Real Hope for Haiti Update- Week One (and a half)

Real Hope for Haiti is located in Cazele. Everyone asks where that is so I say about an hour from PAP, the opposite direction from Jacmel,along the coast (ish). I am very directionally challenged so that is as good as it will get. It is very, very hot. To quote the Wicked Witch: "I'm melting!"

Real Hope is a very cool ORG and I love it here. I met Zach 2 weekends ago at a gas station by the airport to come here. Zach is hilarious and gets his kicks out of telling stories or things to freak out the new volunteers. Before I had even spoken with him Lori apologized for him and told me they only let him drive. We went to bring Lori some supplies to the Doctors without Boarders France, where she was staying with her husband who'd been in a Moto accident. On the way there Zach told me how he had been stopped by 3 guys earlier that week on the "Death Road" and held at gunpoint. After Doctors without Boarders we picked up Lori's Mother-in-law and I sat in the back. Then we proceeded to take that road- with instructions for me "If I bang on the window that means there's trouble and you need to lay down, but I will just drive really fast!" And so he did. Their link is posted on the right. 

There was a group here when I arrived, as well as 2 other more long term volunteers. One was actually from Alberta Canada! The other, Carly is still here. We helped the group out with some seemingly simple, but never the less important, such s counting pills and pulling gloves. I also spent quite a bit of my time with Alex. (Who has improved a lot already to say the least). He is also a main reason my blog has not yet been posted! Ha.

On Friday I went and stayed at Heartline and met up with Michelle! Who is finally in Haiti! I was so excited to see her, and so glad that her trip worked out that we could be here at the same time. I got sick Friday night and Saturday which cancelled my plans for Lamentine, but I will get down there soon! I am also going to be meeting up with her in about 2 weeks time and heading back up to Seguin with her group to run a VBS. It will be great fun!

On Monday there was a serious Moto accident on our road and 4 victims showed up just after lunch. All were injured. Two of the four had abraisions and lacerations on there faces, and gashes on there eyes. Honestly the gravel tore up some of the wounds so badly that it looked like the flesh had been through a meat grinder. The only way we could tell where to give one women stitches was becuase she still had her lower lashes. The drivers knee was tore up right down to the knee-cap, he was only 17. A very lucky 19y/o girl was 3 months pregnant and only had some scraped and bruising on one of her sides. Licia had to call in some of her night staff to come and help. They all got cleaned up, stitched up, splinted and sent home for the night to come back Tuesday and get checked on. We told them all once they could travel to go to a hospital in Port for X-rays. By the time it was all done it was after 6p.m.

Also, guess who showed up here yesterday? Any guesses? Anna! I was looking forward to the fact that we are actually in Haiti, at the same place, in the same time!  We met at GLA 4 years ago and when it was my (and her) first trip to Haiti! We managed to stay in contact via Facebook since then! How cool is that? 

Today was spent at the Cholera House. Changing IV bags, and when finished that putting down vinyl flooring with Gorilla tape into 2 of the rooms. Real hope is just temporarily using someone's vacation home until January as the Cholera house- so it has to be kept in tip-top shape. I think we are going to finish off the other rooms this week.

So Once again, sorry for my delayed blog updates- As you can tell I have been busy and have my hands full. Literally!

Lovelove

Alex- in Cazele

First off I want to say sorry for being so behind on my blog updates! But here is another new one for you:

Alex


Right now I'm in Cazele at Real Hope For Haiti. Here they have over 120 Haitian staff so I am support doing little jobs, but I also have a project- a baby named Alex He is 2 years old but if you didn't know you would think he was 6 months. He is extremely malnourished and neglected. He gas only been at Real Hope for around 2 weeks. He has scabies and recently developed thrush. Another awesome volunteer was looking after him before I came and I took over when she left. I will be here for another 1-2 weeks so hopefully he will out on some weight and improve while I am here. I think he is already improving a little, he has started throwing small tantrums and crying when he doesn't get what he wants. How is this a good thing? Well I think it shows he's getting stronger. He also has the biggest smile when he is happy, when you say his name or go to pick him up it spreads across his entire face. 

