Haiti Journal – Episode 7

Haiti Journal – June 1 – Fondwa – Afternoon

We took our “stroll” to see some of the friends of the guest house today. First, we walked to the school, where 500+ kids from age 4 to 18 study. The ones from furthest away walk 4 hours each way to get here.

FHM is building a bunch of different services at the same time. They have a project to provide a stable source of clean water, and they’re also trying to bring the Internet. It’s line of sight from the guest house, so it shouldn’t be hard. It’s amazing to me that we can talk about clean water and wireless internet in the same breath.

Then we walked into the hills, down and over a tiny trail that went straight across several mountains. We visited with the founding president of the Association of Peasants of Fondwa. His aunt made us the best hot chocolate that I’ve ever had. It included ginger, cinnamon, and tons of sugar. Craig and I were both on some sort of caffeine high, nearing utopia in our visionary awareness.

Apparently, another reason that all the building look unfinished is that you have to pay taxes on finished structures.

Sitting in a tiny room, high in the mountains of Haiti, being fed hot chocolate by a family with almost nothing was some sort of turning point for me. They welcomed me and fed me, not even knowing who I am. Not knowing what I think or where I come from. They had no sales pitch (though I did buy a lump of chocolate for $6).

Our French is getting better. Jen had a good conversation with a man where we visited, whose wife is in the US being treated for fibroids.

The nuns were a little irritated that we came back so late for lunch. They wait until we’re served before they eat.

So what can I do to help? We poured a river of drugs out the window during clinic. We would need to do that once a month to have a real impact. The school needs resources that I don’t have. I could help with the internet, communication never hurts, but there must be more.

I could hit up the pharmaceutical companies for drugs, computer manufacturers for parts, but I think that mostly I need to make sure that every single American I know, knows that they owe something to the rest of the world.