HATS Haiti

Where do I start? I have so many things to tell you about that I fear this blog could have pages and pages. Usually when I travel like this, I write an email journal. I write for “me” and hope that others can make sense of what I am trying to say. So that’s what I will do here as well.

It’s Monday…The rooster kept me up all night. As well, this truck drove up and down the town honking and honking. Karen explained to me that it was the ” 3 a.m. alarm” to get the workers in the village up (since they don’t have their own alarms) and to wake up anyone who is catching the 3:30 a.m bus to Port Au Prince. So I guess I’ll have to try to ignore that this week as well as that rooster.

Construction starts early here, and the main house (where the office is) is a revolving door of men asking for Karen…Poor woman, she can’t sit down for one minute to try to get her reports done without someone seeking her help or instructions.

I love watching the construction crew. It is incredible to see what they have managed to build here with very simple tools. Sooooooo smart and capable.  I am in constant awe.  I realize that technology has made our lives simple, but what will happen when or if we ever run out of oil, or lose our power????? The so- called first world industrialized countries will suffer greatly and  will surely be relying on the knowledge and abilities of the people in the world who have managed without what we have had.

We drove into the village yesterday for a bit to visit another mission and got to see a soccer game in action. It seemed like the whole village was there to watch the game. Several vendors were set up and  sugar cane was being sold, along with some kind of mystery booze, and I think I saw beer.  We didn’t stay long as the mission people weren’t there and I was told that  these games can get rather crazy.

Since I’ve had the opportunity to see a couple of villages, I have been able to “see” the homes that Haitians live in. Very basic needs are barely met. I don’t know how to get you to relate other than to imagine going to a camp. Some of you quite enjoy the “camp” experience; the cooking over a fire; the day spent preparing for the next meal; hauling in drinking water; maybe even washing dishes in the river or at a makeshift sink, where you’ve had to boil water for washing dishes; telling stories by campfire because you don’t have electricity….and yes, even the outhouse experience can be somewhat fun and adventurous…but  In Canada, usually going to camp means having a good time and.being close to  nature for a weekend, a few weeks and maybe a month or so….Imagine though, doing that every single day…and imagine that what I listed above can be considered a luxury…food, fire, water. Because, the reality is that some of the people here don’t even have that.  So, the picture you see of the houses, and the football game going on…those are the lucky people here in Haiti.

Next time I write, I want to run through a typical day here at HATS. Now that I have experienced a couple of weekdays and a weekend, I am starting to get the routine. Until next time…BYE BYE….