Sand > Snow

After two successful weeks of service and learning, we definitely enjoyed our time on the beach today. As friends and family back home prepared for incoming snow, our weather was warm and sunny and the water was clear and blue. We spend the day a Moulin Sur la Mer- a historic resort that was an interesting place. There were monkeys, geese, mini golf and lots of water activities to enjoy - though we choose to simply swim in the water and relax on the shore. There was a stark contrast between the picture of Haiti you see from a resort compared to the Haiti we were fortunate enough to experience over the last two weeks. Both worlds are equally beautiful and showcase the many riches Haiti has to offer. Spending time in Haiti is an experience I recommend to everyone. There are few countries as willing to welcome visitors with warmth, uniqueness, a heartfelt Bonjou and so much to learn from!

An incredible day and lunch on the beach were followed by a drive back to Port-au-Prince where we finished our last day with dinner and a final reflection.

As our experience comes to a close, it has been such a unique and rewarding time to reflect on. The people we have met, stories exchanged, laughs shared and the unending things we have learned will stay with us forever. Although we may have began this journey thinking about what we might contribute to Ayiti, we can't help but end our experience in awe and appreciation for all that Ayiti has given us. Traveling and learning about other cultures is something that anyone who is fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do should experience- working in a community different from one's own can only teach you more about yourself. We have learned so much about Ayiti, ourselves and each other.

Our view for the day

-Lezah and Courtney

A Farewell To Desarmes

At last, our final full day in Desarmes is coming to a close. We wrapped up our 4-day curriculum in hopes that our wonderful students will  retain some of what they have learned. But the highlight of the day was, without a doubt, our unofficial closing ceremony. We decided take part in a surprise rendition of the Haitian national anthem. The talent of our singers was debatable, but participation was strong none the less! The best part was when one bold EPD student broke out his trumpet to add flavor and flare to the song. We took a final group picture with our students before our farewell. We know this experience is something we can carry for a lifetime and learned almost as much from our students as we taught them.

After returning from EPD a few of us went on a walk through the community to the Latibonit River. It was nice to get a chance to see the community more than we are normally able to on our short walks to school.  Shout out to the man on the horse who had a whip in his hand and shouted out "Watch Me, Watch Me" as he went by.

After dinner we learned about the reforestation project that MCC has launched in the area. They hope to one day restore Haiti to the 98% forest coverage it once had and revamp the ecosystem and restore the wildlife. As long as the goats stay away that is! The program gives peasants fruit trees and regularly plants various forest trees like redwoods as a means of service poor people in the community and reestablishing sustainable forests around the country.

Final thoughts from today from Brent and Lezah:

We are definitely looking forward to going to the beach tomorrow. It will be our first opportunity in water and we have definitely earned it. Not looking forward to the snow tomorrow and safe travels for Saturday.

That's all from Desarmes,

Brent and Lezah

Songs and Snow

Sorry for the delay, we've been super busy teaching and making great connections with our students at EPD. We can't believe tomorrow is already our last day! Days 2 and 3 of teaching have been full of lesson planning, learning Kreyol from our students, banana grams, and even sleeping outside to enjoy the fresh air of Desarmes. 

Valerie, Aiyana, Lezah, and Sabrina have been working hard with their beginner students to learn letters, numbers, and conversational phrases that they may use in their every day lives. At the end of class, their students in return taught them a song in Kreyol which they performed in front of the entire class! Needless to say, pronunciation in any language is difficult, especially when singing. It was great to be able to learn from our students and has really helped in strengthening our bond with them. 

In the advanced section, Helen and Mathavi have been struggling to answer the many questions which the group gives us each day. Today, they brought up many great questions such as: what's the difference between to wish and to desire, may I and can I, and the use of myself/yourself. We've had to brush up on our grammar skills but it's great to work with students who are so passionate about learning English. 

From what we have heard, the intermediate class is doing awesome as well! We are all very sad that tomorrow will be our last teaching session. The experiences we have had with our students this week are something we will never forget. We will all be leaving with something special - Mathavi has been gifted with a dazzling "I love Haiti" key chain and Valerie has received a love letter from a fellow Valery as well! 

