Monday, February 21, 2011
Kwasiorkor
As a really, really delayed reaction to a previous comment/question posted: kwasiorkor, 'kwash' for short, is a serious and deadly nutrition-deficiency disease in children. It appears mainly in tropical, developing countries. When so diagnosed, treatment must be applied immediately. The two most common signs are reddish-tinted hair and big bellies with skinny arms and legs. The body is so malnourished that it can no longer absorb food; protein in particular. Signs are also prolonged diarrhea, irritability and lethargy. It is a life-threatening stage that needs immediate attention, and needs to be monitored by professionals. Plumpynut and Medical Mamba are two products that provide high doses of ingredients needed to bring the child out of the worst stages, but many children return to the condition as soon as they return home. The child, lowest on the food totem pole at home, is often only fed the rice that is left after the family eats and, if still nursed, the mother's milk contains little nourishment to help the infant or child.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
paper, plastic or hand-woven? (haiti feb 2011) (new hatian free bags)
greetings to all. another trip to haiti has come and gone: another whirlwind of actions, impressions, accomplishments and failures. it is psychologically very difficult to be part of haiti - even if only for a week. staying there longer - a month or more - is definitely a more peaceful experience: everything settles and there is not such a rush to see and do all, or time to accept and understand. aside from that: i cannot be gone from carl that long.
this will be long, but much has happened again. ready it or dump it :D
as always, i just jot all this down, hope the spell-checker works (has not been...it must be in haiti....)and what you see is what you get. this trip was different. as all are. dinah dreher 19 yr old girl from germany, and katie bower, a social studies teacher in her late 20s from tunkhannunk (rural n.e. pennsylvania) were my companions for this powerful, short journey. dinah was steered my way by lisa walter, our onebigboost ambassador in germany. dinah was searching for something meaningful to do before beginning her university studies in the fall, and is now the volunteer math teacher in saint mark, haiti. a very brave young woman who will need all the encouragement from us all that she truly deserves. she will have many good and many difficult times. but i will let you follow her own stories on facebook and, hopefully on blogspot. thank you so very, very much for doing that, lisa! you've made a great contribution to the el shadai american-english school in saint marc, and a life-changing one for dinah! and that's really what onebigboost is all about!
arrival in haiti.
i was amazed at the improvement at the port au prince airport: an actual arrival into a 'sleeve' rather than across the tarmac (which with one airstrip is perfectly safe even if it is an instant blast-furnace), walking into organized halls to our luggage retrieval and waiting calmly in line for customs. amaaaaazig! outside was a long, covered walk-way with kind luggage porters and, at the very end, a group of people, including gladys and frantz and, most importantly, my little jean. he knew me from a great distance and was pulling away to find my neck with two tight little arms. absolutely wonderful. he is so healthy, so beautiful and so filled with love.
ok. so let me backtrack and give you the perspective as i heard over and over from dinah and katie:
...there were people everywhere...people touching me, yelling and talking, taking my luggage...it was scary and so confusing! i didn't know what to do! it was so horrible! then meeting gladys and frantz and jean, trying to get into the truck with everyone claiming to have helped us and wanting money (that was certainly true and maddening) and...and...
it would be easier to continue like this for pages and hours, but i will give a simple summary of what we did, saw, experienced and accomplished this week. it was good to go home at this point, after 8 instead of 10 days because, for once, i was truly overwhelmed as well. having dinah and katie close was absolutely great!
summary of some of all memories, good and bad mixed:
- there is building and construction absolutely everywhere, including in cities where there was no destruction. ergo: employment and upward motion.
- roadwork was amazing and with fantastic results. raised high up against water, solidly constructed. to saint marc in under 2 hrs instead of 4-5. no more vw-deep holes
- water run-off systems everywhere, also really well-done
- all people working rather than standing around watching others work (one time excepted)...sound familiar?
- strong electric lines on solid concrete poles all along the highways, as far north as gonaives (farthest north we went)
- tent cities as far as the eye could see in every direction of the compass. thousands and thousands and thousands and....of them. the distances these people traveled to safety and shelter is unimaginable.
