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Haiti 2005 Journal By Bill Keller (Note: This is MY journal and any opinions or views expressed are simply mine and does not represent those of any other team member – unless they agree with me, of course.) 2/13/2005 Well, tomorrow I leave for Haiti! I have made the list”, packed, checked, tweaked and finally, zipped in my tennies! I am ready to go! A part of me thinks I should figure out why I am going on this trip. Honestly, there does not seem to be a firm reason. “Of course I’ll go!” seems to be the primary reason. I am qualified to do the job, a site survey for the FM radio for the priest. I am also comfortable going into strange/new places. And, the idea of going to a third world country doesn’t back me up. I also like doing things that others will look at and say “I’m glad it’s you and not me doing that!” So, here I am! Ready to lift off tomorrow morning at around 8:30 or so. I have a couple of goals. I want to complete the site survey for the radio station. This includes locating the community that will host the transmitter. And, I want to get a handle on the general location of the other villages. I will also need to site out a location for a solar array to power the station. I also want to get a handle on the political environment of the area. How does the Priest and the local parishes fit into the overall political structure of the villages? What is the ramifications of helping the parish if it does not help the whole community? What exactly does the Priest want to accomplish? What are his priorities? How do they fit the priorities of the village leadership? Are there any problems with local rebels in setting up a radio station? How can All Saints and St. Mary’s work together to support the needs of the parishes? Anyway, I have the next 8 days to see how this all shakes out. I will do my best to put my thoughts down here. Time to hit the sack and rest up for tomorrow! 22:00 2/13/2005 Monday - 2/14/2005 (Written on 2/16/2005 – time to catch up) Travel to Florida was uneventful. We arrived at CR airport a little after 6. Susie could not stay because of Voyager practice for Michael. So, quick goodbyes were said. Really, always miss not being able to say more at those times when time is so short – and – then – when I have time, I don’t take it . . . . makes no sense. The rest of the group showed up and we were checking bags by 6:30 AM. The plane left for Ft. Lauderdale on time (8:30 AM) and we were off. The flight was smooth and quick and soon we were there. We got settled in and met at the pool for a beer or two. About 6 PM we took a cab down to the ocean walk and found supper – a restaurant named “Purser”. The food was great! Everyone had mostly sea food. I had Cajun snapper, there were a couple of lobsters and a couple of other items. It was a meal everyone enjoyed. The night finished up quickly then with everyone tucked in by 10 PM or so. Wakeup calls were for 4:45 AM with us meeting in the lobby at 5:45 AM . . . it was a very short night! Thus ended Monday, 2/14/2005 Tuesday – 2/15/2005 Tuesday: Ft. Lauderdale to Port Au Prince and Wings of Hope We all gathered at 5:45 AM in the hotel lobby. Then we took a shuttle to the airport and were off around 8:30 AM or so. The flight to PAP was smooth and quick. I was apprehensive because of the image of Haiti – violent, poor, dirty – it made me a bit nervous. But reality was much different. Yes, it is dirty, very crowded and a bit smelly but the people were very friendly. We got off the plane to very warm weather, clear and sunny. Our first stop was baggage claim. The first problem was that many of us (me included) had thrown away our ticket jackets with our luggage claim tags. Heavy Sigh!!! This caused some concern with the local authorities. However, we all had luggage tags on, so they compared names and all was well with the world again. The next problem was that Steve Pace did not see his bag come off the plane. We waited for all bags to be claimed and still not bag! Finally some one spotted it behind a sign so it was off to Immigration. This went quick so with our passports stamped we continued to the front door. There we met “Big” – he lived up to his name, and Jackson – a one armed, older fella with a big smile! And keeping these two guys in line was Renee. She is from the CR area and has lived here about 3 years. She works for “Wings of Hope” managing their visitor center, working with the kids, escorting kids back to the US for help and any number of other tasks. Also at Wings was Casey – she came in October 2004 for 1 year . However, she plans to return for a second year after a visit home this summer. We also met Claude, an older, grizzly, one eyed fellow from Wisconsin. He has been volunteering at Wings since December and plans to return to the states in April. It seems that he has lead quite a vagabond life to include hitched on Alaskan fishing boats, businesses in Haiti and sailing Lake Michigan. I’m sure there is a great story buried in him. Wings itself is one of 3 facilities started by Mike Grienfeld a former Brother that felt a strong calling to begin his mission in Haiti – so strong in fact that he left the brotherhood because they did not approve of his mission. His target is handicapped children and street children. Handicapped children are seen as cursed and possessed and simply abandoned on the street. Street kids are many and form whole communities on the street. They currently have about 30 kids at Wings. They range from wheelchair bound to a normal kid. The older kids do the majority of the work with the younger kids – including meal preparation, feeding the wheelchair bound, cleaning rooms, bathing – all jobs you would expect a parent to do. They treat each other as a family, as brothers and sisters. They also get paid for the work they do so if/when they are ready to “graduate” they will have a “nest egg” ready. The handicapped children are there for life. But with that commitment, they will at least be safe and cared for. It is painful to see these kids in such bad shape here as it would be anywhere. However they have the knowledge that they will be cared for at wings. The trip from the airport to Wings was an adventure in and of itself! The roads are in poor condition, very crowded and pretty well unmarked. It took nearly an hour to travel the relatively short distance to Wings. We rented two Monteros, a Toyota 4WD SUV with plenty of room. On the way to Wings we stopped at a grocery store – and was transported, for a time, back to the US. It was a very nice store, well stocked with prices a bit high but not way out of line. Here we bought food for the parish, some water and wine/beer for us and the priest. As we were going in, I took a photo of the store. Just about then a couple of Haitian policemen armed with