As you may have already heard, the predicted snowstorm for this weekend may interfere with our flight back from Fort Lauderdale to DC on Saturday evening, and UMD has already decided to close for the weekend. REMAIN CALM. We're monitoring the weather and flight situation and will continue to update you. We'll be back in DC as quickly as is safely possible! 

See you (eventually)!

Valerie and Helen 

Day One is a Success!!

Yesterday was our first day teaching at EPD, also known as Desarmes Professional School. Between the two of us we worked with beginner and intermediate English proficiency students.

EPD (pronounced AY-PAY-DAY) provides students from Desarmes and the surrounding area the opportunity to learn a trade in order to be more competitive in the job market in Haiti and beyond. Their students study plumbing, environmental management, agronomy, mechanics, masonry, and engineering.

The team was split into beginner, intermediate, and advanced instructors. Here is the breakdown...
Beginner - Aiyana, Lezah, Sabrina, and Valerie
Intermediate - Courtney, Maryam, and Brent
Advanced - Helen and Mathavi

Throughout our time in Haiti, we have been thinking about the best ways to instruct our students and provide them with English that would be useful in their daily lives and future careers. After talking with MCC community partners, Haitian college students, and even an English teacher we began this process determined to force our students to speak and interact in English as opposed to simply memorizing and writing the words down. This was much easier said than done.

If any of you have taken a foreign language class you know how hard it is to get a group of young people to get outside of their comfort zones and maybe sound a little silly. Needless to say, the Haitian students have been a pleasure to work with. Once we were able to laugh with them and get them into some of our games they have been very receptive and fun.

All in all, our first day was a learning experience and we take that to mean it was a success even though it did not help that the night before we could here a loud party from all the surrounding churches. ;)

Ovwa,
Maryam and Aiyana

Byenvini nan Dezam!

Jan. 17

Tents, Tarps, Houses, Homes- just a few of the many dwelling places one will find in Haiti. Especially in Port-au-Prince, the contrast in housing is very evident. Walking up to Kenscoff a couple of days ago, we passed beautiful mansions outlined with palm trees and green courtyards. Driving out of the city today, we passed Cannan (“promised land”) which is an informal settlement for people displaced by the earthquake. There are somewhere from 250,00-500,000 people who have created their own infrastructure, community governance and the necessities they need without any reliance on the government. We learned about this last night by watching a great documentary film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lvqy0QDtVk#t=174 ). Just across from Canaan, is a brand new $29 million Olympic training stadium. As we passed, we were frustrated at the lack of the government’s focus on housing and the many failed NGO housing projects but amazed at the resilience of those who have settled in Canaan. 

Further along our drive to Dezam, we were able to stop at the Jan. 12^th 2010 Memorial for victims of the earthquake. It is still under construction and is being built at the mass burial site. Normally when one visits a memorial site (like the WW2 and Vietnam War) in DC, you feel a sense of commemoration and remembrance for an event that has happened in the past. On the front of this memorial, there was an inscription reading “Nous sonje” (we remember), that signifies an event only taking place in the past, something you are looking back on.  But the remnants and repercussions of the earthquake are still unfolding and are very apparent today. This can be seen in the unintended harm of the flood of NGOs in the country, failed aid projects, a government heavily influence by foreign powers, and the continued but unwanted presence of MINUSTAH and cholera.

We continued on our drive along the incredible coast of Ayiti with a beautiful view of a sparkling blue ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. We arrived in Dezam to settle into our second home during the trip. After a little bit of time to relax and do some lesson planning, we are excited to get to know a new community and meet students at EPD school tomorrow!!

-Mathavi & Courtney

All Hail the Conch Shell

Bonswa!

Today the team was feeling extra energized thanks to a much needed extra hour of sleep! But we quickly jumped into action with an insightful discussion about Haitian press and media with Milo Milfort, a Haitian journalist for Alterpresse. He explained to us that the Haitian press enjoys relative freedom, but there are few barriers to entry for those looking to become a journalist, making the quality of content inconsistent and repetitive. We also learned that the radio is the most common way for Haitian people to receive the news, making job positions in the radio sector more lucrative and desirable. 