- safer toilets everywhere, particularly by s.o.i.l and oxfam, who are working side-by-side on the toilet/hygiene issues. more about that later.
- several camps where they are starting little garden plots, flowers and food planted in old car tires.
- many farmers working the land - more than i saw any other year.
- the food prices everywhere are sky-high. no idea how people can survive on it.
- it seemed like almost everyone had jobs, but i didn't see as many school children as usual.
- fabulous (hidden!) restaurants, bars, discos and hotels
- many people without limbs
- wheelchairs impossible in the rubble-filled streets and steep 'roads'.
- handicapped people house-bound as a result. employment opportunities???
- endless complaints that food and fresh water is not delivered to the tent camps, particularly to the out-lying camps, miles and miles into nowhere.
- orphanages who are inundated with children who are not orphans, but whose parents cannot feed them.
- very young prostitutes along every major road, lifting up skirts with nothing under them, hoping to have some food that day.
- the sudden safety and normal- all is relative - daily life when arriving at saint marc or other such towns.
- every inch of space in petionville, leogane, port au prince (on and on) occupied by tents, from make-shift plastic bags to nice square house-shaped units in orderly rows. asnywhere an inch is found: in parking lots, small side yards, on the median of highways,even i the beds of pickup trucks. all parks are occupied as are steep hillsides and rubble-filled empty lots. there is worry about land deeds.
- rebuilding in the city virtually impossible because there is no way to get to the place where something needs to be built: occupied by make-shift shops selling either 'maggie' boullion cubes, spark plugs or bras, behind which are row after row of tents, each filled with families who have no other place to occupy.
- families living under fallen buildings with the risk of another cave-in.
- still an occasional stench of death
- beautifully built or repaired hospitals, often filled with international staff who teach the haitian doctors what they don't know how to do right....(many of those trained overseas: good to see respect and all..)
- worst of all: thousands of ngo-s, who will absolutely not work with each other. (a few exceptions, of course)
- dozens and dozens of international aid orgs, such as individual countries' red cross orgs: sweden, finland, iceland, japan, germany, arabic relief, brazil, chile, canada, usa, switzerland, greece, poland, mexico, china, several african nations etc etc. what was nice there was that many shared vehicles and drivers as needed, judging by stickers
- clear work done and continued regarding past, current and future issues, from roads to schools to mountainsides, growing projects, safety, hygiene etc etc.
- higher level business such as upscale stores and galleries are blooming and true quality artwork is appearing there.
- lots of painters on the street selling "their" art, created faster than degas, renoir,
van gogh, kandinski and dahli combined...and in all styles, of course. one even had jars of paint, ad paint smeared on his hands! i took his hand, rubbed some of the paint on my hand and said "see? i made all those, too!" which created great laughter from his street-vending professionals. long live copy machines!
- we had a fantastic driver while in/around port au prince. a 24 yo college business student named watson who knew the mazes like his back pocket. his english was good and we had a lot of fun. he, as most haitians in such cases, became a special friend to all three of us.
- sleeping on the cold tiles on a balcony in soft rain. a real mix of comfort and discomfort.
- trying to deal with people who always want more, or more for less. very frustrating. their initial requests are usually unreasonable, yet you hate to dicker with those who have so little
- not being able to explain that not all whites are rich, that not all 'blan' are there to get something from them - but to give, help and, hopefully, get the hell out of there again.
- trying to deal with the superior 'blans' around us, who are so good to the inferior, teaching them all they do not know while rubbing in how much they know, and will probably not continue..
- seeing people who will never ask what it is what the haitians want but just bring shirts (maybe they'd tell you they need underwear!) or pencils and paper for school instead of building a small outdoor kitchen so the kids ca have a hot meal once a day. these are just poor examples, but hopefully make clear that we must ask!!
- mingling with the haitians on 'time off' occasions and visit a disco or sip a glass of wine. have lunch together - even if on the sidewalk. they live differently, but are as alive as we are. do we have to do this 'integration' business all over again?
