I spent a wonderful 7 weeks at home with friends and family over the holidays and although I spent time on the computer dealing with Haiti issues almost daily, I do feel the pull of that former “Pearl of the Caribbean”. When I boarded the plane in Sacramento on the 9^th of January I had the same feeling of sadness of leaving loved ones behind that I always feel. However, it was tempered with the knowledge that I would be returning in a couple of weeks.

Days 352 – 358

01/10/13 – 01/16

 

Thursday 01/10 – After an all-night flight to Miami I touched down in Port-au-Prince about 9:30 in the morning. The flight from Miami skirts Cuba and comes in over the Ilse de Tortuge (home of Blackbeard and other assorted pirates); over Cap Haitian on Haiti’s north coast; down the western side of the island to Port-au Prince. Today’s flight circled several times over the Bay of Port-au-Prince, between PAP and the Isle de La Gonave. This was a first for me since we usually have a straight in approach. However, it was a beautiful morning and it gave me an opportunity to enjoy some of the beauty of Haiti from my window seat. I reflected on how my feelings have changed in making this flight. I no longer have that sense of excitement of entering a foreign country. Haiti is no longer foreign to me. It has become in many ways my 2^nd home. I have many wonderful friends here and a meaningful, rewarding job to do. Life is good.

With only my backpack and a small carry-on, I was able to beat the crowd through Immigration and Customs and hooked up with Spana in the parking lot right away. However, there my luck ended. Traffic was a bear and although Spana knows every short cut known to man, it still took over an hour to travel the 8 miles to the Guest House in Petionville. Welcome back to Haiti.

Tom and I spent most of the afternoon going through all of the projects in preparation for the EMH Site Review Committee (soon to become the EMH Construction and Property Committee) meeting tomorrow morning. Lots of teams scheduled for January, February and March.

 

Friday 01/11 –Friday 01/11 – One thing hasn’t changed in the 7 weeks I’ve been gone. The meetings are the same. The same people discussing the same issues over and over. Immediate things that out of a sense of urgency have to be decided seem to get cleared (sometimes by default) but anything that needs any planning or action by the EMH gets pushed to the next meeting. We keep kicking the can down the road. I handed out the new EMH Construction and Property Committee outline and org chart (for the 3^rd time since October) and the only thing that I could get consensus from the EMH on was the name change. I think the full change will be accepted, but it’s a painfully slow process.

 Today was catch-up day. A day to catch up with the status of all my projects and a day for my body to catch up with 16 hours of travel and a 3 hour time zone change. It was also a day to get acquainted with our new Team Coordinator, Sarah Ann Marsalis-Luginbill. Danette’s contract ended in December and she is back on a 2 week extension to help Sarah (I’m going to have to call her Sarah 2) transition into her position. Sarah is from Shreeveport, Louisianna where she and her husband are UMC youth ministers. She has extensive team leader experience including 6 missions to Haiti. She is a vivacious southern gal and very organized. She’s going to be a great addition to our HRP team.

 

Saturday 01/12 – Today is the 3^rd Anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake. It’s a national holiday and a rather quiet day. We have been invited to attend an observance this afternoon at the Hotel Montana. The Hotel Montana collapsed during the earthquake trapping 3 UMCOR officials under the rubble for more than 55 hours. Two died from their injuries, Sam Dixon and Clint Rabb, and one survived, Jim Gulley. Jim will be one of the speakers at the ceremony.

The hotel is slowly being rebuilt on the same beautiful site on the mountainside in Petionville. It is owned by 2 sisters, one of whom was trapped in the rubble for over 100 hours and miraculously survived. This is the 2^nd year that they have hosted this observance. My return was delayed a few days last year and I just missed the event. So – I was looking forward to being there this year.

There was singing and prayers and comments from several Hatian clergical leaders, including Pastor Paul, and then Jim talked of his experience of being buried and rescued. Then a bell was rung 31 times and 31 white balloons were released in honor of the 31 people killed in the hotel. As darkness settled in, candles were lit and carried to the memorial garden and placed in the sand. All in all, a very moving experience. Then the sisters served a wonderful buffet.

