CONNECTING WITH CHILDREN THROUGH CRAFTS AND SONG

Part of the team from FHC spent four days with orphans and their teachers at the school run by the Little Sisters of the Incarnation at Pandiassou.  Team members, Deanne Lentz, Joan Bacon, Elizabeth Shaw,  Mary Ball and Anne Smith lugged suitcases full of craft supplies and a portable printer.   Their heads were packed with projects and ideas for partnering with children and teachers in a creative binge.

After a hesitant start on the first day, things picked up and excitement built.  By the last day all the children had a framed photograph of themselves -- for many, a first portrait of their very own.

There were bracelets and other adornments, drawings, collages and memories left behind.

--kjl

PRIORITIZE THE POOR AND WORK WITH THEM

I found this article to be in line with what we have heard from some of the people we met in Haiti.  It is a perspective that I saw working in Haiti Outreach's clean water development work. --kjl

Nov. 11 issue

We can’t forget Haiti

By Theo Sitther

The story of Haiti is one of survival in spite of tremendous odds. Mennonite Central Committee partners there often put their analysis of Haiti’s current situation in a historical context.

The story begins in 1804, the year of Haiti’s independence from French colonization and slavery, and the establishment of the first black republic. But the United States, France and Spain, fearing slave rebellions in their own countries and colonies, punished Haiti with trade embargoes. Over the years, hardship continued, with multiple U.S. military interventions, the accumulation of debt by dictators and unjust trade and economic policies throughout the 1990s.

Even the impact of the 2010 earthquake, a natural event, was made far more disastrous by human factors. Many farmers had migrated to cities like Port-au-Prince because they could no longer make a living — due in part to the cheap imported rice from the United States.

However, response to the 2010 crisis presented an opportunity for change.
MCC and other groups continue to work on ensuring that the people of Haiti are included, involved and consulted throughout the processes of relief, reconstruction and development. Our contribution to the recovery is small, but being informed by local priorities is effective.

International actors and policymakers rallied in support of Haiti, pledging billions of dollars in aid. U.S. officials who were put in charge of relief and reconstruction promised to “build back better.”
Now almost four years later, this goal seems like a distant memory. The rallying cry of the international community sounds more like a whimper.

Haitians wonder what has happened to the billions of dollars in aid that were pledged. Even though millions of dollars have been spent, many Haitians continue to experience poverty.
Nearly 300,000 people continue to live in tent camps. Many are living in so-called transitional shelters. Those who are still living in tents have few options for finding a permanent home.

U.S. aid in Haiti has tended to focus on private-sector industrial growth rather than direct support to earthquake victims. Millions of dollars have been spent on an industrial park in northern Haiti. These types of investments are supposed to create jobs for the Haitian people. But it is unclear how low-wage factory jobs that pay up to $5 per day will allow Haitians to support their families, much less raise the standard of living.

MCC’s partners in Haiti call for a development approach that prioritizes the most vulnerable and holistically addresses the population’s needs. For example, the 300,000 people living in tents deserve to have one of their most basic human needs — dignified housing — met. More resources should be devoted to such needs.

The U.S. and other international actors in Haiti should be more transparent and consultative with Haitian civil society when carrying out development projects. When Haitians themselves are in control and at the center of the rebuilding process, U.S. aid efforts will be far more effective. See washington.mcc.org/advocate/alerts to learn about advocating for aid accountability in Haiti.

Haiti’s story can go beyond mere survival to a country that thrives and prospers. The Book of Proverbs says wisdom “walks in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice” (8:20). Wise policies for Haiti will foster justice by focusing on the most vulnerable.

Theo Sitther is senior legislative associate for international affairs in the Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office.

GROUP PORTRAIT

Photo by Zo

This is the portrait of the group I call Haiti 2013.  It was taken on our way home.  The man to the far right is one of our drivers.  Above us all in the tree, appropriately, is Carline Paul-blanc.  

Carline in her native land

BASSIN ZIM

Bassin Zim is the name of a beautiful waterfall that Haitians around Hinche prize and promote as a tourist attraction.  Take a look.

Our group made the short trip from Hinche to the falls the day before we headed home.  That Friday was a national holiday, so Neil Van Dine and his family came from Pignon to meet all of us there and to deliver me back to my FHC companions.