- huge billboards, elegantly done, regarding use of condoms, yes or no on breast-feeding (no for hiv+mothers), other safe sex issues, cholera prevention, cholera treatment, pre-natal care, malnutrition, safe toilet habits, work and education and water purification. clear and open, no baloney. we could do that here too!
- never-ever being able to drink or brush your teeth from a faucet.
- not having a real shower anywhere except at our hotel, which was a nice surprise.
- being able to softly slide into the lovely hotel pool with our clothes on, or just a bra and panties, because after the intense heat we couldn't just let it shimmer there
- always being surprised at the beauty of the vegetation, the huge banyan trees or the...whatever the true giants are called....
- many new large grocery stores, available to all rather than just diplomats and people with passports.
- tons and tons and tons of international corporations who set up permanent businesses, employing the many educated haitians who previously had nowhere to go once they had their diplomas or degrees.
- some tet villages had a little garden plot started by each tent.
- we saw solar cell panels atop (really high) street lights to offer night-time safety for them
boy- that was a lot of blue, wasn't it? (red and blue, haiti's colors...) sometimes one just has to spew in order to release, relive and especially not forget.
as far as onebigboost is concerned: we got some things done, others on the way and some just died a quick death.
dinah has found her temporary home at the house of gladys, jean, frantz and her three teen brothers. she's had a couple of bouts of homesickess already, but it is almost impossible not to. i stepped into this madness having worked myself from the bottom up over the past 11 years, while she and katie landed smack on the top during an exceptionally difficult time. very, very rough. please follow dinah (dreher)'s 5 month intense adventure, if at all possible, on facebook and whatever because she can use all the t-l-c she can get!
she already has many friends there and the fact that gladys is close to her age, has made a complete room available for her and that we started out all together, makes it a little easier. but only a little. she just told me that everyone taught her to 'dance haitian style' before taking her out clubbing last night. she had a blast!
we found two small groups of people, in saint marc and pertionville, very very interested in the tile-making project. they have the free clay, can build a kiln (have free soft and hard stone as well as free/low-cost cement and firing materials-not wood). the glazing materials and tools are not so hard to ship there. this project would entail initial investment from outsiders to purchase and provide labor, and volunteer time for education, building at least two med-size kilns with with them. i explained that during the first 3-6 moths they would have to apprentice a few hours each day and that this was like a school, but they didn't have to pay tuition (and should keep their jobs!). that was understood and appreciated. at least 3 of the people will be excellent a reliable. one of them, using my sample book, immediately talked about design etc. i feel that it should be a selective system as well, to give more value to the project.
very, very great.
we made contact with two galleries who are dealing in quality and all original pieces, one more costly than the other but both within reason. paintings, wood carving, glass, multi-media, photography, jewelry and iron work. no fabric work, come to think of it. they said they would gladly accept tiles for sale, since they have no such items.
we visited a home for restavec teenage girls, which was a very moving experience for us all. They have seven of the worst raped, beaten and neglected girls, with another 8 to come. in addition they are working with hundreds of families through individual and group meetings to improve the lives of many less endangered work girls and boys, some as young as age 3. one of the housemothers, a perhaps early-30s young woman, american of haitian origin, is a Child Advocate. she told us that they are training the girls skills for a profession as well as going to school, having normal chores and the normal life of teens. baking cookies instead of cooking for the entire family.for once. katie, dinah and i conferred, all being equal in onebigboost, and decided to donate $500 to the home, to be used for an object(s) that would benefit all, such as a house computer for study and/or sewing machines. we'd love to give more: this project is worthy of all help we can give it and skill-building is essential for independence.
one camp we visited needed a school building, we were told. they had one, which was very confusing. the principal, rather than asking for books, asked for uniforms. there were about 300 tents, all with at least one family each and nothing much more than the clothes on their backs. we left in great confusion and some anger. it's a longer story - let's leave it like that.
cite soleil - the dirt under the crust of the earth.