 

Sunday 01/13 – We had 3 teams in the field but no one coming or going at the Guest House so we decided a little R & R was in order. Mario, Danette, Sarah 2, Oge, Spana and I headed north up Hwy 1 to Wahoo Bay - a beach resort north of Arcahaie. One of the benefits of being in Haiti is that you can go to the beach and lay in the sun in January. The weather is beautiful and in the low to mid 80s.

 

Monday 01/14 - Today I worked on 2 UMCOR Grant Requests for the EMH Pilot Housing Project. These are for 10 houses originally contracted to World Hands Alliance under another grant. Since we removed these houses from WHA and are giving them to another contractor, I have to resubmit the grant requests. And – since I need to keep the requests under $100,000.00 (anything over $100K requires full board approval and they only meet twice a year) I have to submit them in 2 phases. I still need some information about the individual beneficiaries from Engineer Derly Charles to complete the requests.

 

Tuesday 01/15 – I met with Derly this morning and got all the beneficiary information from him. I completed the Grant Proposals and was able to email the first drafts to UMCOR in New York. They will be reviewed by Thodleen Dessources, the Head of the Haiti Desk at UMCOR and she will return them to me with corrections or requests for additional information. We’re usually able to get it right the 2^nd time.

 

Wednesday 01/16 – This morning Engineer Derly and I left at 6:00 AM with Spana for a site visit to Bercy. Bercy is a remote village in the mountains just north of Les Caye, which is on the South Coast (Caribbean side) of Haiti. We have started construction of a new church there. I have seen plans of the building, but this will be my first visit to the site.

Once you leave Hwy 2 just outside of Les Cayes, it is rough road for the next 10 miles. There was a heavy rain last night and some pretty good water holes to cross. Water came clear over the hood in one of them. Spana was loving it. Thank heaven for 4 wheel drive.

The church construction has progressed pretty well. However, I had a few concerns over a couple of structural issues and Derly agreed with my recommendations. He will pass them on to the site engineer. 11 hours after leaving, we arrived back at the Guest House - another long day on the roads of Haiti.

Days 345 – 351

11/11 – 11/17

Sunday 11/11 – Sundays are often quiet days – days when we can get away to the beach or the pool at Hotel Caribe or Ebolele – away from our 24/7 lifestyle - for a little R & R. Today, however, was not one of those. We had several teams arriving and leaving and I had a barrage of emails that needed responses. Most of the issues were regarding the EMH Pilot Project. We are still trying to resolve the ongoing issue of the unfinished World Hand Alliance houses. We originally contracted with them for 10 houses in Mellier and 20 houses in Carre Four. Due to many circumstances they have been unable to complete any of them in a years’ time. We subsequently gave 10 houses in Carre Four to 2 Haitian contractors and have been working with WHA to at least complete the 10 Mellier houses. To date that has not happened. We are now in the process of putting the remaining 10 Carre Four houses out for bid.

Monday 11/12 – Today I had a meeting with Engineer Laplanche to go over the contract with Engineer Samuel Abicher to complete the Mellier church structure. If you recall, the Mellier church was the first VIM project site started under the Haiti Response Plan and the largest VIM/HRP project in Haiti. Unfortunately, it also became the biggest albatross. In the rush to start helping after the earthquake there was inadequate planning and forethought given to the initial projects. I told Tom when I first came to Haiti that the biggest problem we had was that there were too many ministers and not enough engineers. Consequently, the costs were out of control and it became apparent we were not going to be able to complete the church with team funding. UMCOR decided to provide the funds to complete the basic structure and the community will step up to do the finish work. Many lessons were learned and in a way it has helped me to able to set up standardized construction management procedures for all EMH projects - nothing like having a bad example to point to.

Tuesday 11/13 – With Jim Gulley back in town, it’s time for our monthly Haiti Joint Leadership Team meeting. This is the meeting with EMH, UMCOR and UMVIM. The frustrating part for me is that 7 of the 10 people on the team are the same people that I’ve been meeting with all month long on other committees. However, it’s good to try to coordinate our activies – particularly between UMCOR and UMVIM. Today we spent a lot of time explaining the restructuring of the EMH Site Review Committee into the EMH Construction and Property Committee.