Alex also has been sleeping with me for part of the night when he is restless. This has caused me to get scabies, and less sleep than I'd normally like- but it's totally worth it. I know he needs that love and touch. I have gotten him to start eating more, and have been getting some Medika Mamba into him (Peanut butter with extra nutrients to help him out on weight and grow) sometimes it's a battle, and feeding him usually take ps a good part of an hour anyway. Usually with one, or both of us covered in food.

Alex is an amazing little boy and I am so blessed to have him in my life for this short period of time, to just love on him and fill him up while I am here. I know God is using him to change me too, I just don't know how yet. My prayer for Alex is that he will grow strong and smart, that he will know he is loved and cared for. I know some of you will be praying for him too. I know I will continue to see changes in him, and I am excited to update you all on him, even in just a short week.

Lovelove 

Thoughts from the Box of a truck.

Where do we ride while in Haiti? Well- when we have a vehicle that sits five people and you have much more people than that you sit in the back. In the box or on the edge of it. This doesn't make drivers go any slower - still 50 miles an hour at least - you end up covered in dirt and dust and, if it's a long enough trip, will probably burn, but I love it. It's exhilarating- like when your a kid on a bike and decide to ride down the hill to fast. The wind whipping into your face and the sun beating down on you. Your mind tends to wander ( it's a little hard to hear people when they talk to you) until your shocked back to reality when you turn a corner a little to quick, when the oncoming vehicle blares its horn and you can feel it's pull- for an instant- as it passes you. Sometimes less than a foot away. Like a semi on the highway, but with the Semi you are probably, hopefully, inside the vehicle. It all feels so much closer from the back of the truck too- it's louder, you feel the vehicle swerve or move more, and like I said, when your not paying attention it can definitely give you a good jolt. But then I think- I could die this way. Not that I want to die, or want to die suddenly and tragically, but I want to die while living. I don't want to be sick or old and unable to take care of myself. I don't want to be a living vegetable. I don't want to be a burden, waiting around to die. I want to die while living life to it's everyday potential. I want to live in my own home and have my life. I want to die while doing something. It could be just loving my grandkids or it or it could be traveling the world. Making a difference wherever I can. Loving- caring- giving. 

To die, living. 

Glow Stick Party? Heck Yes!

Glow Stick Party? I think so! 

What's the best way to end 2 weeks in Seguin? Obviously a glow stick party. So on Thursday night that is what we did. We wanted to throw a "Goodbye" Party for Kyle- but he obviously knew something was up. We managed to get some Cake and brownie from Jacmel and had them hid under the bed until Brandi could make them on Thursday. I had brought in glow sticks- so we also had a ton of them to use to decorate. I had gotten sick that day but thankfully was feeling better- there was no way I was missing this. 

The cake was great! The plan all worked. We ended up taking sweet photos with the glow sticks and to end it off I went downstairs to give some to the kids and dance with them! A couple kids figured out how to break the glow sticks and sprayed the inside all over their, and my, clothes. Luckily I haven't seen any stains. We dance and spun around and watched them play. What a great way to end the night. 

A week- and weekend- in Seguin.

Well, by the end of this I am going to have killer calves. We walk here- everywhere. Not on paved roads, on dirt trails and rocks and hills. Around 6 miles a day lately. Like I said, killer calves. Some of the people here have kept up with running while we a up here. I am not one of them. All the power to them, but I am sore already and am very excited to run on pavement once again. 

Our community health project:

For the most part, is going great. Other than I may not have saved one of the days work and lost around 20 people information. Those houses will have to be revisited. Sigh. We are split into 2 groups now to cover more ground. I am with Janea who's creole is getting to be killer, we do have a translator/ guide though, to prevent getting lost!  We get through our questions quick and efficiently. Yay! Lynea and Nicole are with Kyle. At the end of all of this Kyle will be able to track and see where the majority of people do have water and toilettes, and who does not. Then he can find out why and what can be done about it, like education.