after visitig the new gardens outside cite soleil and being told there was a door in the wall that surrounds it, i went to fid it and stepped through. like the witch and her war-drobe.
i made some people worried or even 'unhappy', but i couldn't help myself. i had hear children's voices, and by sound found a lovely little school. the 'building' was new: newly erected walls covered by cheerful yellow tarps which gave it such a sunny appearance! the children, all crowded 8 or more to a bench meant for two, were working hard and paying attention to their teachers. they only have 6 grades and are grateful for any students who make it that far. that school i hope to do something for!
the section of cite soleil i was in was like nothing i have ever seen or imagined. something from a made-up movie. each house was tiny-tiny and each one room only made of stone (or whatever) walls, dark and dank. the 'streets' were perhaps 3 feet wide and often no longer than one or two of the 'houses'. after each segment there was another turn and another. at each turn i looked carefully for things to help me find my way back. it was truly like walking through a maze - an eerie one. people stared at me, some shocked, but whenever i flashed a happy 'bonswa!!' to them, i was greeted with joyful smiles and the same greeting. one time is asked for lekol and was pointed to lakaila. sure enough: i had followed the sound correctly. they were too stunned to take me there.
i had a wonderful coversation with the principal, who took me around to each classroom, introduced me to each teacher and to all the boys and beribboned little girls. watson, deadly worried, finally found me and scolded me. i was really sorry that i had upset him, but am delighted with the little discovery trip. the principal asked me " are you by yourself? not afraid? that is good. very very good!". i have his and the school's information.
the gardens visited were wonderful. all 'fed' by composted, odorless and rich human waste (yes: safe to touch) and anywhere from 1-ft high bean and tomato bushes to peeping green. visiting their system of sifting and safe handling of the tons of waste was truly interesting! the toilets themselves were great! poo and pee are separated within the toiletry. liquid goes into containers, and poo gets a handful of...bash?...that helps the odor and starts the composting off to a good start. it would be good, with more nutrients, to ad the pee, but that also makes the whole process stink like heck. they have a special cleaning system (cholera) for departing trucks, tools and human feet. hip-hip-hurrah for SOIL! our $1500 donation is growing!
we went north, to gonaive, to look at a river that had not been contaminated, and searched for clay. it is excellent, so that was hopeful. we rode there in back on a tap-tap, something upper-class haitians have never done, and had a blast. renting car and driver would have come to $150 for 5 of us...the tap-tap was $6 rt for the whole gang.
another day, we bought some lovely clay/ceramic pieces in port and petionville, to be exhibited in frank goryls' upcoming haiti ceramic arts show at moscow clayworks. the pieces vary from a voodoo plate to a wall platter, a candle stick to simple vases.
can't remember the rest, but i am completely satisfied with the search and research of our goals. much done in just one week and yes: gladys' chicken is the best!
and my boy jean is, well, there is nothing like that, just like there is nothing like having a grandson. two such unique experiences. indescribable joy.
and haiti? my 'baby? sometimes i want to shake haiti in absolute anger. and then i realize that a shaken haiti has already happened, and that the result is awful.
back with courage and more complete plans next time, not so far down the road.
sticking with our mission statement: one time, one place, serving many, is not easy. food and clothing, tho' needed, is not within that scope. school books as school property would be, but pencils and paper are not. seeing the need makes you choke, but there are limited things a small org like ours is doing and should do if we are to be effective. we have that responsibility toward all those who trust and entrust us with their gifts and donations!
it is marvelous to see how and in which way we are growing, and which way it moves. and moves us. volunteers, people, like katie, who goes home with such vivid, confusing and often painful impressions, is carrying this on to her middle school students.
be gentle, katie. we live in a sheltered world and some of the children may have difficulty coping with your emotions!
still we promise to use 100% of all donations as entrusted to us, whether $5 or $1750. both have happened and we carry on your wishes and our promises if and when at all possible.
we're not only working in haiti: we will be wherever we can do a little bit of good - the little holes big orgs cannot or will not touch.
