Something isn't right...

I do not want to discredit any of the aid/relief work that is being done here in Haiti, but aside from the obvious problems in this country, there is something that is not right here.  How is it that there are over 10,000 different non-governmental organizations in Haiti, a country with less than 9 million citizens, and yet there is little to no change in the conditions over the years?  I read that Haiti has the largest concentration of NGOs per capita in the world!!!!!  That blows my mind!

Those statistics don't even include all of the UN troops and missionaries here that are too numerous to count.  Yes, I realize that by living here, I am included in these numbers.  Truthfully, I think that we (foreigners) need to leave Haiti.  The power in this country needs to be passed on from the foreigners to the Haitians.  They need to be equipped to run their own country.  The free hand-outs need to end, and Haitians need to be empowered to take care of themselves.

How long will it take us to wake up and realize that whatever we have been doing for all these years is not working?  Billions of dollars of aid have flooded into Haiti and yet it is still "the poorest country in the western hemisphere"?  Are we doing more harm than good?  These are questions that I am trying to figure out.  Maybe at times I have even been a part of the problem.  Maybe I just am not seeing the "big picture".  Let me be clear in saying that I don't know how to fix all of the problems here.  I certainly don't know all the answers, but I do know the end solution.  God.  It always comes back to Him.  But, in order to do what God wants here in Haiti, everyone that is here to "help" needs to be yielded to him, myself included.

If hearts here are not yielded to Him, how can we ever expect things to change?  I believe that true and lasting improvements and change here in Haiti ARE impossible without hearts turning to Him.  The corruption, lies, deceit, and false religious teachings need to come to an end.   I realize that things will not change overnight, but my God is a God of miracles, and He loves these people so much.  I pray, Lord, that I am here to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.  I pray that I answer to your Spirit's guiding only, not by my own strength or mind.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. 

--Ephesians 3:20-21

Baby Boys

These are the two newest additions at Dorothy's house!  I was surprised to see them when I went to visit Dorothy and the kids.  Their names are Claudy and Ismyel.  They are NOT brothers, but they are only one day apart in age.  Both of their mother's are dead, and Dorothy agreed to take them in until they are a year old.  Thankfully, she got them before they became very malnourished.

Ravine

I had the opportunity to tag along with my friend Keziah for her weekly trip to "the ravine".  The ravine is basically a ghetto/slums area of Delmas 31.  It is an entire community of Haitians that are literally living in a ravine by a stream/river.

For three years, Kez has been going into the ravine once a week to offer medical care specifically for the children living there.  This "program" was started when another missionary living in the area started a school.  She realized that so many of her students were developmentally behind and struggling in school because they had grow up without proper nutrition or medical care.  So, she asked Kez to check on them weekly and distribute care and medicine as needed.

From the school in Delmas 31, we walked/hiked down into the ravine.  That required weaving in between concrete homes, tents, and tin shacks and walking through a street market with lots of delicious looking produce.....

...and some NOT so delicious looking "meat" products.  In the photo below, you can see where we were stopped by some men selling male goat parts (laying on the tarp on the ground).  They informed us that it tastes very good, and we should buy some and eat it each day.  Aside from the fact that the "meat" was sitting uncovered in the blazing island sun with flies all over it, there is no way on earth I would eat goat testicles and/or penis.  "No, mesi, monsieur."

After we made our way down a steep, narrow, rocky pathway, we had to cross a small stream by hopping from rock to rock.  Finally, we arrived in the area where Kez treats her patients. 

As soon as everyone saw Kez arrive, they began bringing all the sick children to us to be checked.  The majority of the problem were of the skin, which is understandable based on the conditions that the children are living in.  We saw small cuts, ulcers, toothaches, fungal infections, ringworm, scabies, sore throats, extremely swollen glands, and the list goes on.  For anyone that required treatment beyond a band aid, tylenol, a worm pill, or Selson Blue, Kez's assistant would take down their name and their prescribed medication.  Then, after preparing the meds back at the school, she will return each day and make sure that the meds are given exactly as prescribed to exactly the right person.

After about an hour or so, we had checked out pretty much everyone in immediate need.  So, we headed out of the ravine and back home via a narrow dirt path on the edge of the stream bed.

I didn't need to go along to the ravine.  Kez goes there every week and is quite capable of doing it herself.  To be honest, it was more just a fun outing for me, however, I think that doing things like this are incredibly important for me to learn more about Haiti, improve my Kreyol, and to better understand the people that I came here to serve.

Giant!

I'm sure that in the past I've written about my favorite grocery store in all of Haiti, Giant (not the same as the US store), but I can't remember so I'm going to write again.

Giant grocery store is located in a part of Port-au-Prince called Petionville.  It is "up the hill" from the port and know as the bourgeois part of the city.  Giant is a two story grocery store with a parking garage under the building an an elevator inside the store.  This is basically unheard of in Haiti.

I was able to go to Giant quite frequently while living with Dorothy because we had a vehicle.  However, now that I'm in my apartment, I am about three miles downhill of Giant.  That makes it much more difficult to get there.

