Days 46 & 47 (10/30 -31)

Sunday – Today starts the second half of my Haiti assignment. In many ways it seems that I just got here, since there is still so much to be done. Yet when I think of my family and friends, it seems like I’ve been here forever.

We got the team off to Mellier by 8:30 and realized that there would be no teams until 4:30 in the afternoon when the next team from the states arrived. So – we grabbed our swimsuits and towels and Eric, our driver and headed to the Karib Hotel in Petionville. The Karib is a beautiful hotel and spa and is 5 star by anyone’s standard. We spent the day lounging in and around the beautiful pool and feeling our bodies recharge. You don’t realize the stress created by living and working 24/7 in the same place until you get away from it for a little while and feel that stress start to melt away. But – reality returned when Eric arrived at 3:30 to take us back to the Guest House in time for the arrival of the new team.

I fell into bed after dinner and slept like a baby. I guess too much relaxing wears you out.

Monday –We sent a team off to the airport this morning and have a new one arriving at noon. The Guest House has a revolving door. I got the bid back for a new cage and lumber rack to be installed on the Kia 4x4 that will be used by the contractors on the EMH housing project. Also, keeping with the theme of nothing is ever easy, I discovered that there is some front end work needed on the Kia before we can install the rack. But – I think we’re moving forward.

Scheduling to see the remaining staff home sites is problematic. Finding a time when the staff member, a driver, a vehicle and I are available is not always easy, particularly when nothing is 15 minutes away. They all take several hours or more. It generally takes two or three false starts before we ultimately succeed.

I still haven’t been able to find Haitian contractors to come and bid on work at the Guest House. As I’ve mentioned before, there are no yellow pages or website listings. Everything is word of mouth. Most of the referrals I’ve gotten so far are for small contractors who really aren’t equipped to handle the scope of work that will be required. I know that somewhere in this city of 3 million people the right company is out there. I’m still searching.

Finally some good news. Maxo, one of our drivers is also a qualified mechanic and he tore into the front end of the Kia 4x4. In just a couple of hours he rebuilt the front hubs and replaced the front tie rod. The most amazing part to me was that he was dressed in a nice sport shirt and pair of slacks and never got a spot of grease on them. I can’t change a light bulb without having to change my clothes. I love these guys.