shotguns said “Take my photo too!!” Who am I to argue with an armed Haitian! We put the girls between them, everyone smiled and, as I pulled the camera out of my pouch I dropped it. It was bouncing across the parking lot, batteries flying! But, I picked it up, put the batteries back in and it worked fine! So, I took the smile filled photo and show3ed it to the policemen, it was a hit! So back in the SUV and on to our next stop – the fruit market. Here we just stayed in the car. Steve S. drove the lead vehicle (Mick the second). We just sent all the vendors to Steve’s SUV. We bought pineapple, mangos, tangerines, and bananas. These we took to Bassin-Meado and Ducrabon. After arriving at Wings, getting a tour, we went to a Baptist mission a short walk away. We parked the SUVs here for the night and visited their snack bar – like a mix of subway, Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen. It was OK to eat the food and Ice Cream so we took advantage of it. Again, price was in-ine with a US sandwich shop. Then we bought a few items at the gift shop and headed back to Wings for supper. Supper was rice and black beans, port chops, green beans, bread and water. Again we took advantage of the good food to eat very well. All during our time at Wings we were surrounded b y kids, all wanting to be held, have their hands held, to be talked to. The three girls – Kim, Stephanie and Colleen – were a big hit!!! They all went to bed with sore arms from all the carrying, lifting and pulling!! After things had settled down, we sat with Renee and she gave us the history of Wings and many of the children. It is just impossible to relate all the kids and their stories = but it is obvious that Gods work is truly being done! Also, during the time at Wings, we had been trying to insure a guide was on his way. Finally, Tuesday night word arrived that our guide was in PAP and would arrive the next morning, along with our interpreter, Serge. Our rooms at Wings were very nice. VERY clean with bunk beds for the people in each room – a boys and a girls room. Each room had indoor plumbing in that pipes were run for the water and sewage. However, there was no running water so there were buckets full of water to pour down the stool to flush it and buckets on the showers to use to wash with. Their city water is intermittent and ran into a cistern. The water wan not potable for us but the locals could drink it. Some was then pumped to the roof top tanks for storage and gravity feed to the building. Also on the roof was a new satellite dish system for Renee for internet and a 6KW generator for new – old style – ringer/washers for their laundry. With the number of kids with physical handicaps, the need to clean bedding and clothing is a constant challenge. These are very new only being in place a few months. In the rear courtyard there was a much larger (15 KW) generator to power the entire building. They try to have power from about 6 – 11 PM each day. The night we spent there the electricity remained on all night. So ended Tuesday, the 15th. Wednesday – 2/16/2005 Wings to Bassin-Meado We got up around 6 AM with breakfast at 7 AM. There was a table set with fresh fruit including pineapple, mango, some sweet rolls, coffee and water. Our guide was late and did not arrive until 10 AM or so. Mick and Steve S. got the SUVs and we loaded up and headed out. The trip was “interesting”. To SAY the roads were rough would be an understatement in the extreme. We motored over rocks, dips, ruts – and it went on….. and on…..and on….. Finally we arrived at the banks of a river. We surprised a poor woman taking a bath. As she got out of the water to grab some clothes, they pointed to our right, up the river. So then we drove up the river for about 15 minutes before Peg and Steve recognized some buildings along the stream and we were there! We were met by an array of school children dressed in Green shirts and blue skirts/pants and their faces covered with huge smiles. There were also a lot of villagers and they wouldn’t let us carry anything but ourselves up the hill. Right at the top of a foot path was the building that would be our quarters. There were even signs on the doors welcoming us to our rooms. Steve and Peg got their own, the girls shared a room and finally Mick, Steve P/ and I shared a room. Mick ended up in an attached room. Nice rooms, kerosene lamps, OK beds with the usual stuff – sheet and blanket. (sorry, a quick nap. The heat really takes it out of you in the early afternoon) The building we are staying in serves multiple purposes. It is the school classroom where they teach about 40 students. It is the visitation house with 4 rooms (Steve and Peg even have a John to use, again you need to carry water to flush). One room was used for lounging in, a spare guest room, relaxing during the heat of the day, and an impromptu classroom for the teachers that worked with Peg today. It is a very pleasant place to sit during the hottest part of the day to talk and journal (it’s where I am right now). There is also a kitchen. This is more a cooking room. They have an area in the corner where they prepare their fires to cook on. The food we have had here so far is excellent (although I had to pass on goat liver). The final room is where we have taken our meals. After we got settled in we were taken to this room for lunch. Lunch was cold tomato soup with pasta. Most spiced it up with Tabasco sauce. There was also some very good bread along with it. We drank a bottle of wine with the meal and a coconut mild and alcohol drink that reminded me of Baileys in a weird way. Very tastee!! While we were eating, our supper walked by – a nice looking goat. They slaughtered it, skinned it right in front of the room we were eating in. Definitely an experience most Americans no longer witness. We met some of the teachers, a bunch of the school kids and villagers as well. And took a bit of a tour of the village. By afternoon the heat really began to build. Probably no more than the mid 80s, but with our arrival from colder climates and the elevation, it did not take us long to be affected by the heat. So, in the early afternoon we journaled, relaxed and napped a bit. At 4 PM Father Antonio said Mass. He does this every day he is in a village. There was a great deal of singing and many public prayers. Father had Serge translate the readings for us with all the readings centering around Job and his preaching in the City of Nineveh. We were each asked to get up and speak twice. The first was to share our thoughts about the trip we were on. What I pointed out was as the readings were being read here, they were also being read in Vinton. So, even though we were separated by miles and culture, at that instant we were all brought together with God for worship. It was a very emotional experience for