No Rest for the Wicked

I can't believe I have been back from Haiti for 6 days already, and tomorrow I leave for India! Some mornings I am not sure if I can use the tap water to brush my teeth; I have to stop and think of what country I am in first. Although life is a blur for me these days, there are some recurring themes that pop up regardless of where I lay my head:

Be thankful for what you have! The people of Thor's camp reinforced for me the idea that we are better off to be thankful for what we have than to complain about the things we don't have--a lesson I need to remember, especially coming from a country with so much. Don't stop trying to improve your lot in life, but make sure that which you seek will truly bring improvement. Spend more time reflecting on what you have.

Be thankful for who you have! It is the people in your life and the community you create that will be there for you when you need help. There is a great Haitian proverb that, translated loosely, says, "cooked food has no master." The evidence of community in Haiti is overwhelming, and I am jealous of them. Not everyone in the camp are best friends, but when one family gets food, everyone eats. The knowledge that they are stronger together than they are apart is something that they live by but that we too often forget. And now I am off to India--again to a community that truly believes that together they are stronger than they are apart.

Be thankful for the time you have! Life is short; it can be very short. Working in disaster zones makes you value life and the short time we have on this earth. I have often said I would rather live 50 years like a lion than 100 years like a chicken. Live each day to the fullest; don't put off opportunity, and don't put off connections. To seriously paraphrase: do what is just, love constantly, walk humbly.

In true Scottish style, I want my tombstone to read, "he got his money's worth!" But let's not put that tombstone up any time soon. I'm not done yet!

Hope Floats...

...or, more to the point, hope stays dry. I am done taking damaged building pictures. I can’t take another. I have seen enough darkness. I know it is there; I don’t need any more reminding. I need all my attention to be focussed on looking to the light. Hope is contagious. I caught it from the people in Camp Thor.

Things have changed in Port au Prince in the last month--some good, some not so good. I want to build on the good. When we arrived at Camp Thor a month ago, the mood was one of desperation, despair, and just a hint of hope. Not everyone believed that we would do anything other than look and leave--a pattern they had witnessed many times before. The mood that dominated was the never-ending tension in the camp. Sometimes it would flare up and then ebb a bit, but it was always there.

Today the predominant mood in Camp Thor is hope. People are smiling; kids are playing, making kites and laughing. Don’t get me wrong: there are huge problems still, but the mood has switched from tension to hope. There has not been a food delivery since ABW delivered food last month; the water money has dried up, so to speak; and employment is still scarce. But even in the face of all this, hope rises above all.

Why the change? Well, water makes a huge difference. Being able to wash your clothes, your hair, drink without fearing disease--these are huge factors--but the shelter project has added even more hope. Eleven men have steady work and will continue to have a job after this project ends. Families have a chance to be dry during the rain as soon as the roof is done. They move into the shelters during the night and move out during the day to complete the work. I noticed that my pictures taken in the camp this time have many smiling faces.

With such massive problems, why smile? Too many of us concentrate on what we don’t have instead of concentrating on what we do have. I admire the hope that floats through the camp. Some rubbed off on me, and I too have more hope. We all need to spend more time thinking about what we have and be thankful.

It Is a Man's Prerogative to Change His Mind!

First off, the shelters are going up! After some interesting politics and some supply issues, the work started about a week ago. Eleven men from the camp are working with Paco's foreman to build in a very manual way: 1x2 lumber is not available, so 1x4 lumber is ripped in half with two hand saws, one from each end. I think it becomes a bit of a race with men switching off the saws as they tire.

My question to Paco was if we could speed things up by getting two more saws? He replied that if I was serious about getting things done quicker, I would figure out how to get a generator on site so he could use his power saw. Now, those who know me know that I am opposed to generators in general. I launched into my usual reply about how the generator would put 4 men out of work and so on. He assured me that, when this project is done, he has many more lined up and that he would hire all the men to work on those projects. "Besides," he added.....

"THE RAINS ARE COMING!!!!"

Point taken, Paco. I am off shopping for a generator today!

...And They're Off!

The clouds broke this morning as we drove down to the camp to meet Paco, the contractor. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have spent the night in the sheet tents that can be found in each camp. There is a saying here that Haitians would rather take a bullet than get wet. This is not a group of people you will find singing in the rain! Before we got to the camp, the sky was clouding over--motivation enough for all to work quickly!

As we walked from the truck to the camp the ground was muddier than any other day, and I could see were the ditches had been flowing fast, carrying debris down to the sea. Paco was waiting for us at the camp with the camp council, and we started the final meeting before breaking ground. It is very important that all the players are sing from the same song sheet--not an easy task when the parties involved speak English, French, Spanish and Creole. By the end of the meeting, the air was filled with a beautiful four-part harmony--music to my ears.

Paco took us to see a similar shelter that his crew had built in the yard where they are staying. We took a few from the camp to see as well. These are simple shelters, but so much better than a bed sheet! Paco impressed me with his design for the camp by describing the site drainage first and the housing second. It is all about the drainage, and he gets that! At one point, there was a very spirited exchanged between the women's representative and the men's representative in one or more languages, none of which were English. Ron informed me that the discussion was around why they were still talking, and not working! And...they're off! Tents have to come down to put a shelter up; the community will erect one set of houses a day so no one is outside for a night.

