the morning with the staff interpreters and then I’m off to Thomas to assess the damages. I’m sure these families will need some assistance. If it looks like they’re living in a flood plain, we may have to consider raising their houses off of the ground.

Tuesday – We received another call this morning from Thomas and although there apparently was some serious damage from the flooding, it does not require emergency response. James Lazarre, the young man managing the Hot Lunch Program at the school in Thomas, is coming to Petionville tomorrow to meet with me. I hope to get more information about the situation in Thomas from him.

The Mellier team left for the airport without incidence this morning and we are officially teamless until Oct. 4^th. I hope to use the lull to get in some site visits. I’ll be traveling to some sites west of PAP on Friday and north (including Thomas) on Monday.

Day 10 & 11 (9/24 – 25)

Saturday – Well, I finally finished all of the staff interviews today. It’s amazing, most of these people who are fortunate enough to have a rental house or a damaged but livable house, not only have a spouse and 2 or 3 kids but also 5 or 6 additional relatives living with them – many of them orphaned or widowed. Not bad for 2 bedrooms and a ½ bath. I’ll start site visits and evaluations next week.  - Yikes!!! - Just had a bolt of lightning land in our back yard! Thought the thunder would blow out the windows. Welcome to the tropics. Where was I? Oh yeah. Site visits. Most of the sites are in a 20 or 30 mile radius around Petionville. However, a couple of them are remote. One is clear up in St. Marcs – about 120 km northwest. That will be a day trip and I’ll get to make a stop in Thomas, where my October team from Sacramento will be working. I haven’t been up there since February and am anxious to see how much progress has been made and what my team will be working on. It will also allow me to have all the necessary materials on site when they arrive.

I’m looking forward to another Haitian church service tomorrow. It makes me smile to think about it.

Sunday – I’m still smiling. It’s inspiring to sit in church, surrounded by people who so enthusiastically and unashamedly demonstrate their faith. Their singing takes the roof right off of the sanctuary. A side note to my musician friends – the Haitians don’t seem to use the usual 4-1 cadence for Amen. They use 7-1. It takes a little getting used to. I have asked if it would be permissible to take some video during service and have been told it’s OK. So – I will try to do that next week. However, I still haven’t figured out how to get it uploaded to my website. But, I’m working on it..

After church Tom, John, Sarah (my ex-patriot office mates) and I grabbed a driver and went out  for pizza- a little slice of home. Then it was back to work. We had a team returning from La Tremblay. After we got the team settled, Sarah took me shopping. We went to a used clothing – I’m trying to think of a descriptive noun to adequately describe this place and coming up with a blank – mall. Apparently, after the earthquake, used clothing flowed into Haiti by the boatload. Unfortunately there was no system in place to distribute the clothes – they sat in containers in the port for over a year. Finally, in an effort to make room they gave these clothes in bulk to individuals to sell. This “store” is essentially a vacant lot that has been covered in tin and tarps and is a rabbit warren of individual racks of clothing set up in a co-op fashion. It’s a bizarre bazar. I ended up buying a pretty nice shirt for 150 gourde – about $3.75. All in all it was a very relaxing day.

Day 8 & 9 (9/22 -23)

Thursday – I can’t believe that today starts my 2^nd week in Haiti. The days, although 12 to 14 hours long, seem to fly by. And although there is a lot of work to do, I don’t feel the stress and pressure that I probably would at home. Things just move at a different pace here.

Tom, the VIM Coordinator in Haiti, returned from his week vacation at home. We are once again fully staffed – at least for a couple of weeks until Sarah leaves on her vacation. So – I won’t have to help as much with the teams coming and going.

Once again the plans I made yesterday didn’t materialize today. The remainder of the interviews that I wanted to do didn’t happen. Trying to get people together down here is sometimes like herding chickens – which, by the way, are running wild all over the compound. (I’d like to find that rooster that sits underneath my window and starts crowing at 4:30 every morning).I’ll try again tomorrow. I did, however, get my interviews from yesterday typed up and prioritized and worked on a couple of floor plan ideas for the Guest House renovation. Not a bad day.

