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.