Two more staff

This is Simerite (pronouced Seem-ah-reet).
He has worked for the Guest House for a long long time. Simerite does all his work as if to perserve his energy. He walks slowly, speaks slowly and takes breaks when he needs one. He has a wry sense of humor and I have never seen him excited except perhaps when he got hold of the new deluxe pruning shears that were sent from Canada by a generous donor. I've never seen Simerite as enthusiatic about using a new tool as he was then. Absolutely every plant and bush on site got pruned - to the point where I got worried and took the shears away from him. I was afraid that we wouldn't have any bushes left, let alone flowers. I do however, understand this love of pruning. I have at times gotton carried away at home in my own yard and wished later that I hadn't been quite as aggressive. There is something therapeutic about being able to cut away unneeded branches and out of place greenery.




Most days however, Simerite takes his days at an easy pace, reminding me often of what the classic writer, Oswald Chambers (circa1915-1917) has written. Chambers reminds us that it is not the doing that makes us valuable, but rather the being. This is hard for us North Americans to grasp, we who focus so totally on accomplishing tasks. Waldo and I have thought about this alot recently. We have tended to, consciously or unconsciously, measure our own worth in what we accomplish on a particular day or week. And yet is it not much more important to focus on who we've become and what we've represented that day?













This is a picture of Patrick, Simerite's oldest child. Patrick is not officially a staff at the Guest House but he has spent alot of time here in the past. Patrick is 22 yrs old and has become invaluable to us in our own orientation to the city, neighbourhood and to WIGH (Wall's international Guest House). Patrick teaches us Creole and is very patient with our tendency to forget things 5 minutes later. He is respectful and liked by young and old alike - we have become quite fond of him especially as he is close in age to our own son. He is always quick to help us translate when we need to understand someone and willingly acts as a guide to us or one of our guests.

Patrick has graduated from high school and his goal is to study accounting, something he no doubt could succeed at. He is unlike many young Haitians today in that he does not talk about wanting to leave Haiti. He loves his people and his city. Patrick's mother died when he was 10 of yellow fever (while he was trying to care for her) and at present there is no room for him in his father's small house. He would like to like to build a second floor onto the small 2 room house where his father lives with his second wife, 2 young daughters and other extended family. The roof is tin and leaks when it rains, but Patrick is saving his money that we pay him for teaching us Creole, so that he can build a cement roof and a second story room for himself.









We admire him for that. We wonder how long it will take him to save that much money - and whether he can hope to also save enough to be able to go to school. One cannot really blame a Haitian for asking for sponsers. They have no social assistance, no unemployment plans, no student loans. There are many more hurdles for them to face in order to meet a modest goal.

Meet the Staff

It's time you met our Staff. They are, after all, the people we spend our daily lives with and also the ones you will meet, should you visit us. First of all is our Manager, Pascale, a competent working mother who is completing her degree in Economics. She speaks the official languages of French and Creole but also communicates very well in English. All the staff work 6 days a week with one day off. No one complains of having to work as they are all grateful to have a job.



This is the first person you will meet as you come in from the parking lot. He is our day guard, Oderene, as friendly a person you will ever meet with a shotgun in his lap. Do not shake hands with him though - the shotgun never leaves his right hand! (and we are quite grateful). Every morning various staff and locals gather at the guard's corner for a discussion of politics or simply the day's events - kind of like our Tim Horton's group back home. Invariably the radio is on loudly as well. At 8:00 am the national athem is belted out and all seems right with the world.







This is Wesley, the cook. He is a jolly fellow who works fast and likes to socialize - come to think of it all of our staff like to socialize. Here he is clapping for some of the other staff as they take out a pan of cookies from the oven. If we rave about a meal Wesley makes he is sure to make it for us again real soon. He is happiest when he can cook for a crowd! Wesley has 4 young children - between all the staff, there are at least 30 children, all able to attend school because their parents are employed at the Guest House.






These are some of the women who work in the kitchen and the laundry. Here they are admiring fresh loaves of french bread that they have baked themselves. They are quite proud of
themselves for having accomplished this feat!
It is said that the normal working person in Haiti supports 10 to 14 people. That means our 10 staff support at least 100 people (conservative figure) in Haiti.









Here we have the group in the kitchen celebrating our anniversary in September. They all gathered around and sang Happy Birthday to us because an anniversary is a birthday of sorts. They wondered if I had gone to school to learn how to bake. A normal household in Haiti does not have an oven so they would not grow up learning how to bake cakes or bread. They do not have a creole word for pies, puddings and many desserts - all I have found is cake (gato) and cookies (bon bons). They seem to enjoy them all however.



That is a brief snapshot into the lives of our fellow workers. Aren't you amazed that by simply coming to Haiti and paying a modest fee of $25 per night at Wall's International Guest House, you can assist over 30 children to attend school and over 100 to maintain an acceptable standard of living? That's truly vacation with a purpose!!