We will move on to lunch, where we were joined by Delphine, an old friend of Courtney's.  She informed us about the development and importance of factory production. She believes that Haiti must move away from producing cheap t-shirt garments with low profit margin. Instead, Haiti should look to increase the variety of garments that they produce.

On to the tours! Under the lovely direction of Serge, our tour guide, we were able to learn about some of the hidden gems in Haiti. One gem is the creation of gingerbread houses from the 1700s. Only a few of these expensive homes were made and now the Haitian government has taken the initiative to ensure that they remain intact. Some are used as schools and others are used as law offices and homes.

After driving around and seeing the gingerbread houses, we visited the capital and we were able to see the statue of the "Neg Mawon," a symbol of Haiti's freedom and Jean Jacques Dessalines' statue, a major figure in Haiti's independence. After a quick walk across the street we were at MUPANAH, a Haitian museum where we saw everything from a boat made by the Taino people (the indigenous people) to a wall of all of Haiti's presidents. The golden crown of Haiti's second emperor was breathtaking and garnered the attention of everyone who saw it. 

To top off our day of sights, we all enjoyed a Haitian dinner at "Entre nous" with the company of Ted and Katherine.

Stay tuned for the next blog as we travel to Desarmes tomorrow!

The Team Visits Fonkoze and HELP!

Bonswa! Greetings from Maryam and Lezah here in Port-au-Prince.

Yesterday we met with two of the MCC's partners: Fonkoze and Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP). At Founkoze we met with Linda Boucard, the Director of Communications and Public Relations, and discussed their successful micro-credit program. Fonkoze specifically lends to women in order to promote business in the countryside. They do this by providing women with eighteen months of training and support in topics that include financial responsibility, health - e.g. sanitation and family planning, and general education. They also implore that women put their children into the schooling system and must do so before graduating the program in order to qualify for loans.

The next person we met with for the day was Ms. Laura, a teacher at HELP who is involved in the development of the organization's English language and leadership program. She was born in Haiti and moved to Brooklyn, New York at the age of twelve. She moved back to Haiti after the earthquake to help Haitian youth develop English skills, something that has become increasingly important in professional development. HELP works by providing scholarships to outstanding students from all over the country who are at the top of their high school class and provides housing, books, and tuition for them to attend college in the local Port-au-Prince area. In addition to their college courses, they take classes in English, computer proficiency, and leadership. HELP provides a community that supports students and encourages them to remain in Haiti after finishing their education so they can work to give Haiti a brighter future.

We also saw the dorms the HELP students live in. There are three dorms and we were lucky enough to receive a tour of two of them with our new friends from HELP.

Signing off!

Lezah and Maryam

Sak vid pa kanp - "An empty sack cannot stand up"

We started our day traveling to the National Human Rights Defense Network, affectionately known as RNDDH. In french this non-profit, non-governmental organization is called Reseau National de Defense des Droits Humains. There we spoke with Pierre Esperance, Executive Director, about human rights and politics in Haiti. Unlike most of the Haitians we met so far all of his answers were short and sweet, a sign of the demanding nature of his job.

Our team asked insightful questions about the nature of human rights advocacy and the structure of politics and government currently "controlling" the nation. One statement that stood out to us was in response to the question "Of all of the human rights issues that this organization deals with, which do you believe is the most important in Haiti?" His answer was very simply "All of them."

The issues that this organization deals with directly include:

• Domestic violence
• Rights of prisoners
• Corruption
• Government impunity
• Education
• Access to potable water

The issue of human trafficking was one that they have discussed with partner organizations, but do not deal with directly. To think that someone with that much influence would take time out of his obviously hectic schedule to discuss the work RNDDH does showed us how important it is for Americans to be well-informed about the circumstances of human rights in Haiti. He ended the discussion with some advice for us as we move out of college and into our careers. He suggested that we enter our different fields of work and if we find that we have something to offer Haiti then do something about it. 