Some set up chairs and soaked in the beauty and sound of water falling down rocks into a pool.  The more nimble scrambled up slippery slopes and across streams to the grotto above the main falls.  Crowds of youngsters eagerly offered to be personal assistants to help us navigate the treacherous route up.

The grotto at the top is an interesting spot where voodoo ceremonies are sometimes held.  

It is not hard to imagine that at night with only torches for light the grotto would be really spooky. 

Well into the grotto, some of the graffiti is very ancient.  It needs to be protected from the contemporary graffiti that thoughtless tourists post.  

There is a concern that as more foreign tourists come to Bassin Zim, the falls and the grotto need more management to prevent abuse.  I hope it doesn't get too commercialized and lose the intensity of its natural beauty combined with the aura of mystery and spirituality.

Bonus:  For an entertaining video to promote tourism to Bassin Zim, click on this link.

--kjl

COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING IN HAITI

October 29-30.  Nothing changes more often than plans here in Haiti.  It was decided Tuesday that I would go with Rose Carmelle, a person whose job we would describe as a community organizer, to two villages where local community members are preparing to take responsibility for their community well and its operation.

The compelling need and the opportunity for a village to have a well and clean water of its own sets the table for the more critical task of coaching villagers, mostly illiterate, in the techniques of organizing for permanent management responsibility.  The well and clean water is a recognized need while the development of the local civic capacity to manage responsibly is not a need well recognized here in rural Haiti.  The concept, as well as the method, of responsible, transparent management is totally lacking.  As a result, the material resources directed to local communities are not well-used or sustained. We patrons of the poor in Haiti have trouble dealing with this.  We see a need and respond to the visible need without regard to the less visible need for an organized management structure based in the community to make sure wells, schools, medical clinics, tree farms, etc. are serving their community over the long haul.  That is what sustainable community development is all about -- building management capacity along with new community assets.

In this little church near St. Raphael, Haiti meetings are held regularly to prepare the way for a community well.  I was there twice this week.

These people, along with their community organizer, are are getting ready to govern the maintenance and use of the well and of the water according to their own enforceable regulations.

These children are among the hundreds of people who need this well and clean water.  

If there is to be a well that works for this community permanently, it will depend on a community management council with the capacity to operate it permanently.  That's the story from Haiti Outreach.

--kjl

PIGNON AND HAITI OUTREACH

October 28.  Today I left the FHC team for a scouting expedition to the headquarters of Haiti Outreach in Pignon (Piyon).  I met Neil Van Dine when he passed through Cleveland with his family this summer.  Neil has lived and worked in Haiti for nearly 30 years.  Haiti Outreach is a community development organization specializing in making wells as a means of building capacity for community responsibility at the village level.  From Pignon their operation extends virtually all over Haiti.  My friend, Dionissi Aliprantis in Cleveland, connected me with Neil.  Learn more about Haiti Outreach.

I am staying in their guest house.  It is comfortable, although more Spartan than L'Ermitage.  I am apparently the only guest tonight.  It is located across the road from the air strip.  It is a longer and better kept landing strip than the one at Hinche.  I hope the air traffic is not to brisk tonight.

I am suffering from being overfed.  The amount of food I am served is huge.  Just take a look at lunch today.  And let me assure you, it is good and hearty county cuisine.  Chicken, carrots, plantain with black rice and gravy.  There was a Coke too, made with cane sugar.  Remember how Coke tasted in the '50s?

Roberta, Neil's wife, is a Haitian physician just completing the mandatory service required to be licensed to practice in Haiti.  She has a vision for serving those most in need of primary care on a regular basis, especially children and mothers.

I am experiencing something new here.  There are families living near the guest house.  This evening I hear children playing, now that the sun is down.  Some men hanging around the office near by were eager for some conversation.

One man, George, is working as an independent interpreter.  He is engaged in some gardening at his house just down the road using new agrarian methods that he was very delighted to discuss with me.  I tried to make a go of it in Kreyol, but he wanted to talk in English so we could understand each other better.  Translation: My Kreyol is pitiful and slow.