The kids:

I love the kids here. They are so funny. Some of them speak a English,but most only speak a little bit. Combined with my very week creole it sometimes take a little while to figure out what's going on. They think it is a game though, making good practice for me. The other day I taught a group of boys to play freeze tag. It was a funny process. First of having to explain that I am it and run from me unless I tag you. They caught onto that part easy, and are great at chase. Then to explain the 'freeze' part. When I catch you, you have to stop where you are and stand with your arms out. Luckily I knew the word for stand, because they would keep running with the arms out. Then we had to figure out to save them and run under their arms, this was also quite funny. Finally one of the boys caught onto it and explained to all the rest. This probably wasn't the best thing for me since now they understood there was no way I could catch them. Finally some one else was chosen to be it. After I was worn out I went back inside, but had to promise to come back and play again after school another day. 

The church:

The church we went to on Sunday was great. The people were so welcoming and happy to have us there . I always love going Haitian church, even though it sometimes is 3hours long, hot, and stuffy. It always inspires me how everyone sings with there entire soul, and hangs onto what the speakers say. How often is it in church you find your mind wandering, thinking about what your going to have for lunch or what your doing that afternoon. I am not saying people here don't do that, I am sure they do- but when they are paying attention, they a really paying attention. We had to go up and sing a song in front of the church, Rachel was supposed to but we ended up getting sent up with her and her ukulele to sing amazing grace. 

Hope your enjoying the updates. My friend Janae is also keeping a blog we're here in Seguins. You can check it out for another point of view.
Janaelindeman.blogspot.com

Lovelove

In response to my 'controversial' blog post

Hey everyone. So I have had some confused or concerned responses to this blog post that I want to clear up. No one 'made me mad' and caused me to write this posting- I am staying with and with out teams while I am in Haiti and sometimes am the fly in the wall, so I may be aware of things that I wouldn't typically notice. I may get frustrated watching the same situations happen over and over again though. The point I was trying to get across is that YES come to Haiti, volunteer, support missionaries, do good as we are commanded to. But,

When we give of ourselves to help the poor, to give money or your time, you need to be aware and respectful of the situation we are in. 

1)You know that saying "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish, feed him forever"? it's like that.

Why is it that kids, and adults alike, come up to me and tell me to "Give them $1" or give them my shoes, or my watch, and then expect me to? Well, because this behavior has been reinforced. This is us not being aware of the situation we are in and we are contributing to the poverty in 3 world countries when we do this. Then we get to go back to home to our lives and feel good about ourselves.
  

2) Secondly, if you went to stay with a friend for a weekend, and your friend did not have as nice of a house as you, or they did not have all the foods you liked. Would you complain? Most likely not, you probably wouldn't even mention it. If there hot water was broken you would tell them not to worry about it. You wouldn't complain and ask why they hadn't fixed it yet. That would be rude. So why is it when we come and stay in other countries we will complain about the food, or the lack of hot water, or the lack of AC to people who run the guesthouses we stay in and to the missionaries. Its not easy to have a group of people come in, you have pre planning, meals, accommodation, work and 'fun' things planned so they don't get worn out. Most places bend over backwards to accommodate  teams that come in, and we complain. This is not being respectful or the people that have worked hard to make our trips work, and make both them, and us, feel bad about it. Is is how we act spoiled. 

 I know most of my blog posting have been uplifting and I sound excited. Don't get me wrong- I still am! And I have an uplifting and exciting blog for my past week in Seguin (coming soon!) my trip is still going amazing, and. Am in the process of planning my time in July. I hope this cleared up any confusion, and did not just expand and make the original post harder to follow. 

Much love

What I learned today during my Community Health Survey

What I have learned today in Seguin, while trying to do our survey questions and speak my very broken creole.

Grangou means hungry
Moun means people

Try not to mix this two words up, because when you do instead of asking

"Konbyen moun rece" 

(how many people live heren) 

You will get this

"Konbyen grangou rece" 

(translates to something about how many hungry?)

Also, if you are trying to ask if people have a toilette you could say

"Pagay toilette"

(you don't have a a toilette)

But, if you break up the word toilette while you are trying to say it, so it sounds like two words, you will get this

"Pagay toi-lette" 

(you don't have any tin or milk?) 

Which causes much confusion and me being laughed at by Americans and Haitians alike.

Any guesses on how many people it takes to ask some community health questions?