me. I could have easily cried, not from sadness or joy really, just the overwhelming experience of being taken in, cared for and being fed and sheltered. These people have so little yet they are so generous and grateful it is difficult to wrap my head around it. The second time we were asked to speak was to offer petitions. Again we were all asked to stand and offer some petition. And many in the parish stood as well, offering their petitions and prayers. Father’s homily centered on our visit and how we can make things better between us, working together. This was a full mass lasting well over an hour. The amount of singing and the emotion of the service is again hard to put into words. They are fully involved in the service, body and soul. The Mass was preceded by the parish saying the Rosary. It was accented by bongos and singing. We will record a mass on Sunday. That is something I have noticed, music is everywhere and seems to be constant as long as someone is awake. Bongos, a hand made instrument between a banjo and guitar and singing. Even during the heat of the day, they sit in the shade and sing and play music. A little after Mass it was time for supper. It consisted of the breakfast soup but heated, rice and black beans, cooked goat and bread. The goat was cooked to the point of nearly being jerky. But is was very good as was the entire meal. Coffee is served at all meals. Not being a coffee drinker, I trust what everyone says, it’s great coffee. We also had wine and a bit more of the coconut liquor. Then we just sat and talked. Father wants so much for the life of his parishioners to improve. He is looking for simple things. Education, healthcare, sanitation – mostly clean water – and communications – the radio station. We found out a bit more about him. He is 52. He began studying to be a priest when he was 18 and studied for 6 years. He has had this parish for 6 years. It was a nice, relaxing round of conversation. I notice my struggle with having to do something. At home I would be at work. At home I would be running Mike somewhere or doing extra work at home or surfing the net or answering email. But I would be doing something. Here, watching the people of the parish, they seem to simply exist. Most have never left the village and probably never will. Their day is focused on the mechanics of survival – wood gathering, water gathering, tending livestock, farming. And, in between they sit, talk, sing, the children play. It is an odd mix of profound poverty and an abundance of time to spend with each other. I am sure they would trade us for the security we enjoy and do not realize that what they have in their time together. Just as we, many times have time available to spend with family and friends and instead give into all our modern distractions. It would seem we both have things to learn from each other. Later in the evening was the entertainment. This was a weird mix of Laugh-In, Ted Mack and Jay Leno. There were some students from Ducrabon that played the bongos and the guitar/banjo that led the evening. There appeared to be something like “The Evening News” that everyone had great fun with. And, of course, singing by a number of different groups, including us. I can say we wowed them, but much fun was had at our expense. Mick did a great stichk about a lady who sells donuts – you kinda had to be there. This event probably lasted an hour and a half. I suspect such scenes were repeated frequently during the early days of the US where communities and families were responsible for their own entertainment. I believe a fine night was had by all. After the show we took our chairs out into the courtyard and enjoyed the company, conversation and stars. We all pulled the plug about 9:30 PM. Sleep came quick and easy. However, one final adventure came about 4 AM as one end of Steve P’s bed collapsed. It had happened earlier in the day, but we thought we had it figured out. Well, not quite. After a bit of a chuckle on my part (Steve didn’t see the humor I don’t think) we fixed the bed and finished out our night. So ended our Wednesday – 2/16-2005 Thursday – 2-17-2005 The village started moving around about 6 AM. The roosters began their crowing at about 4:30 AM but by 6 AM the village was in full swing! Mick, Steve and I went to the river for a shave, hair wash and a washcloth wipe down. The world looks much better with a layer of dirt removed. Breakfast was cold soup, leftover goat and croissants. We also ate some of our fruit. I made a peanut butter and banana croissant sandwich which was quite tasty!! On Wednesday we were told that some would travel to Ducrabon. This is a 4 hour, 7km trip over a mountain to a plateau. Honestly, I did not believe that I was prepared for suck a trek. I decided to remain here and take photos of the school children since we could not return until after school was out Friday. These photos will be used in our parishes to show everyone who we are supporting. As it turned out, Kim began to feel a bit ill and Peg has been having back problems, so they remained behind with me to help with photos. Peg also spent the whole day, and I mean the whole day, teaching English to the teachers of Ducrabon. She is truly gifted with patience, humor and persistence! The teachers had a great time and I believe, thought very tired, Peg had a good time also. Kim’s tummy seemed to settle down mid-day and she began to help as well, throwing in some Spanish to fill in the language gap! Very weird using French, Spanish, English and Creole to come together. But it worked well! The crew left for Ducrabon at about 10 AM or so. They took one vehicle part way and will finish up on foot. We will have to wait until tomorrow to hear their adventures. We spent quite a bit of time with Father Antonio asking what he wanted. His primary wish is to put a radio station up at Ducrabon. Actually, he wants it on a mountain about 2 km from there that is higher and can actually be seen by all the villages. He wants to use this for both Mass and education. Mick, Steve S. and Steve P. took my GPS on their trek so we will know where the village is and we can then get a better idea on the transmitter placement. Next on his list was getting water from the river to the mesa for irrigation. His concern is that his people do not do very well with mechanical things. I believe we are situated pretty well for a pump system and a water holding tank system. But the task feels overwhelming. The idea of getting everything back here feels over whelming. The other concern I have is the willingness of the village to work hard at it. I am not confident they will. I want to look into different pump systems – both powered and manual. I also want to look into different types of irrigation systems. Father said there was good water flow year around. However, during the rainy