Wednesday 11/14 – Today is my Linda’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Sweety. It’s the second year I’ve been out of the country for her birthday. It’s a good thing that she loves Haiti as much as I do and understands why I’m here.

Engineers Derly, Laplanche and I made a final visit to Olivier to go over Derly’s preliminary drawings and verify dimensions and detail for the church refurbishment prior to putting them out to bid. We met again with some of the church elders and while they were excited about finally getting their church repaired, they were disappointed that we weren’t going to make it bigger. It’s a common complaint and we have to continually explain that there is a limited amount of money available. If they want it bigger they will have to figure out a way for the community to fund it. At that time, reality usually sets in.

Thursday 11/15 – My current contract expires in 4 days and I will be going home for the Holidays and return in January. Since I have site visits scheduled for my last 3 days, I am trying to get my things in order and pack for my return. I tend to be a pack rat wherever I am and have accumulated quite a bit of stuff over the past 14 months. I need to downsize what I’m going to leave in-country. Since I will only be here 2 weeks at a time and can bring things I need with me, I should be able to get rid of or take home at least half of my stuff.

Friday 11/16 – Before the end of the year I have to prepare a detailed progress report on the Haiti Home Assistance Program for UMCOR in order to get the final funding payment from the grant. This includes 9 new homes, 5 repaired homes and the 8 unit Guest House Staff Annex. The Annex is in my backyard, so I can keep a pretty close watch on it, but the houses are scattered all over the country side. Some of them I haven’t seen in over a month. So – today Oge, Spana and I are going on site visits.

The first site is Eric’s home. Eric has worked for the Guest House for 42 years and his wife Lise has worked there for 25 years. Their home was destroyed in the earthquake. The new house is coming along a little slower than some, but he’s making progress. His property is on a very steep hillside and all of the homes are virtually built on top of one another. His big heart compelled him to build a huge cistern under the house so that his neighbors would have a source for water(rain water).

Right next to Eric is Ton Tonette’s house. She is the head cook at the Guest House and also has worked there for over 40 years. Her house is at a lower level and was partially damaged. The repairs are nearly complete and will allow for a 2^nd story addition in the future if she wishes.

The next 2 houses are also close to one another and on another steep hillside. Gerda is a housekeeper at the Guest House and in fact takes care of the house I live in and does my laundry. She lost her home and her husband in the earthquake. Her home is about 80% complete and is in the interior finish stage. Johnny is a driver at the Guest House and lost his home in the earthquake. The government took his land for a new road right-of-way and gave him barely enough money to buy another lot. The plans for his new house exceeded the amount available in the grant, so he is putting in all the foundation and stem walls and finishing only 3 rooms to move into. He will hopefully finish the rest of the house over time.

Saturday 11/17 – Four more site visits are scheduled for today. Two are home repairs. The first one we looked at was Marie Claudes. She has been an assistant cook and housekeeper at the Guest House for over 20 years. Her husband was a carpenter but was severely injured in an accident several years ago and is disabled. The repairs to her home have been quite extensive, but are coming along nicely. They are able to live in the house again while they finish.

The second house was Patrick’s. Patrick is an interpreter and in fact was the interpreter for the first team I was on in Haiti. His home was severely damaged but deemed repairable and he qualified for only the repair amount. However, when he started reconstruction they discovered that most of the house had to come down. Unfortunately he was locked into the repair limit under the grant. He has done an outstanding job of getting a livable structure built for his family but doesn’t have the funding available to really finish it. I’m hoping we can raise some additional funds for him somehow.

We also visited two new home sites. The first was Maxo’s. Maxo is a driver and ace mechanic at the Guest House. His house is about 60% complete. It is built on a hillside lot and required some extensive excavation and retaining walls.