We also were able to visit CAH and the Apparent Project where we were able to use our newly exchanged gourde to buy souvenirs from local artisans. For those of you who supported our fundraiser, the Apparent Project supplied the bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and ornaments that you bought. It was a good day.

Na we! (See ya!)

Valerie and Aiyana

"Bel bonjou, se paspo w."

"A beautiful hello, is your passport" is just one of more than 3,000 Haitian proverbs that many Haitians use to EXpertly EXplain EXperiences that occur in their everyday life. However, the lively and charismatic group called "N a sonje" (We remember) in Gros Jean managed to nicely and naturally narrow it down to their three favorite proverbs, including the title-sake, to share with us. In order to demonstrate how real these proverbs were, Roosevelt, a member of the group, decided to tell us a true story. Sharing is important in Haitian culture. Children who don't realize this early on will risk having to face unfortunate consequences. Whenever Roosevelt's aunt wanted to test a child's character, she would offer them a cookie. If they didn't offer to share a piece with her, she would take the cookie back and eat it infront of them. Cruel? Maybe, but this lesson stresses the importance of sharing no matter how much you have.

Before we continue though, let's explain who "N a sonje" is and what they do. Founded by former American MCC employees Carla and Ron, the organization hopes to preserve and spread the lesser-known truth about Haitian history and the indigenous people (the Taino people in case you were wondering). Thanks to the hard work and tireless efforts of the young members and Carla's direction, they've been conveying this message through a play (we watched it on video) for over 10 years.

Do you like peanut butter? Well, thanks to their dedication to preserving Haitian culture, "N a sonje" members Sarah and Ann were able to teach us how to make our own sweet AND spicy peanut butter from scratch. (Contact us if you need any). But, what fun is cooking without music? We were serenaded and graced with a musical performance (featuring our lovely MCC guide Patrick passionately playing the pot) that got us on our feet and helped us see some of our team members hidden talents. (Aiyana, we're talking about you).

Did you notice the alliteration?

After a few wrong twists and turns, we were able to find our way back down the mountain, benefiting from our new recognition of the importance of a genuine hello. No hello, bad directions.

It was a good day, what more can we say?

Suddenly snazzily signing out [snap],
BYE! HRo and Saboom
  

Advocacy and St. Francois

Bonswa!

By: Lezah Calvin and Brent Cook

Today we began the day with an advocacy workshop with two members of the Mennonite Central Committee; Ted and Katherine. If you had told me I was going to spend two hours discussing advocacy, I would have told you "that's not gonna fly" but it actually turned out to be extremely informative. It may have helped that we took this advocacy lesson out of the classroom and into the picturesque mountain tops just outside Port -Au -Prince. We discussed Haitian politics as well as the goals of advocacy. Who takes part in advocacy? How does advocacy present itself? We were surprised to learn that it occurs all around us in many different forms. Afterwards we hiked partway down the mountain and then stopped at a restaurant that gave us a spectacular view of Port-Au-Prince. Brent was nothing short of flabbergasted by the pure tastiness of his papaya juice as he contemplated the complexity and contrast of the beautiful restaurant we sat in and the struggling city in the view below. But we couldn't leave until receiving more haggling lessons from the tricky Haitian street artists. Lezah learned the hard way that these artists can be pretty persuasive.

After lunch we ventured into downtown Port-Au-Prince and met with the director of St. Francois de Sales; Dr. Wilfred Cadet. He discussed the rebuilding of the hospital following its destruction after the 2010 earthquake. He also discussed his hopes for the hospital's future as well as desires for future partnerships with doctors from around the world. The passion that he had for his job and the positive attitude he carried while giving us a tour of the updated facilities was inspiring for both the doctors and non doctors in our group alike.

A good bonding moment for the AB Haiti team occurred on the car ride to the hospital. We sang a song of blessing for the food taught to us by our guide and friend Patrick. We also ended up singing it at supper before we ate tonight's meal.

Dye Mon, Gen Mon

By Aiyana Taylor and Mathavi Sankar

Alo! Kouman ou ye? In case you don’t know that means “hello, how are you?” It was just one phrase we used a lot on our visit to TIMKATEC.