This week, I heard that they were having a 15% off sale on groceries!  Groceries here are at least double (or more) the cost of groceries in the states.  So, of course as soon as I heard about the sale I knew I had to make a trip to Giant at some point this week.

Yesterday was that lucky day!  I know to all you readers this will sound crazy, but all day I was just looking forward to going to Giant.  It has been almost a month since I've been in a store comparable to something in the U.S.  When I'm at Giant, I don't feel so far from home, and for about an hour I forget that I'm in Haiti (as long as I disregard the armed guard at the door and the fact that all the prices are in gourdes and not USD). I also get to enjoy their air conditioning!

As much as I enjoy shopping at Giant, it is always an inner struggle while I am there.  Outside the walls are people living in tart tents and children running around barely clothed.  The only place that they can afford to buy food is from the street vendors along side the road.  Inside the store are rich Haitians, NGO's, UN troops, and missionaries...basically the only people in the country that can afford to shop in such a lavish place.  While I am thrilled that something as clean and lovely as Giant exists in Haiti, I feel like a rich snob when I shop there.  Funny, that's what makes me feel like I'm back in the US?  Something isn't right there.  Lord, help us.

My Pad

I know that I've already posted pictures of my apartment, but I don't think that I've really written much about where I'm living or what it is like.  It is such a blessing that I really think it deserves it's own post.

TLC School and the gate to the school and my apartment

My new apartment has been provided to me by the TLC Barefoot School where I will be teaching kindergarten in just two short weeks.  Since I do not get paid to teach, I can live in the apartment rent free.  However, I do have to buy my own food, transportation, airfare, and pay for internet/utilities.  It is a very nice deal, in my opinion.  I am VERY thankful for such a great little place to live and for the opportunity to teach here at TLC.

My apartment is located on the same property as the school.  It is directly beside the school .  I mean this literally...it is about five feet away from it.  The apartment was built on the second floor of a storage building/kitchen.  Dottie, the school director, actually lived here for a while before she ran her guesthouse, After she lived here, the principle (Nickson) lived here with his wife.

My 2nd floor apartment

During the earthquake, the apartment did suffer some damages.  So, they repaired it and did some renovations to make sure that it was safe again.  Before I moved in, it was repainted and furnished with some lovely new furniture.

My living room

view of the living room from the kitchen

kitchen

bathroom

For such a small little place, there are quite a few windows/doors.  That helps so much with keeping it cool.  During the day it gets quite warm in here (I'm assuming because it is on the second floor), but since it is small, it cools down quickly once the sun goes down and I open up the windows and doors.  It is on the second floor and on a small hillside overlooking a ravine, so I get a REALLY nice breeze that blows through my bedroom.  It is heavenly!  (If you have ever experienced the heat in Haiti during August, you will understand why I just wrote an entire paragraph about the temperature of my apartment, ha!)

my bedroom

the door in my bedroom that leads to my little balcony

view of the ravine from my balcony

view of the hillside from my balcony

the view of the ravine from my balcony

In addition to my apartment being adorable, there are some other really great perks that I did not expect.  I have a full sized refrigerator and full sized oven/stove.  Now, I've saved the best two parts for last.  Drum roll..........

I have electricity ALL THE TIME, and I CAN DRINK STRAIGHT FROM MY FAUCET!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Just in case you didn't notice by the bolded, underlined, red writing...I am VERY excited about that!)

Some wonderful people that I have never met hooked up a simple water filtration/chlorination system up to the water supply.  So, it is actually safe for me to drink from the faucet, open my mouth when I shower, brush my teeth with sink water, wash my dishes without rinsing them in bleach water...you get the point.  Seriously, I am so spoiled by this clean water that I sometimes forget I'm actually in Haiti.

I have electricity all the time because the school has a generator and an inverter with batteries.  If the electricity shuts off, the power automatically continues to run off of the batteries, if the batteries lose charge, then the generator automatically turns itself on.  It is glorious...I may never be able to live anywhere else in Haiti ever again, hehe.  It's not that I mind going without electricity, but when it comes to sleeping, being able to have a fan running all night long is truly a blessing.

Aside from the physical features of my apartment, it is also really nice just to have my own space.  I truly loved my time living with the kids at Faith Hope Love Infant Rescue, but nothing beats having my own house and some freedom.  Since I moved in, I have been able to spend lots of time getting to know new people and spending time with old friends.

In my free time, I have been going to help out with youth group.  My friends Marc and Kez are the youth leaders at our church.  So, I have been getting to know all the youth and tagging along for Bible studies and whatnot.  Four out of seven nights a week I have been going to some type of prayer meeting/Bible study/or worship. I hope that once school starts I will still have some time (and energy) to spend with the youth.

The kids in youth group are mostly all Haitian ranging from around ages 13 to 18.  I am amazed by their depth of understanding and their leadership.  Two nights a week I've been going to a group that is lead by one of the youth, and I've been really blessed by my time there.  I'm so thankful to be able to join them and get to know all the kids.

And of course, I enjoy being bombarded by all the local neighborhood kids every time that I leave my gate.

TiJan and Yvel