Days 54 & 55 (11/07 – 08)

Monday – We had 2 teams going out to different sites at the same time this morning. That’s 20 people plus staff loading suitcases, tools, equipment, food and water, etc., into, in this case, 5 vehicles. It was a bit of a circus and our dogs, Blackie and Yorkie, were a big help. However, we were able to get everybody loaded up and on their way.

I know I’ve mentioned before how difficult it is to get a direct answer from a Haitian. I think it stems from a cultural issue of not wanting to commit and not wanting to offend. In fact if you do get a direct answer to a question, chances are he didn’t understand the question. Case in point – this morning Oge came into the office and I asked him – “Oge, will the lumber rack for the Kia be finished this week?” He answered – “Yes … (pause, drum roll) ... Almost”. I love these guys!

I spent the rest of my day putting the final touches on my presentation to the Joint Leadership Committee. The meeting is scheduled for next Monday and I need to email a brief to everyone before the meeting.

Tuesday – Today was Carter Work Project day. Every year Habitat for Humanity puts on a week-long build somewhere in world where sometimes several thousand volunteers come and build several hundred houses in a week. The location for 2011 is Haiti. Because of the limited infrastructure in Haiti, they limited the volunteers to 400 plus 100 Habitat staff. Since UMCOR has partnered with Habitat on several projects in Haiti, they invited us to participate for a day.

Our team consisted of Elizabeth Petheo, Head of Mission UMCOR – Haiti; Lauren James, UMCOR – EMH Liason; Eddison , UMCOR Assistant Shelter Coordinator; and John, Sarah and I from UMVIM. We left Petionville at 6:00 AM and arrived in Leogane, about 25 miles west, at 8:00. The build site is on a 38+ acre site, donated by the Mayor of Leogane. The master plan for the site is for 500 houses. The goal for the Carter Work Project week is to complete 150 houses.

The building design is a kind of hybrid. The bottom half is typical Haitian –slab floor with masonry walls. The top half is typical Habitat transitional shelter – wood frame, plywood siding and metal roof. They are about 200 sq. ft. in size (aprox. 12’ x 16’ ) with just 1 room and  no electricity or plumbing. There are communal latrines and water sources located through-out the compound.

The slabs and masonry ½ walls were all completed prior to the volunteers’ arrival. So the volunteer’s task is to complete the wood frame top ½ ,  metal roof and install windows and doors. Each team – 8 to 10 people – is supposed to complete 2 houses.

We were assigned to a new site and by lunch time had the walls and a couple of the roof trusses up. With 500+ people, the lunch line was pretty long but moved along quickly. Lunch consisted of a sandwich, juice and a granola bar. Just as we finished lunch, Haiti President Martelly and Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter came strolling by surrounded by their entourage. We grabbed our cameras and were able to get a few pictures. They entered the VIP tent and sat down for lunch with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood and several dozen other unrecognizable VIPs. A few more photos and back to work. We got the remaining trusses up, cross braces in and the purlins set and then discovered that we didn’t have any hurricane clips. I went to the supply container and was told that they had run out of clips. So, we were done for the day. We couldn’t install the metal roof without the clips in place. The Habitat people were impressed with the amount of work that we had gotten done and asked if we could come back. John and I may go back Thursday or Friday if we can get away. All in all, it was a hot, hard days’ work, but at the same time, very interesting and fun.