Dear friends,
An eventful, busy 2 weeks has come to a close and I am “transitioning” in Florida with my mom. She cannot stop talking about her experiences in Haiti, and her desire to return! I arrived at noon yesterday and at 4:30 I was already making a presentation to a large group of her friends!
Over 3 short days, Chris Papadapolous and Marcel Castro, 2 engineering professors from the University of Puerto Rico, visited Duchity to study potential projects in collaboration with Youthaiti. We discussed ways to improve our toilet construction with small projects that might be undertaken with students. More exciting however, was a preliminary study of the potential for hydro-electric power to serve all of Duchity. We hiked down to the Glace River through terrain that gave a hint of what all of Haiti must have looked like once. Grand’Anse is an area that still retains many of its trees, unlike much of the rest of Haiti which has been largely deforested. Over the years trees have been cut down to provide charcoal and livelihoods to people in the countryside. We saw many instances of that continuing in our area, and each one broke my heart. I hope that Youthaiti will be able to discourage that practice by providing people with fruit trees to provide income when they use their Arborloos. But I digress.
The Glace River was nowhere near its peak, as the rainy season has not yet started (although we had rain almost daily!). A sufficient flow and a 39 meter waterfall set the stage for a potential project that could change the lives of thousands by providing reliable current. Now they will begin to explore feasability, environmental impact and funding!!
We visited the market and the schools, bringing Chris to tears. We learned of the huge challenges facing the children and the educators who know that education is the only key out of the trap of poverty. In the public primary school there are 80 children in the fifth grade and only ONE teacher! Novel teaching methods are impossible in such a situation! Yet the children learn with discipline, and we see the hope and aspirations in their eyes. So many dream of finishing high school and opportunities to study at university which are beyond their reach. We strive to bring whatever resources we are able to them through our projects that might enhance their learning opportunities.
Ever day in Duchity we are all continually moved by the gracious hospitality of our Haitian hosts. Not a day goes by without them reaching out in many ways to see to all our needs. Despite the lack of electricity, or running water, we had 3 delicious meals each day, all our needs met with loving care. Each visitor was sent off with a handmade gift in token of appreciation for our presence.
On our way back to Port-au-Prince we visited the teaching garden established in Les Cayes by our Agronomist, Jean Samuel Alteus. It is so rewarding to see him applying techniques he learned while studying Permaculture in Wisconsin last summer! I hope to post some photos to our Flickr page soon. The future of Haiti is in our hands! I can already see it blooming again!
As always, I must say it is thanks to you, our many supporters of Youthaiti, that we are able to be partners in this rewarding work. The problems of Haiti sometimes seem so immense, and yet little by little we are helping one community transform back into the paradise it once was.
I hope to see you all at our fund-raising benefit on Friday May 13 at the Milwaukee County Zoo. It will be an opportunity to meet some of our partners face to face, and see photos of our work over the past year. I know you will be moved by their stories.
a la pwochenn (until next time)
love
gigi