The last house for the day was Oge’s. He has been a driver for the Guest House for about 12 years and 2 years ago was also hired on a ½ time basis as a Site Coordinator for the Haiti Relief Plan. Since the earthquake, the area that his house was in has become a high crime area. So, for the safety of his family, he decided to sell the  property and build his new home as a second story addition to his parent’s house. Since he didn’t have any site work to do his house went up quickly and is 100% complete.

Sunday 11/18 – Jim Gulley and I left early in the morning to go to Mellier. Our goal is to visit all 10 of the World Hand Alliance home sites. Negotiations have been going on for months and the Project Committee has finally made the decision to cancel WHA’s contract and hire another contractor to complete the homes. Jim and I want to document the current status of the 10 sites in Mellier.

We had hoped to attend the first hour of the church service in Mellier and then start our visits. However, the Pastor made such a fuss about introducing us to the congregation that we couldn’t sneak out and were stuck for the entire 2 ½ hours. We were able to get to all 10 sites but got back to Petionville rather late.

Monday 11/19 – Today I return home. I have been in Haiti for 14 months and although I have been home several times during that span and will be returning again in January on a ½ time basis, it is an end of my full time in-country involvement. It is the beginning of a new phase in the Haiti recovery plan. We are transitioning from the earthquake recovery phase to the community development and sustainability phase. There is still recovery work to be done, particularly in the area of housing, but most of the damaged EMH infrastructure (churches, schools and clinics) has been repaired under the Haiti Response Plan. The funding for the HRP runs out in October 2013 and we hope to have completed all priority projects by then. In the final months of the program we will be planning how and in what form the program will continue in beyond October. I’m excited to be a part of that planning process. I’m also excited to be able to spend the holidays with my family and friends at home.

I arrived back in Sacramento late Wednesday night 10/23 and left Thursday morning for San Luis Obispo and the Sierra Vista Hospital to see my mother. I was there with my brother for a week and we watched her make a miraculous recovery. The doctor finally transferred her to a rehabilitation facility at the same location as her assisted living apartment. Once she was settled, stabilized and seemingly showing signs of improvement, I returned to Haiti on 11/03

Days 338 – 344

11/04 – 11/10

Sunday 11/04 – I arrived back in Haiti around noon and got picked up at the airport by Spana. They had opened up the new arrivals terminal in my absence and I was a little confused. You no longer had to take a shuttle bus to the far side of the terminal building and walk into the confusion of having to go through Immigration, get your luggage and go through Customs along with 200 other passengers in a space about the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool. It was very nice and spacious and uncluttered with more stations for passport control. Since I had no checked baggage, I zipped right through and went outside to a completely different area of the parking lot. It took me a while to find Spana, but we finally connected.

I got back to the Guest House and was inundated with concerned questions about my mother from all the staff. They were all very happy that she had been able to recover and was stabilized. In a country where the average life span is 64 years, 98 years seems like a miracle. I love these people and I think the feeling is mutual.

Monday 11/05 - I’m right back in to business as usual. We have 14 teams scheduled in this month, so we have at least 1 team coming or going almost every day. And – the meetings start. Today it’s an informal meeting about the church reconstruction in Olivier. The church was heavily damaged in the earthquake and has finally moved up the priority list and is ready to be addressed. Engineers Laplanche and Derly, and Tom and I met with Pastor Paul to determine if we should proceed with the project. The decision was made to start and we picked the people that should be included in the site visit on Thursday. We decided we should have Pastor Maude, the Circuit Superintendent, the local Church Steward and Engineers Abicher and Elysea in addition to ourselves.

Tuesday 11/06 – Today we had a HRP (Haiti Response Plan) staff meeting with Tom, Danette, Mario, Oge and I along with Susan Meister, our Team Calendar Coordinator in the States, on Skype. The purpose was to discuss the current state of our projects and finances and team projections for 2013. Many of our sites are nearing completion or have reached the stage where the required work is no longer “team friendly” – requires skills that our teams can’t support. We have over 100 teams already scheduled for 2013, so we need to have the EMH make some decisions on project sites from the priority list.