Answer:
Team of 5 Blanc's
The family you are asking
That family's friends, neighbors, and non-immediate family members, 
All the Haitian kids, some adults, and a boy on his horse, that have decided to follow on the 3 mile hike to all the surrounding areas. 

Hopefully I will learn some more creole, quickly, and actually be able to pronounce it by the end of this trip so I can actually ask about toilettes. 

Lovelove

Seguin

Seguin is unlike any other place in Haiti I have been too. It is beautiful, stunning, different. An 8hr drive from PAP, through a river, and so high up into the mountains you feel like you are almost at the top. At one point the truck got stuck in the mud and we had to get off the back and push. The trail Was rocky and slick, sometimes slightly scary that we could plummet into the valley below if we didn't hold on tight. I definitely acquired some new bruises from sitting in the box with the luggage. 

I am sitting on the roof of the clinic, with a cat in my lap. You can see the coast from here, the ocean fading into the sky. If it weren't for the clouds it would be hard to tell where the ocean ends and sky begins. Swirls of blue and white.  The mountains are green and red clay. Grey slabs of rock jut out from the mountain side, reminding me of something you'd see in Ireland. Brick houses with tin roofs sprinkle the mountain side. As I am writing this I can here kids playing, babies crying and can see the fog rolling in, cooling off the air so the I am glad I am wearing pants. There is a thick line of trees and forest, showing were deforestation stopped. I can see why someone would want to live up here. I also can see why it would make you go crazy. You could feel quite isolated amiss the village people, and english is hard to come by. The people are beautiful.

We hiked the mountain side today, starting on our two-week project. It was beautiful, but not easy. Luckily the rain held off for the first time in days. We will be documenting clean water usage and whether families have latrines. We are looking for rain catchers and bucket purification systems. Then we will document hopefully finding out who uses the clean water and toilets, and find out who doesn't. Then we will be able to do more about it. The more people drinking clean water and using clean toilettes = a healthier community and a longer life expectancy. Hopefully we will also be able to deliver some water purification systems to people and offer more education to those who need it. 

 We came back for a late lunch, our one meal of the day(the rest we have to fend for ourselves- hello market on Thursday) and spent the majority of the afternoon playing with the village kids. Playing soccer and sliding down the hill, or should I say rocks, on pieces of plastic and tin. It was so much fun. 

Like a said- unlike anywhere I have ever been. 

Controversial feelings

Sometimes people frustrate me. A lot. And by people I mean North American volunteers who come to Haiti. Yes, I am one of them, and I know they are down here to do a good thing....but I still get frustrated. Here is why:

1) We are spoiled. All of us. We come from the wealthiest societies where we can have whatever we want, whenever we want. We shower in hot showers as often as we want, for as long as we want. We have new cars and cell phones and hair dryers and electricity all of the time. And when we don't have these things, well sometimes we act like spoiled brats. Most of the world doesn't have hot showers, or electricity, or own there own cars. Then we complain about the cold water...Most people here are lucky here to have running water at all... And even rarer, for the water to be clean! That is a thought that doesn't even cross our minds when we take a drink from the tap, or brush our teeth.

2) We are know-it-alls. We have no concept about the poverty we are coming into, or the culture. But we come in anyway, and think we know what is best, and the best way to get it done. We don't listen to the possible other way, because there is no way it is better than ours. It's true, we may know the quickest most efficient way to do something in America, but it is not like that everywhere we go. Its hard, but try to imagine if you had no school for your kids. Then imagine if someone offered to come and help you build a new school. They would bring the supplies and you together would work to help make your Children's future better. But, while they were there, you were informed that everything you did was wrong, and you had to build they school how they wanted. Now where these people came there was no cold winters, so they didn't want to insulate the building. You had to build the walls without insulation how they wanted. Because they knew best. When that school is done, and those people left; their good deed complete, what do you do? Well you tear down the walls, insulate them, and put them back up again. Wouldn't have that been easier the first time? 