the 'village' is likely impossible, as we have realized after we put all the puzzle pieces together. we need too much from other ngo-s to make it work, and they're not interested in any project they cannot claim to be theirs. however: restavekfreedom has the same philosophy we do: 'it makes a difference to this one' when you pick up that lonely starfish and toss it back into the ocean.
please keep us in mind for donations, volunteerism, joining the international, growing team of all ages of onebigboost in decision-making and idea-contributions.
i already said that you didn't have to read it all, so don't blame me if it was too much. but thank you for sharing all this: the good, the bad and the ugly.
keep in touch via www.onebigboost.org
thanks and love, marianne
this will be long, but much has happened again. ready it or dump it :D
as always, i just jot all this down, hope the spell-checker works (has not been...it must be in haiti....)and what you see is what you get. this trip was different. as all are. dinah dreher 19 yr old girl from germany, and katie bower, a social studies teacher in her late 20s from tunkhannunk (rural n.e. pennsylvania) were my companions for this powerful, short journey. dinah was steered my way by lisa walter, our onebigboost ambassador in germany. dinah was searching for something meaningful to do before beginning her university studies in the fall, and is now the volunteer math teacher in saint mark, haiti. a very brave young woman who will need all the encouragement from us all that she truly deserves. she will have many good and many difficult times. but i will let you follow her own stories on facebook and, hopefully on blogspot. thank you so very, very much for doing that, lisa! you've made a great contribution to the el shadai american-english school in saint marc, and a life-changing one for dinah! and that's really what onebigboost is all about!
arrival in haiti.
i was amazed at the improvement at the port au prince airport: an actual arrival into a 'sleeve' rather than across the tarmac (which with one airstrip is perfectly safe even if it is an instant blast-furnace), walking into organized halls to our luggage retrieval and waiting calmly in line for customs. amaaaaazig! outside was a long, covered walk-way with kind luggage porters and, at the very end, a group of people, including gladys and frantz and, most importantly, my little jean. he knew me from a great distance and was pulling away to find my neck with two tight little arms. absolutely wonderful. he is so healthy, so beautiful and so filled with love.
ok. so let me backtrack and give you the perspective as i heard over and over from dinah and katie:
...there were people everywhere...people touching me, yelling and talking, taking my luggage...it was scary and so confusing! i didn't know what to do! it was so horrible! then meeting gladys and frantz and jean, trying to get into the truck with everyone claiming to have helped us and wanting money (that was certainly true and maddening) and...and...
it would be easier to continue like this for pages and hours, but i will give a simple summary of what we did, saw, experienced and accomplished this week. it was good to go home at this point, after 8 instead of 10 days because, for once, i was truly overwhelmed as well. having dinah and katie close was absolutely great!
summary of some of all memories, good and bad mixed:
- there is building and construction absolutely everywhere, including in cities where there was no destruction. ergo: employment and upward motion.
- roadwork was amazing and with fantastic results. raised high up against water, solidly constructed. to saint marc in under 2 hrs instead of 4-5. no more vw-deep holes
- water run-off systems everywhere, also really well-done
- all people working rather than standing around watching others work (one time excepted)...sound familiar?
- strong electric lines on solid concrete poles all along the highways, as far north as gonaives (farthest north we went)
- tent cities as far as the eye could see in every direction of the compass. thousands and thousands and thousands and....of them. the distances these people traveled to safety and shelter is unimaginable.
- safer toilets everywhere, particularly by s.o.i.l and oxfam, who are working side-by-side on the toilet/hygiene issues. more about that later.
- several camps where they are starting little garden plots, flowers and food planted in old car tires.
- many farmers working the land - more than i saw any other year.
- the food prices everywhere are sky-high. no idea how people can survive on it.
- it seemed like almost everyone had jobs, but i didn't see as many school children as usual.
- fabulous (hidden!) restaurants, bars, discos and hotels
- many people without limbs
- wheelchairs impossible in the rubble-filled streets and steep 'roads'.