Day 3 in Haiti began with the now familiar call of our next door neighbor, the rooster. He’s just one of the many creatures we have befriended here in Port-au-Prince. After a delicious breakfast, Patrick navigated the treacherous traffic of the city on a busy Monday morning on our journey to TIMKATEC. TIMKATEC is a school that provides free education for low-income youth in Petionville, a region of Port-au-Prince. What’s really special about this school is that it teaches students in a language that they understand, Creole. Wouldn’t you think that would be normal? But that’s not the case here in Haiti. Education in Haiti is primarily French-based even though only 20% of the population speak and understand French. Another service that this program provides is a safe haven for some of the “street boys” of Petionville. These boys get access to dinner, shelter, and a social worker who stresses the importance of getting an education.

As we entered the school, all the girls welcomed us with a lovely song. “Bienvenue!” was the first word of the song, meaning “Welcome!” After touring the classrooms and talking to Rachel (one of the TIMKATEC staff), we were able to understand the education and financial situation of the people in Petionville. At the end of the tour, we were taken to the top and newest floor of the school, which was a colorful auditorium where the students’ artwork was displayed. From the window, we had a breath-taking view of the mountains. On the mountains were crowded stacks of houses that formed a colorful mosaic- the neighborhood of Jalousie. The colors abruptly stop as your eyes move across the mountains from left to right, the symbol of an incomplete government project. Rachel then explained to us that the government painted these houses without considering what the home owners wanted in an attempt to recreate the Brazilian favelas. Why was the government doing this? To create a beautiful view for the foreign tourists staying at the Royal Oasis, also known as Bill Clinton’s hotel. 

Today we truly came to understand the meaning behind the Haitian proverb “Dye mon, gen mon” – “Beyond mountains, there are mountains.”

A View of Jalousie

Byenvini an Ayiti

Bonswa!

Maryam and Valerie here, reporting from Port-au-Prince! We arrived yesterday around 4 PM and were greeted by the beautiful 90 degree weather. Our friend Patrick, a coordinator from the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), picked us up from the airport and brought us back to our lovely guesthouse where we will be staying this week. The drive through the city was full of sights and sounds: street vendors and motorcyclists milling about this beautiful city. Patrick gave us an orientation followed by our first meal: poulet creole, a delicious chicken dish, with rice and salad. We were eager and ready for a full night's rest after having been awake since 3:30 AM...

At the sound of the rooster crowing, we were up and ready for breakfast by 7AM: croissants, mango, eggs, and Maryam's favorite - Haitian coffee! After breakfast, we embarked on our journey for the day. We were fortunate enough to have been invited to a church service at Assemble du Grace where Pastors Yvon and Leslie delivered a compelling and passionate sermon. The music had us on our feet. Four young talented boys played guitar, drums, and keyboard while the congregation sung hymns in Creole. Afterwards, we were given a tour of the church grounds which had been devastated by the 2010 earthquake. Since the disaster, MCC has assisted in the rebuilding process of the parochial school that is attended by over 150 local students who are taught by ten volunteer teachers. We sat down for a nice lunch full of Haitian delicacies: diri ak djon djon with goat, fried okra, breadfruit, beet salad, and ackee juice with milk. We gobbled down these delights and were able to listen to the pastor share some of his opinions on the influence of the French language on the Haitian education system as well as the ongoing elections in Haiti which were just postponed to January 24th.



Our next stop of the day was to the iron market where we got to test out our haggling skills. Unaware of the American dollar to Haitian dollar conversions, we had a bit of trouble bartering prices but all ended up with beautifully hand crafted pieces of art! Get excited for some cool souvenirs :)

Later this evening, we were visited by Boumba, an MCC partner, who shared with us the history of Haiti from its precolonial times to its development into the French colony of Saint-Domingue, concluding his presentation by answering our lingering questions about class systems, language, education, and politics of postcolonial and modern day Haiti. He gave us a lot of insight into Haitian culture and we cannot wait to use this knowledge on the rest of our trip!


The team with Boumba and Patrick!

That's all for now!

Orevwa!

- Maryam and Valerie