season the river can become very deep and very fast. This would be a concern for any pumps or hydro electric generators. All that aside, they have a reliable source of water that runs clear and should need little in the way of filtration. Purification should be easy after that. If we do nothing with pumping water, it should not be difficult to use the “Gift of Water” technique here. I see the main problem as the people’s willingness to carry through on the whole process. Father is also looking at making Massin-Meado a visitation center for the area. That is the purpose of the guest house. This is the main jumping off point for the rest of the villages. And finally he wants to open a medical clinic in the village. There are 3 Jesuit nuns coming in the fall. They will teach hygiene to the school children and run a basic medical clinic for the village. Here I see the biggest need as power. I do not believe a generator would work because of the need for fuel. It would be incredibly difficult to get the fuel here. I believe there is an excellent chance for solar and wind here. The main room of their building is oriented roughly east and west. There is plenty of roof area to mount solar panels on. This will be a must for a clinic. The building is configured in such a way that is could be easily wired. In the small rooms (10 x 10) a single CPF light should work well – much better than anything they have available now. The primary source of light is either candles or kerosene lamps. Again, here my concern is whether the parish and the village are willing to properly maintain the equipment. And if they will be willing to live within the power limits. This might also be a perfect spot for small home systems – something like a small solar panel, LED lighting and a sealed battery. These are probably easily doable. Father Antonio also spent a good amount of time laying out the parish. He sketched on the back of a map the paths he took to each of his parishes. The only one he knew the distance to was Ducrabon. That was 7 km. The distance to the others he knew in time, the farthest point being 18 hours. Of the 20+ villages he pointed out, four were next to rivers. Another five or so had water within a short walk. The remainder had no water source whatsoever and had to travel hours to find and carry water back to their homes. During the afternoon Peg and Kim conducted English classes again. They read letters from All Saints School and then wrote letters back to the children. They really worked hard on the project and did a great job. Peg was pretty shot by the end of the day. I spent most of the day bringing the journal up to date. It is amazing how much happens each day that lets me get a flavor of this place. With the heat of the day, I got pretty droopy, so I took a nap for about an hour – it did a lot to pick me up. I woke up and continued to write until supper. A short note about hydration – DO IT!! I have been going easy because we only brought about 20 gallons of potable water. But today I had real problems with urination and noticed a bit of blood in my urine. So, I cranked up the water and drank 3 liters during the day. By evening I was clear again. This will vary from person to person, but here we are a long way from help – it pays to use your common sense. As an aside, the rive runs very clear. Standard water filters ( in my case MSR mini waterworks) and iodine treatment will easily provide all the potable water a crew at Bassin-Meado could want. It would be prudent that someone on each trip bring such a piece of gear. Another detour – gear to bring. I would strongly suggest hiking boots. If hiking will be involved, bring a walking stick also. A head lamp is also a good edition – there is no electricity here, room light is a kerosene lantern. A head lamp is a real benefit making a night call and if you want to do any reading and writing at night. A swimsuit is also handy for morning baths, unless you want to follow local customs. Personally I would not want to scare these folks, so I wore a swim suit. A first aid kit is a must. The only items I would suggest is an ankle wrap. Other things are pepto, Imodium and from your doctor, cipiro in case you do catch a bug. These things in addition to a well equipped first aid kit are a must. Sandals or water shoes would also be good for river bathing or walking around. I would also recommend a very high SPF sun screen, 40 or so. The altitude here makes sure you can burn very quickly. A bottle of the aloe lotion would also be good incase you forget step #1. Supper was white rice, corn soup and a very good pudding. And fruit, tangerines, pineapples. Very good food!! Right after supper we again had amateur night. Not quite as well organized but lots of singing, dancing and fun! Taking a short step back, in late afternoon we had daily Mass. This was special for me because Father used Mr. Nuziel’s father’s chalice. He made special notice of it during the Mass. I’ll give her a copy of Father raising the chalice during the Mass. We also recorded this mass. With the Rosary before and the Mass itself, we recorded 1 hour and 23 minutes of audio! But the time went very fast!! One other side note here, during the presentation of the host and wine, they still use a bell and they kneel – on cement. No kneelers, pads, just concrete. Puts Mass in an entirely different light. Again during the Mass we were asked to stand and offer our petitions. Right after evening entertainment Kim, Peg and I turned in after a long and full day. So ended Thursday – 2/17/2005 Friday – 2-18-2005 It is very easy to wake up here because everyone begins to move around with sunlight. So, I rolled out, put on my swim suit and headed to the river for a shave and a washcloth bath. Shortly after I began shaving Azziz showed up. He is a cute little guy who talks a mile a minute – I have no idea what he is saying but today he taught me the Creole words for goat (one was on the hillside), river (I was standing in it), rock and banana (there was a banana tree next to the river). He would also point out if I left any shave cream on my face. A really cute kid. By the time I got back to my room and changed it was time for breakfast. I has a first today (and I suspect Peg and Kim too) for breakfast – smoked fish spaghetti. With a bit of Tabasco it was pretty tasty – if you like smoked fish! We also had pineapple, tangerines, and crackers. Pretty good meal! One of the projects that we wanted to complete was to take photos of all the kids in the school here. This will be used to help the parishes see the faces of the kids and to realize who their donations for the kids go for. It was a lot of fun. We brought them out 5 at a time and sat them in a chair. We would take their photo, record the image number, the students name and their age. I will imbed this information