An Alpha Sunday - Waldo's Sapience

The pastor was shouting into the microphone but it was still hard to understand him. Let me back up. We woke up around 5 am to the sound of heavy rain and that always includes the rush of water down the street outside the wall of our compound. I thought it was just another thunderstorm but a phone call from our manager during breakfast let us know that we were experiencing Hurricane Alpha. It didn't seem much like a hurricane to me. There wasn't any wind - just anpil lapli (lots of rain). We decided to go to church despite the worried look of our staff and left in the Land Cruiser. The streets were almost deserted as we headed up the hill of Port-au-Prince and then down to the area of the church. As we entered the subdivision the alleyway that we always cross over had an 8 foot wide river of fast flowing water. Was this the end of our journey or was it passable? We didn't think it would be more than two feet deep but had the water gouged a deeper track that would leave us stranded? It wasn't like I could walk in and find out so trusting our surefooted Toyota I put it into gear and lunged forward. To our relief the bottom was solid and we continued through the subdivision on roads that were all under water. They seemed much smoother than normal actually as there were only occasional mounds of gravel poking above which gave the illusion of a graded road. The dash from the vehicle into the church left my shirt soaked as Pam had my raincoat. It was the first time I've actually felt cool in church since we've arrived.
Now to the pastor's shouting. It was in English as he was trying to communicate to the group of 50 mixed whites and Haitians instead of the usual 250. However with the drumming of the downpour on the tin roof it was difficult to catch everything even with the amplification system. After an hour the rain subsided and we did understand the challenge to pure worship from Nehemiah. The closing song came from Nehemiah 8:10 - the joy of the Lord is your strength - and we sang with much enthusiasm.
In speaking to another family afterward they couldn't believe that we would have made the trek from our location on that kind of a day. What's the big deal? It's not like it was snowing!

Dengue Fever in Review - Waldo's World

Well, other than the pounding headache, incredible back and joint pain, sporatic nausea, constant fatigue, feet that felt like I was walking on knives for a few days, a rash that covered my legs and a sense of depression and purposelessness, 10 days of Dengue isn't really all that bad. Now if you couple it with hot humid weather, very intermitant electricity, no TV or radio to distract you, no comfort food to cheer you or ice drinks when you need them - then it does get to be just a bit of a pain. Hard to believe the pesky little mosquitos that they have here can carry that much of a wallop.
On the lighter side: 1. Experiencing dengue means our systems will build up a one year immuntity to the disease. In your face mosquitos! 2. No I don't have a sunburn - it's called a rash! 3. I trust there will be no mosquitos in heaven.
PS: Now that life is returning to normal for us it's time to plan your trip to Haiti. The rainy season should be over by the end of October and thus no more mosquitos to worry about. It's a sunny 32 degrees (90) again today, the palm trees beckon and our friendly staff is eager to serve you!

Thank-you

The last post mentioned that I still had enough energy to complain. Things changed following that entry. Things got even worse. The dengue fever had me at the point of no eating, no complaining and no anything. The doctor came to see me, pronounced that I did indeed have it, and that I would certainly live but gave Waldo instructions on what to do if I became unconscious. Over the next few days Waldo hovered over me, constantly offering me liquids while dealing with his own rashes and aches. Staff knocked lightly on the door, came in to look at me and walked away shaking their heads.
I took great comfort in listening to the many emails everyone wrote to cheer us up. It felt good to know that I had caring family and friends back home. Thank-you to everyone of you who wrote and sent greetings. We appreciated it so much. It may take me awhile before I can answer you all.

Dengue Fever Blues

It’s called Dengue Fever and it's caught courtesy of a small mosquito. We have been told that we have classic symptoms – starts with chills – even though it’s 30 degrees - and fever. The fever is relentless – goes on for days, worse at night – today is my 5th day – Waldo has had a break by day #8. It’s accompanied by joint and muscle pain. Everything hurts! Anything that touches the mattress while we’re lying down – head, outer ear, shoulder, arm, hip, leg and foot all hurt. After 10 minutes you can’t stand it anymore and groan your way to the other side – that side gets “used up” shortly after. So then you try your back but that’s actually where the pain started – you get the picture! Tylenol #3 is of little help – I find myself wishing for one of Dr. Hartman’s pain pumps – wheel in those narcotics!
Waldo and I have sometimes wondered if we would look better 10 pounds lighter – the answer, we discovered, is NO. We look pathetic as we drag ourselves to the bathroom, etc. We have been told we can look forward to a rash followed by a period of depression – no kidding! The good news is that we will develop immunity to this disease having fought it off.
Why am I relating this sob story - because I desperately need sympathy, a few words of comfort and perhaps also some Devine intervention. You know I like to be dramatic so don’t go overboard - am obviously not dying since I have the capacity to whine and snot about it all.
Have a good week everyone!

A Picture is worth...

At Boutilliers lookout - a spectacular view of Port-au-Prince. (Click on picture to enlarge)

A road-cleaning crew - notice the female supervising on the right!