- handicapped people house-bound as a result. employment opportunities???
- endless complaints that food and fresh water is not delivered to the tent camps, particularly to the out-lying camps, miles and miles into nowhere.
- orphanages who are inundated with children who are not orphans, but whose parents cannot feed them.
- very young prostitutes along every major road, lifting up skirts with nothing under them, hoping to have some food that day.
- the sudden safety and normal- all is relative - daily life when arriving at saint marc or other such towns.
- every inch of space in petionville, leogane, port au prince (on and on) occupied by tents, from make-shift plastic bags to nice square house-shaped units in orderly rows. asnywhere an inch is found: in parking lots, small side yards, on the median of highways,even i the beds of pickup trucks. all parks are occupied as are steep hillsides and rubble-filled empty lots. there is worry about land deeds.
- rebuilding in the city virtually impossible because there is no way to get to the place where something needs to be built: occupied by make-shift shops selling either 'maggie' boullion cubes, spark plugs or bras, behind which are row after row of tents, each filled with families who have no other place to occupy.
- families living under fallen buildings with the risk of another cave-in.
- still an occasional stench of death
- beautifully built or repaired hospitals, often filled with international staff who teach the haitian doctors what they don't know how to do right....(many of those trained overseas: good to see respect and all..)
- worst of all: thousands of ngo-s, who will absolutely not work with each other. (a few exceptions, of course)
- dozens and dozens of international aid orgs, such as individual countries' red cross orgs: sweden, finland, iceland, japan, germany, arabic relief, brazil, chile, canada, usa, switzerland, greece, poland, mexico, china, several african nations etc etc. what was nice there was that many shared vehicles and drivers as needed, judging by stickers
- clear work done and continued regarding past, current and future issues, from roads to schools to mountainsides, growing projects, safety, hygiene etc etc.
- higher level business such as upscale stores and galleries are blooming and true quality artwork is appearing there.
- lots of painters on the street selling "their" art, created faster than degas, renoir,
van gogh, kandinski and dahli combined...and in all styles, of course. one even had jars of paint, ad paint smeared on his hands! i took his hand, rubbed some of the paint on my hand and said "see? i made all those, too!" which created great laughter from his street-vending professionals. long live copy machines!
- we had a fantastic driver while in/around port au prince. a 24 yo college business student named watson who knew the mazes like his back pocket. his english was good and we had a lot of fun. he, as most haitians in such cases, became a special friend to all three of us.
- sleeping on the cold tiles on a balcony in soft rain. a real mix of comfort and discomfort.
- trying to deal with people who always want more, or more for less. very frustrating. their initial requests are usually unreasonable, yet you hate to dicker with those who have so little
- not being able to explain that not all whites are rich, that not all 'blan' are there to get something from them - but to give, help and, hopefully, get the hell out of there again.
- trying to deal with the superior 'blans' around us, who are so good to the inferior, teaching them all they do not know while rubbing in how much they know, and will probably not continue..
- seeing people who will never ask what it is what the haitians want but just bring shirts (maybe they'd tell you they need underwear!) or pencils and paper for school instead of building a small outdoor kitchen so the kids ca have a hot meal once a day. these are just poor examples, but hopefully make clear that we must ask!!
- mingling with the haitians on 'time off' occasions and visit a disco or sip a glass of wine. have lunch together - even if on the sidewalk. they live differently, but are as alive as we are. do we have to do this 'integration' business all over again?
- huge billboards, elegantly done, regarding use of condoms, yes or no on breast-feeding (no for hiv+mothers), other safe sex issues, cholera prevention, cholera treatment, pre-natal care, malnutrition, safe toilet habits, work and education and water purification. clear and open, no baloney. we could do that here too!
- never-ever being able to drink or brush your teeth from a faucet.
- not having a real shower anywhere except at our hotel, which was a nice surprise.
- being able to softly slide into the lovely hotel pool with our clothes on, or just a bra and panties, because after the intense heat we couldn't just let it shimmer there
- always being surprised at the beauty of the vegetation, the huge banyan trees or the...whatever the true giants are called....