with each photo and send them to Pen and Steve and make a set to return to the school. The process went very smooth and quick. As spoon as we were finished the older kids/young adults were ready for more English. These are also the teachers in Ducrabon so the time they are getting with Peg is invaluable. They certainly work hard at their studies. As for me, I have been sitting behind them bringing this journal up to date. Which, as of this instant, it is!! I spent some time laying out a diagram of the Parish building. We should have an idea of the orientation of the building, roof sizes, and room sizes. The construction of the roof is a simple beam construction with sheet metal for the roof. I would need to see how much solar panels weigh and estimate the load that would be placed on the roof. I suspect we may want to place the rack on the ground. I’m thinking small, individual power systems for the room lighting and then use bright LEDs for illumination. I’ll need to see what is available. This would be a family system to configure and maintain. Lunch was served at about 1:30 PM. It was pan fried bananas, something with the taste and texture of a potato, a pea and noodle soup, fried chicken (I actually saw the critter meet his end this morning) and fruit – tangerines, pineapple and mangos. All very good stuff! Just as the meal ended, the crew that went to Ducrabon returned. It sounds like it was quite a journey. They drove about 4 miles to the end of a road under construction. This left them a number of miles short. The hill they were walking up was just chalk. Mick decided that he couldn’t make it and he and Colleen would spend the night in the truck. The folks from Ducrabon said this was not safe, so he pressed on. On the way, the soles of his shoes separated and cam off. When he got to the village – they gave him a horse ride for the last little way – a boy named Louise sewed the soles back on for their return trip. He did an amazing job!! Mick gave him his leatherman for payment. They also told the story of boy who carried a box of wine and beer up for them and the brothers. By the time they reached the top the beer and wine were cold! They have a solar system that consists of:
With this they run a small fridge, light the school, power a computer, TV and VCR. They have an in place mill for their corn but no generator. They are interested in getting a diesel generator – Mick thought a 6KW one would do fine. This would bring their mill back on line. They did run out of water but the folks there boiled water and let it cool for the evening. They also dropped 8 iodine tablets in a gallon of water but all the taste was gone in the morning. They are unclear whether it was the treated water or just local water, time will tell. There return trip was much easier but I get the impression it was pretty slippery. They also were pretty fried, I suspect the aloe cream will get a workout!! So, after a leisurely lunch, they headed for the river for a cool soak. Steve carried the GPS on the trip and we got a great track on it! I plotted Ducrabon on the map, saved the track and tried to match up the other villages that Father Antonio laid out. I think we will be able to have a reasonable map of the parish when we are done. Mass started late afternoon. Mick attended from the comfort of his bed. They had put up the crucifix that All Saints had sent to them. The Mass centered on what a person was doing with their life now. Not past acts, but how to make things right with God and your neighbors. There were the usual petitions that we were asked to take part in. What struck me in one offered by the man playing the guitar/banjo was a fear that they would be forgotten. So, in mine I tried to reassure them that they were now fully part of our parish family and we would keep them in our prayers until we returned next year. Societies being what they are, for the past 3 Masses they said prayers for a family whose garden was being raided and their food stolen. God was asked that the people doing this would see their errors and make reparations. After Mass we spent some time in the courtyard just talking. Peg reviewed songs with students for tonight’s entertainment, the girls used bubble bottles to entertain the children and we talked about the best way to help these folks. Then the supper bell rang. It was a bit crowded tonight since we also hosted a couple of visitors from Ducrabon. Annette – who was Father’s assistant the last time All Saints visited, his deacon, Father, Serge, our guide and us. So we had a full table. Supper consisted of a soup, fried bananas, chicken, left over goat, bread, wine and water. Very good stuff once again. After supper we again had entertainment. “Radio Rizzo”, a take off on Laugh In or something. Anyway, for our part I told 2 stories – “I shot myself in the butt” and “I’ve been on big boats before”. I’m sure Susie and Stephan will be happy! The audience seemed to like it though. More stories from the crew that went to Ducrabon. They took 3 tubs full of goodies to the parish there. However, as soon as they saw how steep the road was, they decided to leave the tubs in the car. So, today when they headed back to Bassin-Meado, they took 2 horses down to bring the tubs up to Ducrabon. The tubs held jackets, T-shirts, tooth paste and brushes, toys and other misc. items. The EU is building the road to Ducrabon and believes that it will be completed within the next 7 months (by November). Our gang does not believe that is possible. Time will tell. A two tank system would be used to hold the water. The first would be used to stage the water and collect excess silt. The second would be the primary source. This water could then be used for hand irrigation. It could be expanded into a full irrigation system over time. This water would only need purification to drink. This could be accomplished with the two-bucket method or a sand filter. If we get power up here, we might consider an ozone purifier. This might be more reliable than depending on someone to properly putting in chemicals. Its limitation would be its power requirements. Another possibility might be a windmill. I do not know how deep a well can be for a windmill to work. But the technology might be more appropriate. (Note: Basic education is done in the villages. Advanced education is done in Ducrabon. AM: Secondary / Primary Afternoon: Older students Night: Adults The following is the result of an afternoon discussion with Father Antonio. Our purpose was to try and get clear on what his priorities were what his specific goals were and what his needs were. The primary goal was Education. The following courses were those courses that he has instructors for. We asked him to describe the course and explain what he needed to successfully teach that course. Education Classic Courses: They