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.