Waldo's World - High Maintenance

One of my roles at the guest house happens to be maintenance and I've found that this introduces me to a multitude of repair situations. I've been called to fix our cistern water pump switch, a computer problem, a door that fell off due to a termite convention in the frame, a stripped shower faucet, worn out locks, a three hole punch that lost its punch, a broken vehicle mirror - the list goes on and on. One of my latest episodes featured the radiator on our 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser. It had sat for two days because of a leak and we needed to get it back on the road with as little cost as possible. I determined that the loss came from a hole on the bottom and after draining the rest of the coolant I proceeded to try to remove it in order to get it repaired. By now a crowd had gathered to observe and make comments and it included our day security guard who stood by with his shotgun. This wasn't a security issue - it's just that his gun never leaves his side and he didn't want to miss the entertainment!
I knew that I was starting at a disadvantage because my most appropriate tools on hand for this job consisted of two screwdrivers, a pliers and a small adjustable wrench. Sure enough, some bolts could only be accessed with a socket wrench with an extention. I explained the situation to my most mechanically minded Haitian assistant in my basic Creole along with hand gestures and sounds that imitated a ratchet wrench. A background in charades is a definte asset here and he indeed came back later with a borrowed ratchet set.
After considerable struggle we were able to remove all necessary attaching elements (including the wired on pieces from previous fixes) and laid the culprit on the ground. Stage one was now complete but I knew of no radiator shops. After identifying the hole and cleaning the offending area I sent my assistant away with the radiator as he seemed to know what was needed next. Stage two was in motion. He came back an hour later with it repaired and even brought a fresh jug of antifreeze. (Needed here for heat control and not freezing) Total cost: 375 gourdes which is 85 Haitian dollars which works out to less than 10 dollars American.
Stage three was the re-install but the truck was now in the sun and the temperature hovered at 36 without including the humidex factor. The bolts were burning my fingers as I tried to rethread them, my body was dripping with persperation, but finally it was finished and our test start revealed no leaks. All onlookers, who had moved to a bleacher area in the shade, were happy and I earned the title not only of boss which is given to anyone who demonstrates a skill - rather today it was "big boss". My feeling of accomplishment was short lived as word came that our inverter batteries were failing. "Just a minute", I said. I remembered that I needed to check one of the floatation devices in our swimming pool and it needed me to be floating on it in order to give an accurate assessment!

Mountain Top Experience - Pam's Perusal

This week Waldo and I had the opportunity to join another couple and some FIDA staff in an adventurous trip to a few cooperative sites. We climbed into the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser and proceeded out of Port-au-Prince to some rural villages high in the lush mountains of Haiti. The rains of the season have provided not only greenery and flowers everywhere, but also washed out roads and an even bumpier ride than I remembered from a previous trip in April.

At the first cooperative site, we observed a class full of 15 to 20 teachers training to become community leaders and member skills facilitators (the literacy program of FIDA - Productive Cooperative Haiti ) . Many had travelled for up to 7 hrs on foot to be able to take part in this week long training session. They were so eager to start a cooperative in their area that no sacrifice seemed too much. It was inspiring to watch Pierre Richard, the PCH coodinator come alive as he taught. He used bean and corn seeds to demonstrate mathematical concepts. He drew a diagram of flower petals to illustrate different aspects of self-esteem - to teach principles important in the democratic process of cooperative ground rules. Most students were young adults and family men. All were highly motivated to take on the role of teaching and leading in their own communities.

We piled back into the truck and bounced back to the coastal road, gazing at the blue Carribean waters which never cease to create a calmness in my spirit. After an hour or so we began our climb again, winding up and up into the clouds as we drove further into the back country. We passed many people on foot, riding their donkeys or leading their animals - a scene that transports one back in time about a thousand years, it seems. When we finally arrived at the village atop one mountain range, it was pouring rain and we shivered as we hunted for dry clothes in our packs - likely one of the few times we will ever be cold in Haiti! The aroma of coffee brewing awoke us when it was still dark next morning. We carried our cups down the muddy road to the school where adults study from sunrise until 8:00 am at the children's school. These classes consist of 3 levels and teach the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Once again content is practical and in their own creole language (unlike the French curriculum which the children learn).
As we were introduced to the classes our facilitator gave the adult students a chance to respond to us and to say anything they wanted. At least one person in each class thanked us for coming, for encouraging them with our presence and for associating with pch who had made this opportunity possible. I will never forget the image of one woman who sang us a song - hands stretched upward in gratefulness to God for allowing her the opportunity to learn in this class. Several students urged us not to become discouraged - that what they were learning was worth any effort we had put into this venture. It was at that point that several of us could not stop the tears. Hal, one member of our group, responded to them for all of us. "We come from a country where we have everything. You have so little and yet you are telling us not to be discouraged - we are truly humbled and thank you for allowing us to visit you"

I have not been able to stop thinking about what a great gift literacy really is.
I have never witnessed people so grateful to receive the opportunity to learn.