have all the materials they need for these courses. They are looking for desks, chairs and tables. We can send money to purchase the raw materials to build the furniture. He will send the pricing for materials to build all furniture needed for a single classroom. We will communicate with Father through email with Renee at Wings. Ragel lives in PAP and goes between Bassin-Meado and PAP a couple times a week. He will stop by Wings and either drop off letters from Father to be emailed to us or to pick up email from us. This should reduce the turn-around time significantly. Regular mail takes about 8 weeks to get from us to him. Library: They need books, any age or language. Lunch Boxes: They need lunch boxes for the kids to pack lunches in. Handwork: This is teaching basic construction and repair. For this he needs 5 well equipped tool boxes. He will confirm what he wants for tools but they would include: Hammer, cross-cut saw, rip saw, keyhole saw, auger, bits, screw drivers, box plane, rasps, pliers – to name just a few tools. Agriculture: 5 sets of tools for farming. These would include: shovels, pick, machete, scythe, hedge trimmers, hoe, fertilizer – to list a few items in each set of tools. Tailoring:
Salary for teachers is about 300HD per month. This is $45 US per month or about $500 US per year. Parents pay $80 per year for a student to attend school. Pastry Making: They have one teacher currently and some specialists to teach certain types of baking.
Radio: He will have us place the radio at Mar-Minevre. This will reach a substantial portion of the Bellefontaine. Once it is in place, repeaters will be added to fill in the holes in the signal. They have a building at Mar-Minevre that has solar and a tower to hold the antenna already in place. We asked father to define his priorities for those items we discussed. This is his order.
Our plan is to have Ragel Raymon to help us by price shopping the tool kits in PAP. We will probably also use him to make the purchases we decide to make. His price would be $150HD or about $20 US per day. Mar-Minerve will host the radio. The Presbyterians are there. There is a school there that was built by US Aid that is a bit larger than the one in Bassin-Meado. St. Michael – He is planning a big church there. He plans on the church being completed this year. Bake – He would like to enlarge the school. He needs $50K HD, about $7K US to complete this project. This is a long term goal. Crops in the area
I told Father I would send down soil sample kits to test the soil in different villages. This should help us see how to help them with their crops. We spent the morning talking to Father Antonio about his needs and wants. He puts a great deal of emphasis on education. We asked which courses he had teachers for. We then asked for the needs of each class. Basically we ended up with a kit approach. We will define a “Handyman Kit”, a “Sewing Kit”, and “Agriculture Kit”, a “Pastry Kit”. And we will kit up room furniture. We would supply money for materials so they can build the furniture. This should allow for some fund raising opportunities where families could buy a kit for our sister parish. We would then forward the money for Fr. Antonio so he could purchase the items in the kit. We also talked about brining solar power to Bassin-Meado and pumping the water up from the stream. Still top on Father’s list is the radio. We found a more reasonable village to locate it in which makes the project more doable. So in priority, the radio is first, solar power for Bassin-Meado 2nd and water for irrigation is in last place at 9th. Interesting on how what I would consider first, Father considers last! But I hope we can do most of the projects over the next year. We plan on using Regal as our shopper to go into PAP and price out our kits so we know how much to sell a sponsorship for. We plan on paying him $20 per day for his work. We would also like to work with Renee to act as our mail box. We would send and receive mail through her. Father would send letters to her on disk. In return we would pick up ½ of her internet connection. We are hopeful she will be open to this. We will have to make sure we send our letters in the form of attached documents so they can be easily transferred to disk rather than printing out the emails. Ragel can then just pick up a disk and take it to Father. It is my intention to put together a word document with photos of different kit items in it. Ragel can then price shop those items in PAP so we know the price of the kits. We will confirm this once before we begin our process. Just so I don’t forget, we have eaten 2 goats and a number of chickens. We need to find a way to replace them. The afternoon got quite toasty, so we headed for the river. Walking south we got to a pile of large boulders that formed pools. It was quite easy to find a comfy rock to sit on while I dangled my feet in the water. The girls also came down with Stephanie bringing about 14 little followers with her. Besides the curiosity with her and us in general, she also had a box of cookies. While we were sitting on the rocks the kids just kept arriving. By the time we left there were well over 20 little critters around. The little boys would just strip down to nothing, jump from rock to rock and splash and play in the water. The girls pealed down to their panties and followed suit. The boys and girls did not play together. Then there were a bunch that just sat and stared at the girls – honestly they are quite the attraction here! They have done a spectacular job of playing with the kids and being ambassadors for the young adults of the parish! The afternoon was still hot so I came back to my room and laid down and read / journaled for a bit. Again, around 4 or so the church bell rang for Mass. There is a row of young women that sit just behind the first row. I would guess they are early to mid 20s. They seem to be the “choir”. We are not sure that is an official title, but they are probably the loudest and clearest in the village. They also have a look about them that is tough as nails! An interesting mix. I spent some time in my room relaxing and reading / journaling after Mass and then it was time for supper. A few thoughts about meals. The food is very good! Odd at times – smoked fish spaghetti for example – but very good. Portions are much smaller though. You might eat 2 pieces of goat (2 inches square). Or a tablespoon of eggs, a ladle of rice and beans, a ladle of pudding. The largest volume food is the soup, but then it is very clear and thin with a few vegetables and a little meat. Supper tonight was soup, rice and beans, goat, bread and pudding. Again, very tasty. If you are wondering what goat tastes like, it tastes a lot like chicken gizzard. The texture is quite the same. This goat was obviously younger than our