On Saturday, February 22, 2003, I left Burlington, Vermont for an eight day trip to Deschapelles, Haiti.  I was traveling with 10 other people from the First Congregational Church of Burlington, to provide service to Hopital Albert Schweitzer in the Artibonite Valley of central Haiti.  We flew from Montreal to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.  We traveled by van from the airport to Deschapelles, a trip of about 90 miles, 4 hours, and back several centuries.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world.  The life expectancy is currently 57 years and the infant mortality rate is 85 per 1000; 34% of the children are malnourished.  In the rural areas, 88% of the people live below the poverty level.  The current unemployment rate is 70%.  The illiteracy rate is 58%.  The statistics are depressing; the people  wonderful.

The countryside is stark.  The mountains were deforested many years ago to obtain the valuable timber.  The top soil then eroded into the sea.  Any attempts at farming are still done by hand tools in difficult conditions.  There are irrigation ditches which do provide water for the crops.  These ditches also provide water for bathing, laundry, and drinking.  pictures more pictures
 

The homes are mostly concrete block.  They are small (about the size of one of our bedrooms) and appear to be one room.  They are clustered in groups of extended family.  Each cluster might be surrounded by a stone wall.  The cooking is done outside over a small charcoal fire that is on the ground.  Many of the families have only one meal each day.   pictures of homes

The people are proud.  Those children who go to school wear uniforms.  The poorer children who do not go to school are allowed to wander through the countryside.  pictures of children   more pictures of children   The men work in the fields or at any other job they might find.  The women seem to be the ones who tend market.  Market is their version of commercial life.  It looks much like a dismal flea market in this country.  Many of the wares are on the ground with either cloth or thatch over head.  Almost anything can be obtained at market.   pictures of market      more pictures of market

The most common means of transportation is still by animal or by foot.  Some ride bicycles.  The loads are carried in a basket or bucket on top of the head.  Donkeys can carry heavier loads. pictures

Traveling by vehicle was an adventure.  Haiti must have some of the worst roads in the world.  If the road was paved, there would be large sections that were missing pavement.  These were often deep and yards long.  It was interesting to watch traffic.  The cars would go in a reasonably straight line until they came to a "bridge out;"  then each vehicle would swerve around the holes to find their own path and resume the line after the pavement resumed.  I did not see any traffic control signs outside of Port-au-Prince;  in the city I saw several stop signs.  The speed limit seemed to be "as fast as you can."  If the pavement was good, there were huge speed bumps, called "sleeping policemen."  Most of the roads were not paved.  These were dusty and very bumpy.  Many reminded me of the old logging roads that are now hiking trails here.  The drivers blew their horns for anything--people, animals, bicycles, blind curves, or whatever.  Someone wondered if the brakes and accelerators were connected to their horn.  To give you an idea of how bad the roads are, I observed the following in our 90-mile ride from Deschapelles to the airport:  A truck that had gone into the ditch shortly before we passed, a pig get hit by a vehicle (The pig rolled over and walked away.), an SUV that had just smashed its front end on a cow (The cow did not survive.), a bus with a broken front axle, and another SUV with a flat tire.    pictures

Hopital Albert Schweitzer serves an area of about 610 square miles with 300,000 people in the  Artibonite Valley.  It has 190 people and employs a staff of 500 health care professionals and 100 people in community relations and public health.  Our job while we were there was to paint the interior of the "BQ or Bachelor's Quarters" which was a building to provide rooms for men who were on call at the hospital.   Pictures of work    My pictures of the hospital

On of my friends and co-Math Department teachers (Karla Karstens) and her Girl Scout Troop made sun dresses for little girls.  Five of us took these with us and delivered them to a small orphanage in Borel.  We also took some of the stuffed animals.  It was a very touching experience for each of us.  When we arrived, the children came out and gave us all big hugs.  We went inside and sat down, each of us with several children in our laps.  We handed out the animals to everyone and then gave the dresses to girls that they fit.  Then outside for pictures.  The children ended by singing to us.  We all wanted to bring them home with us. picture

So, what should we be doing to help the people of Haiti?  I don't know.  I keep thinking of the old adage "Give a person a fish and you have fed them for a day; teach them to fish and you will feed them for a life time."  Much of what our country is doing comes under the "give them a fish" category.  We (the U. S. in general) sell a lot of chicken in Haiti, but now the natives who sold chicken for a living are out of business.  We leave our clothes behind when we visit, but then the locals who made clothes have competition.  I think that health care and education are the most important.  Health care, including nutrition, probably needs to come first.  No one learns when they are sick or hungry.  But it is hard to do those things without basic infrastructure such as safe drinking water, roads, electricity, phone service, and banks.  But, as impossible as it sounds, nothing will happen without the first steps.  We need to remember to "teach them to fish."

 Beet and Potato Salad

Link to Hopital Albert Schweitzer
 
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