Friday – The tropical storm that blew through last night was short lived (a couple of hours) but spectacular - lots of thunder and lightning and heavy rain. I loved it, but felt sorry for the thousands still living under tarps and tents. Many of them have to stand up all night because they can’t lay down with the water running through their shelters. Much work yet to do.

I got most of my remaining interviews done today. 2 more to do tomorrow and I’ll be done. I’ll start the site visits and evaluations next week. I should have more pictures to share then. I’m fortunate to have a truck and a driver/interpreter to take me wherever I need to go. I would not even attempt to drive down here. It’s chaotic.

Day 6 & 7

Days 6 & 7 (9/20 & 21)

Tuesday was supposed to be the day I started interviews (postponed from Monday) however I got sidetracked again. There is a construction site in La Tremblay (about 20 km north of PAP) that I’ve wanted to see and we had a truck going out to deliver some supplies, so I hitched a ride. They (UMVIM teams and Haitian laborers) are building a small church. I was pleased to see that it was being built to our new post Forum standards and there was an adequate footing, vertical and horizontal rebar and better quality concrete. I did a short, unobserved victory dance.

Although the roads and traffic were terrible, I enjoyed the trip. When I first came to Haiti in February there was so much to see it was almost overwhelming – like looking through a wide angle lens – too much information. Now I’m able to narrow my focus and start to see more detail – individuals instead of crowds - translate signs and business names – my favorite was a combination funeral home and souvenir shop.  I also liked God is Great Auto Parts and Jesus Saves Paint Store – only in Haiti. So – even though I didn’t accomplish my stated goal, it was a rewarding day.

Wednesday, believe it or not, I actually started the interview process. Sarah (the UMVIM Team Coordinator), Oge (pronounced O.J. – one of our driver/interpreters) and I interviewed 17 of the Guest House staff. Sarah is assessing school scholarship needs for their children and I’m working on housing needs. It was very interesting and very moving. Some of the stories would break your heart. We have another 10 or 12 to do tomorrow.

We had a medical emergency this morning. One of the members of a team from Ohio staying at the Guest House was suffering from chest pains. One of our staff members and a nurse practitioner from the Ohio team took him to the hospital and with the doctors approval put him on a commercial flight home.

The highlight of the day came right after breakfast. I returned to my room and heard some singing coming from the school yard about 50 yards away. I saw 60 or 80 kids having what appeared to be a choir practice and had to capture it. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to get a video on my blog. If and when I do (where are all of my computer techy friends when I need them?) I'll share it with you. It's precious.

By the way the main dish for supper tonight was deep fried goat – not bad.

Days 4 & 5 (9/18 – 9/19)

We had 2 UMVIM teams arrive Saturday – one from Kansas and one from Ohio – and sent one on their way to Petit Goave early Sunday morning. The other team will be staying at the Guest House and working at a local school and church. We then had a team return from their job site in Hinche and home Monday. Monday a team returned from Mellier and another team arrived from Louisiana. So, Monday night we had 3 teams staying at the Guest House. As you can imagine it gets rather hectic at times. And although it’s not part of my job, they consider me part of the staff and have lots of questions and/or experiences to share. It’s fun to share in their excitement.

Even with people coming and going, Sunday was a relaxing day. I got up and had breakfast with the team that was going to Petit Goave. Then John Alcorn, the UMVIM Financial Coordinator in Haiti and I walked across the complex to the Methodist church on campus for the service. There were about 350 people in church, about ½ of them children and of course, the service was all in Haitian Creole. Despite the language barrier, it was a joyful experience to share this with people who are so open and exuberant in their faith. I worked for a few hours after church and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening visiting with the team members.