previous diner. As I am writing this, the “choir” is on the other side of the wall obviously practicing for today’s Mass and the wedding that will be held during Mass on Sunday. Music is always being sung or played somewhere pretty much throughout the day! While I am used to music around me most the time, here they must make the music themselves, and they do, continually throughout the day. After dinner I went back and read again for awhile. I just seemed to need some alone time, so I took some. Then it was time for the entertainment night once again. All were given a not-so-gentle hint during Mass that everyone should participate. So perform we did! A bunch of us did the “Hokey-Pokey” – I did not! Hate to break the feet of my fellow travelers this close to going home! Mick did three stichks – one on his shoes that were repaired, his huffing and puffing had everyone rolling on the floor! Next he did a riddle (these are popular every night) on where his shoes are (in Bassin-Meado of course) and finally he sang the Iowa fight song and taught them folks to say “Go Hawks”!! His delivery got a bit long though and suddenly you could hear his daughter Colleen yelling “Sing the song dad, just sing the song!” Which he did and got a loud “Go Hawks” for his effort. I did a bit that I saw at the Old Creamery years ago during an improve night. It was a mime about 2 friends, one from the city and one a farmer in the country. The city friend visits his country friend on this farm and asks if he could help with his chores. The farmer says he could help milk the cow, of course he has no idea how to do that. So he goes off in search of the cow, finds the bull and tries to milk it instead. Didn’t go over – heavy sigh – but I did it with gusto! The night ended with what was nearly a dance marathon. It went on continuously for nearly 20 minutes. The entertainment ended and I went back to my room. I finished my book and packed it in for the night. So ended Saturday 2/19/2005 Sunday – 2/20/2005 Morning started, as they all have, about 4 AM with the roosters. We finally rolled out at 6:45 AM and headed to the river. I got a good photo of Mick and Steve P. cleaning up for the day. I also had time to take a photo of a great looking banana tree with a flower on it. Breakfast was eggs (about 4 eggs for 12 people), an omelet (4 egg omelet for everyone), smoked fish spaghetti (I passed this time) and bread. They also served coffee with each meal – probably Peg’s favorite – she is always first in line! We also got news during breakfast that Mick’s SUV had two flat tires. However, we are obviously being watched over as the village had a pump on hand. After a bit of repair, the tires were pumped up. We will watch throughout the day to see if perhaps just a seal had gotten broken on the tires or if perhaps some kids played with the valves or if we have a real problem and we need to replace the tires. For next trip we need to bring and leave: a tire pump, tow strap, jumper cables and spare valve caps! That done, we got ready for church and the wedding. The church was packed – to put it mildly! The other village was 7 hours away so they began their trip here at 4 AM! The bride and groom arrived by horse accompanied by a Haitian scout troop. It was a typical Mass with a blessing of the couple. Both the normal chapel and the gathering room which became the chapel today were full. After the wedding I spoke with the Scoutmaster. I gave him my blue Philmont shirt and a compass as a gift from Troop 47. The horses were very malnourished. As they were tethered to a tree they snacked on any piece of grass they could find. They obviously struggle to keep weight on. The wedding party, scouts and their friends left immediately after the wedding to begin their journey back home – another 7 hours or so. Lunch came shortly afterwards. We had rice and black beans, local fry cakes, fruit and goat intestine stew (no, I was not gutsy enough to eat it!). It’s nice to take the time to sit around the table and chat after the meal. It’s a great way to really get to know each other. The conversations ranged all over the place – from deeply personal to just general stuff. But through that process, we have gotten to know each other really well. Tomorrow we head to St. Joseph’s where we will spend the night before flying out Tuesday morning. It has been such a busy, emotional and fulfilling trip. I believe I have filled my niche well. I am good at gathering information and asking questions. We now have a very clear set of projects and goals to be accomplished over the next year. They are all doable. I feel really good about what we have accomplished! Just a little “train wreck” here and back to the cars. It looks like the tires are holding air so there are 2 possibilities. Some kids let the air out or the seal on the tire and rim was weakened and it had a slow leak. Either way, the morning will tell the tail. We are going to take the pump with us just in case and then send it back with Ricardo. Next year we will bring a pump, tow strap and jumper cables to leave at the parish. Conversation with Father Antonio II We told the stories of the Cross from All Saints and the Chalice from St. Mary’s so he knew where these gifts came from and why they were important to the people who sent them. Clinic: Three Sisters will arrive in October. They will serve Bell Fontaine in general but stay in Bassin-Meado. They will rotate out with new Sisters about every 4 months. They will teach health education, direct the schools and RE and provide basic healthcare to the area. He plans to expand the building to house the Sisters and a small clinic. The cost of construction for the 4 rooms to accomplish this is about $30HD or $4,000 US. They do not know what equipment they will bring with them when the Sisters come. We will have to wait to see what they need before we can offer assistance in this area. Father’s Needs: He is just too embarrassed to ask for himself. He says he will let us know when he needs something. Sponsorship Item: A manual typewriter. The students can earn money by typing. We would pay for 75% of the typewriter and the student would pay the other 25%. Father’s plans for the parish include adding the three rooms off the kitchen that I spoke about above off the kitchen. Then, over time, he wants to add a second floor to the entire building. This is a long term project. One additional Potential tragedy occurred today during Mass. A little boy named Demole drank some medicine because he was not feeling well. What resulted was that it pretty well knocked him out. I ground up some charcoal and mixed it with water hoping to absorb some of the medicine. A number of hours later he is sleeping, but seems to be coming out of it. Time for Mass. Actually, not a Mass, just a Rosary service. Very small, probably only 10 locals