Haiti Missions

December Team, Day 7 – Tap-Taps!

haititeam — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 03:23:09 +0000

(first picture by Shari; all others by Jay)

Welcome to Haïti, indeed.

December Team, Day 7 – Contrasting Haïti Sounds

haititeam — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:14:33 +0000

Relative quiet of l’Église Méthodiste d’Haïti compound in Petit-Goâve; mostly bird calls, some faint traffic noise: 111209_005

Traffic and pedestrians in downtown Port-au-Prince, near the Champ-de-Mars: 111209_012

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Boisterous students at College Bird in Port-au-Prince: 111209_020

December Team, Day 6 – Anpil Foto (Many Pictures)

haititeam — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:05:36 +0000

Letting the photos tell our story. Uploading as time and bandwith permit. First batch is from Sheri.

(photos by Sheri)

View southwest from upper floor of bibliothèque; prototype Homes for Haiti house used as storage building is on right.

Boss Serge spreading mortar on upper floor of bibliothèque.

Doug and Boss Serge doing masonry work on upper floor of bibliothèque.

Rowing on Canal de Sud, with Île de la Gonâve in background.

Barb dancing, much to Cherelinda's amusement.

Haiti and US workers posing on upper floor of bibliothèque. L-R: Shari, Boss Serge, Carol, Kathleen, Jay, Ann, Samantha, Barb, Doug, Cherelinda, Marc-Anny, Samuel.

Boss Serge and Samantha.

Scaffolding inside bibliothèque.

Chickens at worksite.

(photos by Kathleen)

Artwork inside gazebo at public park in downtown Petit-Goâve.

East side of Pastor Maude's manse in early morning.

Barb explaining where we came from to primary school class at College Brakeman.

Carol with primary school students at College Brakeman.

Fresh-caught fish at the beach in Petit-Goâve.

(photos by Barb)

Students walking home from school in Petit-Goâve.

View westward across Baie de Petit-Goâve; elevation of headland is > 400 m.

Fishing on Canal de Sud.

Boat on Canal de Sud.

Boats in Baie de Petit-Goâve.

Samuel's family posing on upper floor of bibliothèque.

(photos by Jay)

Primary school student at College Brakeman, in uniform.

Doug bending wire for concrete reinforcement at worksite.

Boss Serge and Samuel working inside bibliothèque.

Learning to play frisbee, with Barb instructing.

Frisbee became popular very quickly.

December Team, Day 6 – More Petit-Goâve Sounds

haititeam — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:52:39 +0000

Click on the links below for more sounds of Petit-Goâve as heard at, and from, the bibliothèque worksite: work, traffic, birds, singing, and conversation in Kreyòl.

December Team, Day 5 – College Harry Brakeman

haititeam — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:46:10 +0000

This morning the team visited College Harry Brakeman, a primary and secondary school in Petit-Goâve owned and operated by l’Église Méthodiste d’Haïti, the Methodist Church of Haiti. It has approximately 700 students in grades 1 – 13. Part of the team did craft projects with some of the younger students. Others surveyed the building and grounds and listened to suggestions for future improvements from school administrators and staff.

Click on the links below for audio clips of the school.

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Barb: “What an exciting beginning to Wednesday! Although we had an appointment to meet the principal, we were not sure that it would be convenient to interrupt the teacher’s lesson with our plans for a craft and art project. But as God would have it, the pastor and principal welcomed us freely. We were invited into the kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. In kindergarten Carol and Samantha led the class in making a creation bracelet while Ann translated with the assistance of the wonderful teacher. The children were absolutely delighted, and their song of welcome brought tears to our eyes.

“In 1st grade Barb, Kathleen, and Shari facilitated a wind-sock lesson with M. Compére. Barb spent time explaining in French how there are 4 seasons in America, unlike Haiti, where there are only two. She showed the children where we live in the United States. The children then proceeded to make wind socks. It was a little bit of pandemonium with over 35 children in each class, but they were so proud of their wind socks (see photos below).

“It was a heartwarming experience to see the future of Haiti in these glorious bright faces. We pray that they will be educated to help build a better life in Haiti.”

(photos by Sheri)

(photos by Jay)

December Team, Day 5 – Bonjour!

haititeam — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:45:07 +0000

Click on the link below to hear what we wake up to each morning!

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December Team, Day 4 – L’Hôpital de Notre-Dame

haititeam — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:52:57 +0000

This morning, Kathleen, Barb, Ann, and Marc-Anny (our interpreter) ventured off to l’Hôpital de Notre-Dame, which is the public hospital in Petit-Goâve. They did not have an appointment, and there was no administrator on site when they arrived. Barb spoke in French to the woman in charge and got the administrator’s name and telephone number. Rather than wait until another day, Ann suggested that Marc-Anny call from his cell phone to see if they could tour the facility. Joel Charles, the hospital director, was on vacation, but very nicely made a phone call back to the administration office and arranged for Bané to lead them through. They toured the maternity ward and pediatrics, passed by the morgue, and went through the laboratory where people were waiting for blood to be drawn. One building, which was normally housing for doctors, had been damaged by the 2010 earthquake and was uninhabitable.

All three of our team members on the tour were familiar with Paul Farmer’s work with Partners in Health, and were therefore delighted to discover that this hospital is doing work in partnership with PIH (Zanmi Lasante in Kreyòl). They also spotted the UNICEF tents that had been erected to fight off the cholera epidemic, but Bané said there are very few still being treated.

The highlight of the visit was a conversation with a Haitian ER doctor who had gotten his medical degree in Cuba. He took the time to explain the ER area, where one boy was being assisted for an oral injury, and a woman was undergoing stitches on her scalp. They were not able to tell us the exact number of physicians on staff, because the doctor said they rotate in and out, but the hospital serves the 12,000 people in Petit-Goâve and the surrounding areas and is obviously understaffed. The women were most impressed with the collaborative efforts of several countries and organizations, along with the Haitian government, to provide health care at minimal cost to the region.

December Team, Day 4 – Petit-Goâve Sounds

haititeam — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:26:55 +0000

Click on the link below for the sounds of downtown Petit-Goâve as heard from the bibliothèque worksite.

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December Team, Day 4 – Just Sayin’

haititeam — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:16:17 +0000

At the moment when this team photograph was taken, it was 21°F and snowing in Kansas City.

Not to rub it in or anything, but you could be here.

There’s another Haiti trip in February. Just sayin’.

December Team, Day 3

haititeam — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:09:07 +0000

This was our first day at the work site, the bibliothèque being built next door to the church in downtown Petit-Goâve. Most of what we did was cleanup, relay of cinderblock and wet concrete up to the second floor …
and sifting of aggregate for concrete mix.
Late in the morning we bought sugar cane.

The vendor trimmed and served it ready to chew.
At the end of the workday most of the team attended a Women’s League meeting. This is a very active organization which usually has ~70 in attendance. There were fewer today because many of the regulars were at a funeral.