Later, after he finished his office work at 7:00, Neil took me into Pignon for a couple of Prestiges at a tiny bar.  Seating was on stools in the street.  The street was paved with concrete, though.  We chatted for over an hour.  A missionary, Mary, strolled by.  She lives in Hinche, but has an ice cream store in Pignon.  Men, women and children strolled by.  Lots of cheery chatter.

I'm shadowing Neil tomorrow on a day of travel.  Now, I'm refreshed and heading for bed.

--kjl

WE ARRIVE IN PANDIASSOU!

Sunday evening we arrived in Pandiassou at LErmitage, the hotel where the team will live for a week. Just down the road is the headquarters of the Little Brothers and Sisters of the Incarnation where our work teams will report tomorrow morning.

Travel to Port Au Prince (PAP) from Cleveland via Miami was smooth.  The airport has been transformed into a well-ordered and comfortable facility.  I noticed immediately that there was less rubble and a greater sense of order on the streets.  More people were selling wares, more stores were open and there was construction going on all over.  The traffic is still a grind, though.

Our two days in PAP were very rewarding.  The highlights:

• Getting 18 people, counting the driver, into a 14 person van along with an incredible amount of baggage because of all the supplies we  brought.  Bonding was imperative.
• Visited the National Historical Museum for a lesson on Haiti's history.
• After dinner at the Trinity Lodge where we stayed, there was a briefing with staff personnel from the Little Brothers and Sisters of the Incarnation.  John Lentz presented them with $5,000 check from the fundraiser to go along with the gift of $2,500 in supplies, medicine and materials we brought along.  
• We got acquainted with Cindy Corell, the Presbyterian Church staff person who assisted us with logistics and planning for our time in PAP.
• Saturday was full of interesting adventures:

• Thanks to Carline Paul-blanc's connections, we visited a radio station and were unexpectedly invited to participate in a talk show for about 15 minutes.  Their broadcast gets to 70% of Haiti.  John Lentz expressed greetings from FHC and our team, while Carline gave a speech in Kreyol saying ... well, we are pretty sure it was a wonderful message.  As a result, she got a phone call from a politician in Hinche who offered to help us make some contacts to further the type of work we are doing.  That was followed by a short visit to a TV station.  
• A tour to Petionville, a suburb where people of importance and wealth live on a mountainside overlooking PAP.  It was a scenic contrast to the cramped and hard-scrabble life in the city below.  It was cooler too, a very big plus for us.
• Carline's connections and a cousin with cars enabled a few of us (names withheld out of courtesy) to go back to Petionville to a night club featuring one of Haiti's great bands, Boukman Eksperyans.  Here is a link to a sample of their style.  The performers are a family, some of whom Carline knows.  We got an introduction and some pictures.  The music was fascinating, LOUD and in an language I don't understand.  Did I say LOUD?  Anyone interested in Haitian/Caribbean contemporary music should check them out.  I'm glad for this extra-curricular embellishment of my cultural education.  My dancing attempts were an utter, and denounced, failure ... again.
• Sunday morning we attended church at the Episcopal Cathedral where the congregation worships in a specially constructed sanctuary while the Cathedral is being reconstructed.  It was devastated by the earthquake in 2010.  It was the first Sunday that the entire service was in Kreyol rather than French.  The country is gradually moving to predominant use of Kreyol instead of French.  This increases cohesion of the population and enhances a sense of national identity.
• Sunday afternoon we drove up into the mountains to Hinche and the village of Pandiassou.  For me, it felt like a homecoming and I am delighted to be back here.  It is so beautiful and so special to me.  

Our homecoming dinner was wonderful.  I am so greatful to be here!  Oh sure, there are challenges and some discomfort; but we are all feeling great and ready for tomorrow.  I will be going on a scouting trip 18 miles away to Pignon, a small city.  There is a community development program there of an organization called Haiti Outreach.  It has been in operation for about 25 years.  I hope to get an education on how they carry out the mission of building community in coordination with economic development.  They have  experience working with groups of people like us who want to be engaged alongside Haitians in building community capacity.

Nah weh pita, as we say in Kreyol.

--kjl

PS  Pictures are posing a bit of a problem on the internet right now, so they will have to be shown later.