and us. Oddly emotional. We are leaving tomorrow with so much to be done. These people are happy in their own way. You can feel sad for that their life isn’t easier but they also have a lot of laughter, music, singing and happiness in their life as well. I think our purpose will be to help them with the basics over the next few years – education, clean water, health care. If we do that they will be able to pull themselves up. It would do no good to do things for them, they need to want the changes to come and to have an investment in it. We will have to work hard to give them a hand, not do it for them. Our last supper was simple and quiet. Goat, rice and beans, fry cakes, fruit and the last bottle of wine. Nice conversation and slow pace. A suitable last meal. “Radio Rizzo” started immediately after dinner. We sang “God Bless America” and I did the roster in the barnyard story. In fact, the entertainment is still going on. I snuck out to go potty and take a bit of a break. I am amazingly peopled out. I am looking forward to a quiet night at home away from people. And at the same time I wish Father’s list was already complete, these folks struggle so hard. Like I said earlier, an odd mix of emotions. The night ended with the dance marathon. Mick and I passed and chatted a bit until the party broke up. Sleep came quick, as did morning. So ended Sunday – 2/20/2005 Monday – 2/21/2005 Bassin-Meado to St. Josephs Father had a special 7 AM Mass just for us and a few of the locals who spent time with us. His Masses mixes a personal gentleness with a stern word just below the surface. They had a quick breakfast for us with our last bottle of wine together with Father, grapefruit, pretty good. Some young guys carried our bags down and loaded up. We check the tires that had leaks and they had held. Mick put a couple of good pumps in one tire and we were off. About 10 minutes down the road Annette asked us to stop at a flat spot, presumable for a potty stop. Actually she had forgotten her favorite cap and ran all the way back to Bassin-Meado. She returned and we were off with our next stop Wings. The ride back was the reverse of the ride out. Bouncing down the river, up hills, down hills, up hills, down hills, bounce, bounce, bounce!!!!! The GPS showed we traveled nearly 12 miles in about 2 hours. It is honestly a trip to be experienced, not told about! At Wings we returned water bottles, picked up the things we had purchased there, picked up some crosses for the next crew to wear and emailed Susie that we had gotten back OK so she could forward it to the others on the mailing list. We loaded up again and headed for St. Joseph’s Home for Boys. This was where we would spend our last night in Haiti. The Steves and Mick, with Serge, returned the SUVs to the airport. Meanwhile, Peg, the girls and I made a beer, wine and pop and snack run. They dropped us off near the market. We then walked back to St. Josephs, me with my first coke in a week – heaven! Then we took some time to chat and relax while one at a time we took “showers”. These were still bucket showers but the girls did have a “real” shower. The water is gravity fed from a cistern on the roof. The girls got to have their first beer and wine cooler with their dads. They seemed to enjoy the “treat” although by the way they sipped at them, I don’t think any of them are “boozer” quality! Soon the supper bell rang – it was VERY good. One of the skills they teach here are culinary arts. We had scalloped potatoes, chicken, cheese broccoli,and salad. On the table was bread, pound cake, brownies and wine and water. Immediately after supper we saw the performance of the Resurrection Dance Company. This is a world wide known dance company composed of boys who live here. Their individual routines portrayed different experiences of the boys when they lived on the street as well as different Haitian life experiences – fishing, the slave revolt. It is one of the best dance performances I have every seen with spectacular performances by all the kids from age 10 to 23. The Drummers were also amazing. They went flat out for nearly 2 hours. It was a fun and entertaining evening. Afterwards we adjourned to a table on a patio area to chat about our experiences. A few more beers, a first cigar for now 18 year old Kim with her dad and then off to bed. And so ended our last evening in Haiti – Monday, 2/21/2005 Tuesday – 2/22/2005 GOING HOME TODAY!!!! We were awakened by a clanging bell at 5 AM to start our day. We all got rolling, did the potty and shaving duties and headed for breakfast. Fruit – bananas, grapefruit, tangerines, mangos, papayas, scrambled weggs with green peppers and onions, Haitian coffee, rolls, sweet rolls – a great spread! I chatted a bit with Michael about a website and credit cards at Wings. He asked me to take a look at their computer that had stopped working. It turned out to be that there was no screw holding down their video card. I swiped one form another spot in the computer, reseated the memory and off it went. So now we are waiting for our ride to the airport. Meantime, I have been able to bring the old journal up to date! The taxi came a bit early and we headed out. The drive reminded me of Taiwan, the Philippines, or Panama. Chaotic, no rules but courteous drivers all in one. It was not a hard trip to the airport and we arrived about 8:45 AM. One of the “airport guys” shepherded us through bag check and customs. It cost us $45 but we were done in 35 minutes. We went through 3 security checks including a final physical pat down. Quite through. So now we wait. The plane boards at 10:30 AM and off we go!! The flight to Ft. Lauderdale was smooth and uneventful. No time there though. By the time we cleared customs, took our bags to AS and got to the gate, the plane was boarding. We did have time to do a few walking cell calls to let family and friends know we were back on US soil. Nice smooth flight to Dallas as well and time for a real meal at TGIFs! Burgers, steaks, melts were all downed with gusto! Kim sighted at her first Mountain Dew of the trip, sure heaven had arrived. Desert was a stop at a TCBY and they we were off to gate B1. I had a chance to call Chrissy and Rex to let them know we had gotten back safely. The flight home was quick, smooth and welcome. There was a great gathering of All Saints folks and Susie and Mike there to welcome us home!! It has been quite an adventure! There is so much to be done in the next year! We will have to stay focused and energized. And we will need to bring some more folks on board as well. But, the tasks are relatively simple and straight forward. All doable and all need to be done. And so ends the Haiti adventure of 2005. The Lord truly watched over our Journey. Enjoy! Bill Keller St. Mary’s, Vinton
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