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An Introduction to my Interests in Haiti:
The past two years I have grown increasingly drawn to Haiti, both in humani-tourism (volunteer travel) and in research. I have been blessed with the opportunity to go twice and I am eagerly awaiting this third voyage.
The first time I went to Haiti was in September of 2009 and I was blessed to travel with my boyfriend. He was in Port-au-Prince for 10 days before returning to school and work. I was in Port-au-Prince for a total of 14 days and in Jacmel for 3 days. While in Port-au-Prince I was able to stay with friends of friends who operate King’s Hospital as well as King’s Garden (an orphanage and boarding school). Each day was something a little different, but for the majority of my time there I was helping to set up the new rooms in the hospital, assembling hospital beds, sorting medical supplies, cleaning office furniture and preparing a conference room. After the day’s work, the children would get out of school and we would play, sing songs (a particular favorite was Shakira, but we sang church songs as well). In Jacmel, I had the distinct honor of attending an HIV/AIDS conference for pastors put on by World Relief in association with several church organizations. The trip was an incredible eye-opener and also gave me a great feel for Port-au-Prince and the language.
The second time I went to Haiti was in June 2010. I went with a group of people, mainly students, from the Pacific Northwest. We went through the Southern Baptist Convention and did relief work in Carrefour, a neighboring suburb to Port-au-Prince. We stayed only one week, but in that time we were able to completely clear the remains of a fallen one story house. Between the time we arrived and the time we left, it was estimated that we moved 80 cubic tons of rubble –concrete and rebar. This trip introduced me to many people around my own age. The dynamics for conversation were great and my language skills improved greatly. I was exposed to an entirely different culture, both within the Southern Baptists and in witnessing a Vodou ritual in the neighboring yard. The most impactful part of that trip to Haiti was seeing the conditions of people’s lives 6 months after the earthquake. So many people were in tent cities, living outside their crumbled houses, or trying to remake their lives from the center divider of the street.
The next time I go to Haiti will be a different trip altogether. In addition to being able to volunteer for extended periods of time, this trip will also fulfill a requirement for my International Studies major. I will be traveling, for the most part, by myself. I will be staying for 11 weeks, and I will be meeting up with various organizations and teams while I am there. In addition to the volunteering I am scheduled to do, I will also be interviewing people, 40 or older, about their experiences with U.S. aid during the Duvalier regime. This will be to augment my undergraduate thesis, titled: “U.S. Aid to Haiti: Democracy and the Duvaliers” which I hope to defend in mid-May 2011.
An overview of my 3 months in Haiti:
December 25th: 9pm fly from San Diego to Los Angeles to Miami to Port-au-Prince
Sunday Dec 26th: 12:15pm arrive in Port-au-Prince. Begin volunteering with FEDI-Haiti (Force d’Entraide et de Developpement Integre) doing social services with children, teaching English and possibly some environmental protection work.
Sunday Jan 2nd: Begin volunteering with the Morquettes at King’s Hospital and King’s Garden, teaching English at the school and doing some volunteering at the hospital – whatever’s needed. These are the people I stayed with the first time I was there, and I am very excited to return to their beautiful facility.
Sunday Jan 9th: travel from Port-au-Prince to Jacmel to begin working with PAZAPA, an organization that works with disabled children who cannot attend school. There is also a school for the deaf that I may be able to help with. For the most part, I will be doing some computer database work and classroom assistance.
Friday Jan 21st: travel back to Port-au-Prince to meet friend Michael Schapiro, co-Director of the Haitian Sustainable Development Foundation. Travel to Cap-Haitien and to Feriye in the north of Haiti to meet with people Michael lived with during his time in the Peace Corps and with whom he still works. Travel back to Jacmel with Michael to see more of what HSDF if doing.
Saturday Jan 29th: Travel back to Port-au-Prince, meet with team from Grace Community Fellowship of Eugene and being volunteering with Forward Edge International at Grace Village in Carrefour. We will be serving 600 children a meal each day within an Internally Displaced People camp.
Friday Feb 4th: Return to the Morquettes’ house after the team from Grace departs.
Thursday Feb 10th: Begin volunteering with All Hands Volunteers in Leogane, the epicenter of the earthquake. We will be shoveling mud and trying to repair damage from Hurricane Tomas. Should the mud be gone by this time, we will be doing earthquake relief: rubble removal and reconstruction.
Friday March 4th: Meet Haiti Foundation of Hope and Medical Teams International team in Port-au-Prince and travel north to Terre Blanche to work at a health clinic in a rural area. I will be translating and assisting the medical professionals.
Sunday March 13th: Either fly from Port-au-Prince back to the U.S. or travel to the Dominican Republic to visit Anibal, a little boy I sponsor through Compassion International. After which, I will visit a cousin in Houston, and return to San Diego for some culture shock recovery and time with family and friends.