- many new large grocery stores, available to all rather than just diplomats and people with passports.
- tons and tons and tons of international corporations who set up permanent businesses, employing the many educated haitians who previously had nowhere to go once they had their diplomas or degrees.
- some tet villages had a little garden plot started by each tent.
- we saw solar cell panels atop (really high) street lights to offer night-time safety for them
boy- that was a lot of blue, wasn't it? (red and blue, haiti's colors...) sometimes one just has to spew in order to release, relive and especially not forget.
as far as onebigboost is concerned: we got some things done, others on the way and some just died a quick death.
dinah has found her temporary home at the house of gladys, jean, frantz and her three teen brothers. she's had a couple of bouts of homesickess already, but it is almost impossible not to. i stepped into this madness having worked myself from the bottom up over the past 11 years, while she and katie landed smack on the top during an exceptionally difficult time. very, very rough. please follow dinah (dreher)'s 5 month intense adventure, if at all possible, on facebook and whatever because she can use all the t-l-c she can get!
she already has many friends there and the fact that gladys is close to her age, has made a complete room available for her and that we started out all together, makes it a little easier. but only a little. she just told me that everyone taught her to 'dance haitian style' before taking her out clubbing last night. she had a blast!
we found two small groups of people, in saint marc and pertionville, very very interested in the tile-making project. they have the free clay, can build a kiln (have free soft and hard stone as well as free/low-cost cement and firing materials-not wood). the glazing materials and tools are not so hard to ship there. this project would entail initial investment from outsiders to purchase and provide labor, and volunteer time for education, building at least two med-size kilns with with them. i explained that during the first 3-6 moths they would have to apprentice a few hours each day and that this was like a school, but they didn't have to pay tuition (and should keep their jobs!). that was understood and appreciated. at least 3 of the people will be excellent a reliable. one of them, using my sample book, immediately talked about design etc. i feel that it should be a selective system as well, to give more value to the project.
very, very great.
we made contact with two galleries who are dealing in quality and all original pieces, one more costly than the other but both within reason. paintings, wood carving, glass, multi-media, photography, jewelry and iron work. no fabric work, come to think of it. they said they would gladly accept tiles for sale, since they have no such items.
we visited a home for restavec teenage girls, which was a very moving experience for us all. They have seven of the worst raped, beaten and neglected girls, with another 8 to come. in addition they are working with hundreds of families through individual and group meetings to improve the lives of many less endangered work girls and boys, some as young as age 3. one of the housemothers, a perhaps early-30s young woman, american of haitian origin, is a Child Advocate. she told us that they are training the girls skills for a profession as well as going to school, having normal chores and the normal life of teens. baking cookies instead of cooking for the entire family.for once. katie, dinah and i conferred, all being equal in onebigboost, and decided to donate $500 to the home, to be used for an object(s) that would benefit all, such as a house computer for study and/or sewing machines. we'd love to give more: this project is worthy of all help we can give it and skill-building is essential for independence.
one camp we visited needed a school building, we were told. they had one, which was very confusing. the principal, rather than asking for books, asked for uniforms. there were about 300 tents, all with at least one family each and nothing much more than the clothes on their backs. we left in great confusion and some anger. it's a longer story - let's leave it like that.
cite soleil - the dirt under the crust of the earth.
after visitig the new gardens outside cite soleil and being told there was a door in the wall that surrounds it, i went to fid it and stepped through. like the witch and her war-drobe.
i made some people worried or even 'unhappy', but i couldn't help myself. i had hear children's voices, and by sound found a lovely little school. the 'building' was new: newly erected walls covered by cheerful yellow tarps which gave it such a sunny appearance! the children, all crowded 8 or more to a bench meant for two, were working hard and paying attention to their teachers. they only have 6 grades and are grateful for any students who make it that far. that school i hope to do something for!
