Days 242 – 245 (6/29 – 7/02)

Friday – The Delmas 33 team was first out this morning, followed closely by the Arcahaie team on their way to the airport and home. The Furcey team is taking an extra day to do some sightseeing. This all took place in my absence, however. Jim Gulley and I left at 6:30 AM to join the rest of the EMH Housing Project Management Team for a tour of all 20 home sites in Mellier.

The sites are scattered so it took us all morning to see them all. Homes for Haitians is leading the race with their 10 homes about 70% complete. World Hand Alliance is only about 50% complete. We’re all a little frustrated with the length of time it is taking to get these homes finished. Homes for Haitians had a lot of problems with shipping and import fees on their Styrofoam forms in the beginning. There also was some ramp-up time in training the Haitian Workers in the new building technique. However, things seem to be moving along now and they should have all 10 homes done by the end of July. World Hand Alliance has been constrained by their ability to produce the light weight blocks. They only have enough forms to make 104 blocks a day and each house takes just over 100 blocks. They ordered 200 more forms, but they have been lost in shipping somewhere in Haiti. We’re hoping that they can get 5 homes done by the end of July.

Jim Gulley and Lauren James had to return to Petionville early to get to another meeting, so it  was just Spana and me on the return trip. A half mile up Hwy 2 from the Mellier turn-off is a National Police check point with 3 big speed bumps that requires traffic to come to almost a complete stop. There are always vendors there running out to sell snacks and drinks as you crawl over the speed bumps. As we went by an 18 wheeler in the right lane we saw a body underneath it that had obviously just been run over. Not a pretty sight. Spana was shaking his head and saying “Oh S**t – Oh S**t. I never knew that was a Creole expression.

Apparently American Airlines had some mechanical problems and the plane from Miami that was bringing our new team in early this evening was delayed and finally cancelled until tomorrow morning. Nothing is easy in Haiti.

Saturday – This morning we finally said goodbye to our Delmas 33 team. It was really nice have all of these young people with us all week. We also said goodbye to the Furcy team. We are now “teamless” for the next 3 days. The team activity is slowing down to a trickle because of the hot summer weather. We only have 8 new teams in July and 1 in August. It will pick up to the normal 15 to 20 teams in September.

I spent the rest of my day dealing with the issues that we uncovered at our site visit yesterday. Besides just routine finish work, there were several defects that needed to be addressed. The H4H houses are built using Styrofoam forms that are left in place after the concrete is poured inside of them. Then the Styrofoam is covered in nylon mesh and 2 coats of latex and fiberglass infused plaster. The end product is a very nice, strong finish. Apparently they ran out of mesh and the reinforced plaster and coated two houses with standard plaster. Predictable the plaster spider-webbed and cracked and both houses are going to have to be re-plastered with the proper material. Another issue is getting all wooden surfaces painted. Untreated wood does not do well in humid tropical climates.

Sunday – No teams to usher in or out today. Tom, Wendy, Danette and I went up to church in Thomasin. Tom was doing his monthly communion service. It’s always nice to go up the mountain from Port au Prince. The air quality is little better and it’s almost always a little cooler. After church we all came back to the Guest House and found our own quiet corners to read, write, surf the internet or nap – if you could stay cool enough.

Tonight seemed like a good night to go to Hangs, our favorite sports bar, for a Hangburger. So, we commandeered a van and Tom, Wendy, Mario, Danette, Sarah, Jim Gulley and I descended on Hangs for the best burgers in Haiti.

Monday – Still no teams today. I went on an inspection tour of several Haiti Home Assistance Program home sites this morning with Oge. They are making good progress and I will be able to process the next funding advance for them – as soon as the 2nd grant installment arrives from New York. It’s a complicated process. The grants are parceled out in installments and you have to meet certain milestones before you can ask for the next installment. The reporting paperwork that accompanies the request is almost as extensive as the initial grant request. It has to be reviewed and approved by several people in New York. Consequently, it can take several weeks to receive the funds and in a lot of cases work has stopped. I haven’t yet figured out a way to make the procedure more seamless.