Monday was a much busier day with 3 teams on site. Because of the increased work load on the staff, I was unable to start the interview process with the potential home owners. But, what the heck, we’re on Haitian time. I’ll do it tomorrow. I did discover a new taste treat. Kanips (sp?) – A walnut sized, green berry that grows on a tree in front of the Guest House. One of the Haitians climbed high up into the tree and was breaking off bunches of them and tossing them down. Everyone seemed to be excited about them so I had to try one. You break the soft shell with your teeth and suck the juice out, then put the round pit in your mouth and eat the soft pulp from around it. It has a sweet and sour taste – kind of like a sour ball candy. (See Slideshow 3}

A friend sent me a prayer that will probably be my mantra in Haiti “Lord keep Your arm on my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.”

Days 2 & 3

Friday and Saturday have sort blended together. My routine (if you can call 3 days a routine) is: Up before 6:00 AM (Roosters start crowing around 4:00); Breakfast at 7:00; in the office by  8:00; PBJ sandwich at noon; work until 6:00; Dinner; back in the office and work until 9:00 PM; head to my room, have a cold shower and read ‘till about 10:00; Lights Out,  zzzzzzz.

Besides being the Project Coordinator for the Haiti Home Assistance Program, I am also the Project Coordinator for the Guest House Renovation. The Guest House complex consists of 3 buildings: The Guest House where all of the incoming and outgoing UMVIM teams are housed and fed on their first and last days in Haiti and where my office is located; The Manse where overflow team members and some permanent staff stay; and The Swiss House where most of the permanent UMVIM and UMCOR staff stay. All 3 buildings, although undamaged in the earthquake are over 50 years old and show every year. The electrical and plumbing systems are a disaster. They have sporadic municipal electricity, 2 generators with batteries and invertors and a few solar panels. Over the years, rather than fix a problem, they have spliced in another wire around it. So – I’m tasked with the job of surveying all 3 buildings and related systems; recommending repairs, replacements or upgrades; assigning costs; and applying for an UMCOR grant for the entire project. In my spare time I will be working with about 35 Haitian homeowners in helping them rebuild their houses. Other than that, I have absolutely nothing to do.

However, the pace is much slower and relaxed here and the people are wonderful. Every day has been rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to have dinner with a couple of teams returning from their job sites scattered around Haiti and hear their stories. They all agree that it was a life changing experience for them. So many people doing good things.

Day 1

Arrived at PAP (Port au Prince) at 7:20 this morning after an all-nighter via LAX and MIA. The     1 ¼ hr. ride to Petionville through the back streets of Port au Prince gave me the impression that things are improving. They seem to be clearing some of the rubble from the streets (don’t know where they’re putting it) and the people are cleaning up more of the garbage and at least putting it in bigger piles.

My room is the same one that I stayed in in April and although small will serve me quite well. I had no problem filling up the little dresser. I share an office with the 1 UMCOR, 3 UMVIM and several Haitian full time staff members. The good news is that we have the only A/C unit at the Guest House complex.

I’ve already started to work. I attended a meeting with Reverend Gessner Paul, the President of EMH (Haiti Methodist Church) and the Joint LeadershipTeam where I was introduced and my role discussed. It looks like it will be a very busy 3 months.

I will be posting pictures on the SLIDESHOW. Double click on the image if you want a larger view.

Prolog

Starting September 15^th I will be working in Haiti for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) as the Project Coordinator for the Haiti Home Assistance Program and the Guest House Renovation project. I will be headquartered in Petionville at the Methodist Guest House campus and will be working in-country for the next 3 months. This will be my 3^rd time in Haiti this year.

My two previous trips to Haiti have changed my life in many ways and I’m sure this experience will also have a profound effect. I’m both excited and apprehensive- Excited about the new adventure, the challenge of being involved in the next phase of Haiti’s recovery and working with people that have so much hope and courage - Apprehensive about the unknown obstacles that I’ll face and being away from friends and family for an extended time.

This blog will be one way that I hope to keep in touch with friends and family and I will be posting updates and pictures on a regular basis. Your donations, thoughts and prayers are the fuel that will keep my engine running on this mission and I’m truly grateful.

Yours in mission,

Bill