the section of cite soleil i was in was like nothing i have ever seen or imagined. something from a made-up movie. each house was tiny-tiny and each one room only made of stone (or whatever) walls, dark and dank. the 'streets' were perhaps 3 feet wide and often no longer than one or two of the 'houses'. after each segment there was another turn and another. at each turn i looked carefully for things to help me find my way back. it was truly like walking through a maze - an eerie one. people stared at me, some shocked, but whenever i flashed a happy 'bonswa!!' to them, i was greeted with joyful smiles and the same greeting. one time is asked for lekol and was pointed to lakaila. sure enough: i had followed the sound correctly. they were too stunned to take me there.
i had a wonderful coversation with the principal, who took me around to each classroom, introduced me to each teacher and to all the boys and beribboned little girls. watson, deadly worried, finally found me and scolded me. i was really sorry that i had upset him, but am delighted with the little discovery trip. the principal asked me " are you by yourself? not afraid? that is good. very very good!". i have his and the school's information.
the gardens visited were wonderful. all 'fed' by composted, odorless and rich human waste (yes: safe to touch) and anywhere from 1-ft high bean and tomato bushes to peeping green. visiting their system of sifting and safe handling of the tons of waste was truly interesting! the toilets themselves were great! poo and pee are separated within the toiletry. liquid goes into containers, and poo gets a handful of...bash?...that helps the odor and starts the composting off to a good start. it would be good, with more nutrients, to ad the pee, but that also makes the whole process stink like heck. they have a special cleaning system (cholera) for departing trucks, tools and human feet. hip-hip-hurrah for SOIL! our $1500 donation is growing!
we went north, to gonaive, to look at a river that had not been contaminated, and searched for clay. it is excellent, so that was hopeful. we rode there in back on a tap-tap, something upper-class haitians have never done, and had a blast. renting car and driver would have come to $150 for 5 of us...the tap-tap was $6 rt for the whole gang.
another day, we bought some lovely clay/ceramic pieces in port and petionville, to be exhibited in frank goryls' upcoming haiti ceramic arts show at moscow clayworks. the pieces vary from a voodoo plate to a wall platter, a candle stick to simple vases.
can't remember the rest, but i am completely satisfied with the search and research of our goals. much done in just one week and yes: gladys' chicken is the best!
and my boy jean is, well, there is nothing like that, just like there is nothing like having a grandson. two such unique experiences. indescribable joy.
and haiti? my 'baby? sometimes i want to shake haiti in absolute anger. and then i realize that a shaken haiti has already happened, and that the result is awful.
back with courage and more complete plans next time, not so far down the road.
sticking with our mission statement: one time, one place, serving many, is not easy. food and clothing, tho' needed, is not within that scope. school books as school property would be, but pencils and paper are not. seeing the need makes you choke, but there are limited things a small org like ours is doing and should do if we are to be effective. we have that responsibility toward all those who trust and entrust us with their gifts and donations!
it is marvelous to see how and in which way we are growing, and which way it moves. and moves us. volunteers, people, like katie, who goes home with such vivid, confusing and often painful impressions, is carrying this on to her middle school students.
be gentle, katie. we live in a sheltered world and some of the children may have difficulty coping with your emotions!
still we promise to use 100% of all donations as entrusted to us, whether $5 or $1750. both have happened and we carry on your wishes and our promises if and when at all possible.
we're not only working in haiti: we will be wherever we can do a little bit of good - the little holes big orgs cannot or will not touch.
the 'village' is likely impossible, as we have realized after we put all the puzzle pieces together. we need too much from other ngo-s to make it work, and they're not interested in any project they cannot claim to be theirs. however: restavekfreedom has the same philosophy we do: 'it makes a difference to this one' when you pick up that lonely starfish and toss it back into the ocean.
please keep us in mind for donations, volunteerism, joining the international, growing team of all ages of onebigboost in decision-making and idea-contributions.
i already said that you didn't have to read it all, so don't blame me if it was too much. but thank you for sharing all this: the good, the bad and the ugly.
keep in touch via www.onebigboost.org
thanks and love, marianne
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