And – UMVIM has finally approved my contract extension proposal. I have agreed to continue for another 6 months starting in January on a 2 weeks a month in-country basis. It requires a lot of traveling but allows me to spend a little more time at home. Now Pastor Paul has to sign off on the contract and he always waits to the very last minute.

Wednesday 11/07 – Our meeting for today is with Pastor Paul and some of the Circuit Superintendents, Elizabeth Petheo and Lauren James from UMCOR and Tom and I. The purpose of the meeting is to go over the damage assessment reports from all of the Circuits on the damage from Hurricane Sandy. I was frankly surprised by the extent of the damage in the mountains and southern part of the island. Although there were 59 known deaths in Haiti, none appeared to be from the Methodist community. However, the property damage in some areas was extensive. The damage was mostly wind related – roofs blown off (including the entire roof of the school in Furcy) and crop damage. There also was a lot of flood damage, but none involving church property. We also discussed our disaster preparedness protocol. Elizabeth (UMCOR Head of Mission) did an outstanding job of alerting all UMCOR/UMVIM staff of the storms progress and the steps to be taken during the emergency. Danette and Tom were in constant contact with our teams in country and a couple of them elected to return to the Guest House to ride out the storm. So – all in all – everyone was given an “A”.

Thursday 11/08 – Today’s agenda is the site visit to Olivier with the Engineers and community leaders. Olivier is in the Petit Goave Circuit and a 2 hour drive from Petionville on a good day. Today was almost good and we made it in 2 ½ hours. While Tom huddled with the Circuit Superintendent and leaders of the congregation to assess their needs and expectations, the other engineers and I went over the structure to assess the damage. I had seen the site several times before, so had a pretty good idea of what needed to be done, but I wanted the Haitian engineers to give their opinions. As with so many structures I have seen in Haiti, this one was on the cusp for total destruction and rebuild. The decision has to be made to either tear it down and start over or repair the existing damage. Many factors need to be considered. One is the needs of the community. They all want a bigger church but in most cases the population doesn’t warrant it. We can’t afford to build a structure large enough to hold the once a year Easter crowd and have it half full the rest of the year. The other consideration is the extent of the damage. Can the building be salvaged and the structural integrity maintained or hopefully improved for less than it would cost to start over. In this case the engineers agreed that the building could be saved. The roof would have to be torn off, columns reinforced, some wall sections replaced and a new, reinforced slap poured, but it was cost effective. Engineer Derly was assigned the task of drawing up the plans and estimate.

Friday 11/09 – The meeting du jour is the Site Review Committee. This is the committee that does a monthly review of all of the UMVIM project sites and as sites are completed picks new ones from the EMH priority list. I have been trying for over 6 months to restructure the committee to combine the Site Review Committee, EMH Pilot Project Committee, the Haiti Home Assistance Program Committee, the Guest House Renovation Project Committee, the New College Bird School Committee and the EMH Property Committee into one EMH Construction and Property Committee. The Committees are comprised mostly of the same people and we end up talking about the same things over and over again. I have handed out org charts, job descriptions, standardized procedure suggestions, etc. However, like everything else in Haiti, new ideas take time to take root. Haiti, for me, has been a Doctorate Degree in diplomacy. I have discovered that nothing happens until it becomes their idea. Today we officially became the “EMH Construction and Property Committee”.

Saturday 11/10 – I met with Engineer Abicher this morning to go over the laundry room addition we’re putting on the Guest House. I’m going to introduce a washing machine and dryer to the Haitian staff who have always done the hundreds of weekly sheets and towels from the Guest House by hand. I have discovered that some of the engineers have trouble understanding plans drawn by someone other than themselves. I don’t know why. I’ve converted to the metric system. It may be a matter of too much detail or some design concept they don’t understand. All that I know is, you better be darn sure they really understand before they start building.

This afternoon I met with Engineer Rouse about the Guest House Staff Annex. We have come to a standstill because of funding. I still have a final draw coming from the UMCOR grant, but there are a couple of milestones that have to be met before I can apply for it. We need to figure out how we’re going to do that. I also need to put out another appeal for donations for the UMVIM portion of the project.