3) We think we are above- or better than everyone else. You may not even realize you do this one. Have you ever had someone talk about you like your not even there? Or like you can't understand what they are talking about, when you can? It's not very often you here 'those white people' in a negative way. People usually talk to you, not about your entire culture, and what's wrong about it. Now, remember, it may not be what you say, but how you say it. I have even used the 'it's very Haitian' phrase. After I noticed other people doing it, and how it sounded when the words rolled of their tongues, that I realized. People are people. We all turn to dirt when we die. That is all. It makes me think of my Grandpa, who treated everyone the same. Absolutely everyone, no matter what culture, education, or background they come from. I have yet to meet someone who sees everyone so much the same since. I can only strive to see the world as he saw it. 

Now, not all Americans are bad. That is not what I
 am trying to imply at all. I think volunteering and giving of ones self to help the needy is an amazing thing. God even commands it in the bible ("There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11) volunteers truly do, for the most part, help the people who need it. They grow themselves by their experiences and become aware to the real things of life, they may continue to help for the rest of their lives. I think everyone should do a missions trip once in their life. I also believe that it is a good and unselfish thing to give your time, your money, and your resources to help those less fortunate it. I think what it comes down to though, is we just need to do it respectfully. 

Should I stay or should I go?

Darling you gotta let me know...Should I stay or should I go?

It is really funny what pops into a persons head. For example: The Clash. As I was sitting and thinking about whether or not I should stay in Haiti, or if I am being called into long term mission, that is the song that crossed my mind. The rest of song doesn't really go along with my train of thought, but I couldn't remember anything but the first line anyway.

I have been struggling with whether or not I am supposed to make a real commitment to Haiti. People ask me if I was given the opportunity would I stay here forever? Would I drop everything and move here full time? My answer- every time- has been "Hands-down! Just tell me where I am going!"

...That should mean something, right? 

I never honestly thought of myself as a missionary. People have called me that before and I have brushed it off and laughed. Me? Missionary? When someone uses that term I think of 100 years ago when people had to travel by boat or canoe and get left deep in the jungle. No telephone, for sure no iPad. Almost no contact with back home. Sometimes even left with cannibals! That is not me, I am a privileged white Canadian girl with my car and cell phone and my 'average' life. So missionary? No. I just love people, the Haitian people, and want to do something to help them. A lot of the time I feel completely in over my head and useless. Yes I am helping, but there is so much more than could be done! I can't even imagine where to start. 

But then I think, I have already started. I may not be able to feed every starving child, rescue every Restavik, or get rid of the all the turmoil. But I can do something. And something is always better than nothing. If everyone simply tried to help each other, or take care of the poor, the needy, the widows, wouldn't the world be a better place? 

I have already decided to extend my time on this trip. I may not have the funds or know what is going to happen, or where I will stay...but I trust God will provide. I already know I am going to be supported by all of you by your thoughts, prayers, and donations, and I am so thankful for that. 

Now, the question of the hour, that has been on my heart for the past few days.

Is God calling me to move to Haiti full time? 
And if he is what will I do? 
Where will I go? 
And is he calling me to make this decision now...or in the future? 

I would greatly appreciate all of your thoughts on this, as I already know it will be in your prayers.

Love love 

"so that the Levites and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."
                                    Deuteronomy 14:29

Describing Ayiti

Whenever I talk to someone they ask me 'How is Haiti' or how my trip in Haiti is going so far. For me, that is such a hard question to answer. Usually I try to give a one word answer to describe the whole of it, something like awesome or amazing. Or I try to describe the temperature - hot. The weather - drizzling rain. What I did that week- built houses. I think all of these help to describe parts of Haiti, or what I did so far in Haiti, but it still doesn't paint the picture how I want.

Finally I went online and googled words that could describe Haiti for me. These are my favorite ones it came up with: 

amazing
Awe-inspiring
beautiful
breathtaking
Moving
overwhelming
Tragic
wonderful

Even now looking at those words I don't think they are doing as good of a job as I would like. I have been racking my brain for the past few days on how to describe what being here is like personally, for me. Finally this morning, after my run in the rain this is what I came up with: 

Being in Haiti for is like being underwater and coming up for a breath of fresh air. The air may not always smell the best- its usually a mix of burning garbage, BO, a whiff of the ocean breeze and fragrant flowers- but it is the deepest breath you take. It is so real and so raw, there is nothing fake about it. How can that not be the best breath you take?