Two years ago, I was called to Africa to deal with some light/water issues. I had to leave the autodesk conference early to catch the plane. On my way out, my eye was drawn to a small wind-up flashlight that Autodraft was giving out. I immediately thought, "These would be very useful for many people I see when I travel." Getting to the outhouse in the dark while avoiding the elephants can be tough without light. I approach Claire, the owner of Autodraft, about getting a few to take. When I explained why I wanted them, she went to the back of her car and GAVE me about 150 lights! I brought the last of the lights with me to Haiti and left them with the matriarch of the camp to give to those most in need. It is amazing what the gift of light can do when there is only darkness around you! (Glance at the darkness, but look to the light!)

We leave tomorrow (I think I will be back soon), and although the skies are dark, there is a bit more light in the lives of one small group of Haitians because of those of you who have helped--helped with donations, helped with communication, helped with moral support, and helped with raising awareness back home! I cannot say thank you enough!

I Can See Clearly Now, the Rain Has Gone

The rain last night could only be described as torrential, and the sinking feeling I had was not only from the mud under my sandals. We thought we had some time before the rainy season hit, but this seemed to say we were wrong and already too late. We have started to build a great relationship within the camp; not only have we showed up more than once, but we actually did something. Many people come and go, promises are made, but nothing comes of it. Cynicism is inevitable. Despair seeps in. Tensions rise. But in the last three days, A Better World has turned on the tap to 1000 gallons of clean water and will continue to supply water for six weeks, until the community can figure out how to buy their own or how to bring in town water. ABW and Indajoven brought the only health clinic the community has seen, and while the clinic was running, ABW made up 300 food hampers for the camp.

Yesterday afternoon, Pat and I were standing near the water tanks talking about fine tuning the system, and Thor was nearby talking with the community leaders. All of a sudden, Thor broke out in gales of laughter. The committee had been saying, "Just get us tarps. We can't afford to build these shelters you are proposing. We know how; we just can't afford it." When Thor quit laughing he explained to these men that they only had to build the shelter, that we would buy the materials. I cannot describe the range of emotions that rolled across their faces, but the final expression was undeniably relief! I am a father and a grandfather, and I know the worry they feel about the health and safety of their families. Their true level of deep concern did not become apparent until today.

Today the rubber hit the road! We met with Paco, the contractor, today about the shelters. I believe strongly in consulting local expertise and combining the best of both worlds. Pat and I have designed a solution for the camp buildings, then we redesigned them, then the rain hit and desperation to get more people under cover for the same money had us redesign them again. After all that, walking into this meeting, I truly believed we had the minimalist solution. Meanwhile, however, Paco had been meeting with the camp council and developed a much more detailed plan, including the number of people per family. Here is what they are asking for: 1.5 square meters per person (that is 16 square feet per person). Let me put that into perspective for you: in Alberta, if you want to rent out a single room, it cannot be less than 100 square feet! The request for space is half of what Pat and I considered to be the bare minimum. This means that the entire camp site will be able to shelter more people, IF we can come up with more funds. The upshot is that we have negotiated to get 44 families under cover. Work starts tomorrow! This is a great day for me, but an even better day for one small group of unfortunate Haitians. Thank you for everyone who has supported us so far. You cannot understand what a huge difference you have made. You just can't possibly understand! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Printing, Packing, and Pizza

Today was an odd day...a little of everything. I spent most of the morning drawing up the shelter plans. There was a bit of a time crunch because the printer lady was going home. She was very efficient before she left, however, and produced two copies of the plans Pat and I have settled on. In farm structures class I tell the students that if all they want to do is keep the outside out and the inside in then the cheapest way to do that is a pole frame building. It turns out, that is just what I need to do down here: keep the outside out and the inside in. So, guess what? We will start construction of a pole frame building on Saturday. We just received word that it is raining in Port au Prince tonight. By morning there will be a quarter million Haitians in varying degrees of wetness! Now is not the time to pontificate; now is the time to act!

Eric and Pastor Ron packed up today to head into Port au Prince. You know that a guy has not ever been camping when he asks you how to roll up a sleeping mat! Eric received his fair share of ribbing while he tried to get the air out of the mat and get it stuffed into the carrying case. He prevailed in the end,though. Pat and I stayed behind to finish up some things and to go to the artisan group in Jacmel tomorrow.

The food here has been great albeit a bit unusual. I am thrilled that it is not spicy! Tonight had fried chicken and pizza with potatoes and gravy. Not the usual combination, but it all was very good!

Last night, I had the munchies. I went into the kitchen and a few of the guys were there talking. When the subject of snacks came up, it was mentioned that there was a bag of animal crackers on the counter. I went to retrieve the bag and discovered more animal crackers than I have ever seen in my life. In fact, the bag weighed 30 pounds! They tasted great! I ate too many.

On the way to the beach there was a very nice little restaurant (was being the operative word.) Just about all that is left of it is the door and, sad as it is, the sign on the door is very funny. Have a look and tell me what you think the sign was supposed to say?

On the road tomorrow. I am anxious to get the community starting to build their new homes! I don't know if we will have internet from here on in. We are not staying at the same place as last time. (I guess when you run from a house scantily clad they think twice about asking you back! Go figure!) So, I don't know when you'll hear from me again, but 'til then, appreciate just how dry you are tonight.