Right after
breakfast we grabbed our bags and left the Wahoo Bay Hotel. The second mission
team that was meeting up with us was just arriving at the airport. We were set
to meet them at the FFP warehouse/ kitchen, so we toured around there for a
bit. Once everyone (other than Dr. Lynne, who brought the wrong passport to the
airport) had arrived, we took off toward the village of Ganthier (pronounced
“Gon-tee-ā”),
a new FFP development. FFP has not begun any work yet, but they have plans to.
Currently there is an organization
called Caribbean Harvest that became involved in the late 1990’s. Dr. Val has
built a school in the center of the village so that the children do not have to
walk through miles of rough, rocky terrain to go to the one in the nearest
village. He has also put into place 3 brackish tilapia ponds so far and is in
the process of building more. While Dr. Val has done a lot for Ganthier, this
was by far the most extreme poverty I witnessed in Haiti. It was obvious why he
called upon FFP for further assistance. Even Madam Guirre, a native Haitian,
was astonished.
The houses were nothing more than
sticks woven together. For a roof there was either a ragged tarp or palm
branches, often weighted down by old car tires. Most of these did not even have
the mud-clay mixture that you often see as plaster the walls. Any amount of rain could flood the
entire house. Some huts had raised beds, but even with one bed, most children
will still be sleeping on the floor. One Ganthier mother told our translator
that during the rainy season she stays up all night and watches her kids so that they
will not drown in their sleep. I cannot even imagine a life where
drowning in my sleep was a daily fear. My daily problems and complaints are so trivial in comparison.
The indicators of malnutrition are
incredibly apparent here. Most of the young children have brittle orange hair,
bloated bellies, and a few with long, protruding belly buttons. They run around
naked or half-clothed because many parents simply cannot afford clothes for the
young ones. I saw one little girl… or boy- I’m not sure which… who was standing
off by herself. She was completely covered in dirt, and had sores on her skin
and dried mucus from her nose. I just kept thinking that this village looks
like a scene out of some sad awareness campaign about Africa, not Haiti.
As for food, there are a handful of
animals, including the tilapia, but not many. The dirt is only fertile enough to
sustain a few cacti and other desert plants, so there is no opportunity to grow
crops. The only drinkable water comes from Caribbean Harvest. They truck in
about 3,000 gallons a week, which only comes to a mere 5 gallons per week for a
large family. Because Ganthier is so far removed and the road to get there is
very rough, this is not at all a sustainable solution. The village is in desperate need of desalinization units to convert their brackish water into drinkable freshwater, however those can be very pricey.
Up the hill from the main village
lies the community’s new school. It is a simple two-room structure, but is in
very good condition. The children were in class when we came up. They sang us
songs, performed skits, and welcomed us to their community. Dr. Val explained
the work they are doing there, as well as the ongoing need. We got to see the
tilapia cages, play with the kids, and take a few pictures before we left. As I
was walking down the hill, three of the youngest school children wrapped their
arms around me and held my hands as I headed toward the bus. They were so joyful despite the conditions they lived in every day. It was so difficult to leave after only being there a few hours. I am amazed at how little time it takes for me to become attached to a village and how such a short encounter can have a life-changing impact on me. I know that I
will ever forget what I saw or felt today in Ganthier.
Time flew by, and before I knew it,
we had left Ganthier for our next stop, Manneville. This was in a more
populated area, but was still very poor. The second mission team that had
joined us was inaugurating homes that they built here. Dr. Lynne was rushing
over from the airport as the ceremony started. When she arrived though, she was
welcomed with a grand entrance with hundreds of people celebrating and applauding. It was moving to hear the stories of how one woman’s generosity had changed
the lives of so many!
Overall, today was incredible. I
was worried at first because all of the towns we were visiting- I had no
connection to! I have discovered over the past few days though, that I learn
something new at every single place. I continue to fall in love with the people
of Haiti. And so the reality that I can only help so many of them becomes more
and more difficult to accept.
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