Dear Friends,
Those of you who have followed my travels to Haiti in the past may have been disappointed to not receive any email updates while we were in Duchity. Unfortunately, we did not have internet access during this trip, and did not have power much of the time either. So here is a recap –
After a long day of travel from Port-au-Prince, we were greeted at the new OJPDH house in Duchity by the members of the board. The house was painted and is beautiful!! We all felt immediately at home! Dinner was on the table prepared by our 4 wonderful cooks: Frantzou, Veslie, Guerline and Laonie. Our constant companion and guard was Mahens. There is space for guests in Duchity anytime! When are you coming down??
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It is exciting to see the work that is being done by the young people of our partner organization, OJPDH (Organization of Progressive Youth for the Development of Haiti). As an organization of youth, they make tremendous effort and sacrifice for the improvement of their country. We attended the inauguration of the 6th dry composting toilet at the market of Duchity, funded by Rotary Club – Milwaukee. IN the photo, Gerald Polyte and JeanEmy Elysee teach people how to properly use the toilet. The mayor encouraged people to take the opportunity to change their behavior and keep the market place clean. The construction and management is supervised by OJPDH. We will charge people 1 goude (approximately 2.5 cents) to use the toilet and help pay for maintenance. In this way, it will be self-sustaining.
We met with 6 of the young women of OJPDH in a separate meeting. They dream of having skills that will help them become independent – first tentatively they asked for training in baking, cosmetology, sewing. When I asked them to dream big about what they would want to do with their lives they answered -Nurse, Agronomist, Doctor, Secretary, Diplomat, Airline worker. But their dreams are only that – dreams. The opportunities for young women in the village are limited by poverty and lack of access to higher education. But they are bright and enthusiastic, perhaps we can help make a difference.
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We also spent 2 days working in the demonstration garden in Plen Maten, which is near the public toilet there (can you see it in the distance in the photo?). Our volunteer Agronomist, Alteus Jean Samuel, does an amazing job. We helped plant carrots, spinach and garlic (brought from my garden in Milwaukee!) and prepared beds for cabbage. We also watched as women shredded cow manure with their bare hands to apply as fertilizer to the garden. Handwashing is not easy, and did not happen before eating, as water must be hauled a long distance. Education about it’s importance will continue to be a major goal of ours.
Alteus demonstrated a method called “miniset” in which one yam can provide 3 or 4 plants. We also helped work on a terracing demonstration. We saw a number of such terracing projects during our visit. This will help prevent erosion and flooding during the next hurricane season. Alteus has submitted a proposal to have an Agronomy student intern work full-time with OJPDH establishing demonstration gardens next to every toilet. This would enable us to really show the communities in which we are working the double benefits of the dry composting toilets to improve crop yield. They also could work on soil conservation and erosion control.
On Monday we hiked up to another area called Les Caves, deep in the countryside, where another group Alteus has been working with was planting yams. And we saw a large work group of over 100 people hauling rock to do terracing. We were able to leave a little money to help them provide some bread and sweet tea to the people working in the hot sun.
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We went to the National School where our first toilet was built in May of 2007, and did handwashing education and distributed soap to all the classes. Most of the children told us they were using the toilethandwashing educaiton in school.
We had many meetings with OJPDH in Duchity and the neighboring town of Beaumont. They are still in need of organizational development, which we hope another partner organization, FNJD (National Federation of Youth for Development), can help provide in the near future. It was heart-warming to see their earnest efforts at resolving internal problems. This work is not without its challenges, but the rewards are great.
So much work was also so much fun. As we left Beaumont, snaking through crowds of people and animals during market day, we ran into the rear end of a horse! Watch out Marcorel!! Moments later, we saw a chicken escape off the back of a truck. Quick! Marcorel jumped out of the car into the road and caught the chicken! It accompanied us the rest of the trip to be given as a gift to the children of MABO orphanage in Port-au-Prince. Never a dull moment!
After leaving Duchity, we spent a day in Les Cayes. I mostly slept while Marcorel had the car looked at and Jacob and Deisha went to the beach! In the evening we met with the Rotary Club in Les Cayes and I made a presentation of our project in Kreyol! They were very receptive. Now we hope to request a Rotary International matching grant to expand our work under Alteus’s supervision.
In between all the work and meetings, we managed to drink a few Prestige beers and a little Barbancourt Rum. We danced a little, ate a lot and found ourselves at home. A few pictures are included here, but you can look at them all here: http://picasaweb.google.com/gigi.pomerantz.
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This recap doesn’t feel like it captures the trip – it went by so fast. After the team left, I spent 3 more days in Port-au-Prince with Marcorel and Ray and Jan Perry looking at water chlorination projects in the city and talking to young people there who also dream of access to toilets and clean water. The ideas and potential projects never end. I hope that your generosity will keep them all alive!
I’d love to hear from you – with questions, comments or ideas for ways for us to find funds to keep the work going. Write me at youthaiti@yahoo.com.
Donations to our 501(c)(3) qualified non-profit can be made out to YOUTHAITI and sent to 15380 Westover Rd, Elm Grove, WI 53122
