The days fly by whenever I’m in Haiti. The team arrived almost one week ago and we have been busy every day. We went first to St Louis de Sud, where we took a boat to the community of La Pointe st Nicola. There we inaugurated 2 new public dry toilets in a beach-side community that is unable to dig latrines without hitting water. We were greeted on the beach with singing and excitement. The entire community seemed to be there and there were music and dancing performances – just wonderful! They prepared a banquet of fresh sea food for us before we left. On to Les Cayes and up to Duchity in the dark. Unfortunately we arrived in the car before the truck with our provisions. So while the rest of the team crashed in our house, I waited up for Marcorel with our suitcases and extra mattresses, and the food truck that was delayed from Les Cayes.
Sunday was a rest day with a visit to the Catholic church and the World Cup soccer game on TV in the afternoon. In the evening everyone got a taste of Barbancourt rum and Compa dancing.
Monday back to work! We began making Arborloo covers in Trou Bois, to be distributed next week when another team comes to Duchity. The wood was green and hard to cut into boards with the hand saw, but the forms got made eventually and the cement poured.
Tuesday we inaugurated another toilet in Fon Deron. This time we were greeted by a drum drill team of local youth. Again the whole community seemed to fill the church building where our team taught about use of the dry toilet, including the benefits to agriculture.
Wednesday we walked across the river to Plenn maten to do a bit of work in the garden and help build a new compost pile. The car was getting some repairs and it was a bit of a stretch for some of the team to make the walk, but we all got to experience up close the amazing Haitian countryside, and snack on fresh sugar cane on our way back.
Already it is Thursday, the week is quickly coming to an end. We walked back down to Trou Bois this morning to watch the completion of the Arborloos, and after lunch a few of us walked up towards Les Caves before the rains came. We visited Daphina, a young girl in the community with some motor problems who is learning to walk with a brace and a walker provided by a physical therapist friend from Naperville. Seeing the determination of this severely disabled little girl, and her family who live in a house with a dirt floor and very little furniture, was moving beyond words.
I feel like these few words do not describe at all the pictures and events of the past few days – only the chronology. It is always interesting to me to see Duchity anew through the eyes of newcomers. The market, the mountains, the faces of children begging to have their photo taken – I wish you all could see it yourselves, because I cannot find the words.
We will continue to build toilets and teach people about hygiene and newer methods of agriculture. We will continue to build partnerships in communities clamoring for dry toilets and Arborloos. We will continue to develop friendships that cross cultures and borders and make the world a little smaller and a little better for all of us.
may you all have a good night under the same stars.
gigi
