REMEMBERING HAITI WHILE FREEZING

Here in Cleveland the month of February is making Haiti travelers long for the days of hot, sweaty weather and languid evenings on a veranda, cold drink in hand, watching the sun slide behind mountains.  At least that certainly is true for me.

My time on Neil Van Dine's deck has provided beautiful, sustaining and body-warming memories.  The gatherings on the porch at l'Ermitage cooling down in conversation with good friends are in my memory bank for withdrawal while cleaning snow off the car for the fifth time on a snowy day.  There are many blessings from having Haiti in my heart.  Warming memories and hopes are certainly at the top of the list while freezing in the wind when the temperature drops below zero.

In the past month or so two Haiti fundraisers were on my social calendar.  They provided an opportunity to see two west-side Catholic congregations supporting projects for education and development in Haiti.  The Blessed Trinity congregation sponsored a fundraiser at The Third Place Tavern.  There a few of us from "the other side of the river" were warmly embraced by a large convivial crowd in a party atmosphere.  A few weeks later Barb and I joined good friends from Forest Hill Church and Cleveland Heights at St. Michael's Woodside Hall in Broadview Heights for an elegant dinner dance organized by the Thea Bowman Center and the Haiti Outreach program.

Just as this goes out on the web, there is a group from the West Shore Unitarian Church finishing up a working visit to the Mouvman Peyizan Papay (Peasant Movement of Papaye) in the Central Plateau region near Hinche.  Having visited the headquarters and a new village under construction in 2012, I would have dearly loved to be on this trip.  MPP, under the leadership of agronomist, Chavannes Jean Baptiste, is Haiti's greatest organization of farmers and is dedicated to development of sustainable farming by Haitians.  Here is a short video about him and his work.  

I hope we can get together soon with these friends and share our experiences, knowledge and appreciation for Haiti and the Haitians with whom we are partnering.

--kjl