Welcome to the Joy and Hope of Haiti Website
Fred's Story
Greetings from the "Old Guy" on Haiti - March 25, 2003
Back home again after what was just 8 days, but on re-entry seems like 8 weeks. It is always such a
culture shock.
There were three of us "sunshine boys" (solar panel installers) in our group of 7. Don Adkinson a retired solar consultant who was down with me in '96 and '97 and Wayne Neeb who has his own commerical electrical contracting business. I have been to Haiti five times - '91, '94, '95, '96 and '97.
We all met at Toronto Pearson airport on Saturday March 15, 2003 at 5:30 a.m. and flew via Montreal to Port au Prince - the capital of Haiti. From there we flew Caribbinaire to Cap Haitien in the north part of the island arriving at the OMS compound just in time for supper. The first Haiti experience was getting from the Air Canada terminal to the Caribbinaire terminal at the Port au Prince airport. What would have been an easy transfer in any normal airport was a trial (nothing is normal or easy in Haiti). We had to pick up our bags,walk out of the airport into the heat, dust, dirt, noise and smells of Haiti, run the gauntlet of dozens of men and boys seeking to carry our bags for a buck(US), go 20 feet to a couple of vehicles, drive 1/2 a block to another part of the airfield and reverse the procedure into the Caribbinaire terminal. It's not that we mind losing a buck, just that we don't want to lose our bags. The next experience is the drive from the airport thru Cap Hatien to the OMS compound. The distance is about 10 miles but it takes well over an hour. It must be experienced, it cannot be adequately described. The roads are poorly maintained, crowded with vehicles of all types (all old), masses of people, vendors' stalls, dogs, the odd pig(always black), traffic jams, groups of men standing aruond, women walking with an amazing variety of loads balanced on their heads with no hands (the prize load was a large pan full of live chickens relaxing quietly with their legs tied togother).
The OMS compound is a 40 acre estate with a number of bungalow residences, workshops, storage areas, a church and Bible school with huge trees -coconut, mango, banana etc. Arriving just in time for supper, after getting our room assignments and washing Cap Haitien off, we joined the existing group for supper--a bunch from the Fergus, Arthur, and Drayton area and some Americans all doing various projects, the other Canadian's drilling and installing hand pump water wells and building a rural pastor's residence.
Sunday the group split and visited 4 different churches. Our 7 went to Pastor Mano's (Emannuel) church near the airport and a half block away from the new orphanage we will be working on. The Church was an experience - large, very full and of course very hot. We were escorted through the crowd and to the very prominent front seats on a very elevated platform along with 3 pastors, a large choir and the organ. We were embarrassingly front and centre and stood out like 7 very sore thumbs. The choir was large, loud and very well-disciplined by a tall, thin very active director who had them well trained (I have a little experience in that line.) The organist played effortlessly by ear in any key the choir decided to sing.
Pastor Mano, obviously a great leader, introduced Jim at great length with what seemed like a great build up (it was all in Creole which is a sort of pidgeon french and undecipherable to us), then asked Jim to introduce each of us as we stood and waived a greeting (Joel received by far the biggest hand but then he is 16, 6'2" and very good looking with long blond hair -unsual in those parts). After the service we each shook at least 100 hands and then walked to the new orphanage thronged by groups of little kids who wanted to hold our hands and chatted away with us very animatedly and unfortunately quite unintelligibly. But you learn to smile and call out "bonjour" until noon after which it suddenly becomes "bon soir" (evening seems to start early there).
Monday we unloaded the 40' container which had an amazing size and variety of load - every thing from floor tiles for the orphanage, used bikes and old foot treadle sewing machines plus, of course, all our solar equipment and fixtures.
Tuesday and Wednesday we installed one system at Mano's orphanage, then went to check on the next orphanage-EBAC (something about evangelical baptists) run by 2 American ladies for 25 years Kathy and Alice (K&A) from a little town in west Pennsylvania. There are some 60 kids there and they have a new 2 storey bldg, school down, res up in which we are to install the 2nd system--which we did.
In between all this Jim took us on a side trip to Plaine du Nord a little town about 10 miles off the beaten track and which is the voodoo centre of Haiti. Voodoo is no laughing matter in Haiti but a force to be reckoned with. It was there that Anna and I and 3 of her St. James students put the finishing touches on a new 2 storey school in '95 by finishing painting the outside of the 2nd storey (standing on an 18" ledge). That school is part of a complex of 2 schools and a large church started by a pastor named Tony Paul who was a poor kid from the country educated by OMS, went thru their Bible school and decided to take on voodoo at its source by starting a small church there and in spite of death threats hung in until now voodoo is on the decline and Tony educates 2000 kids in 2 shifts 8-12 & 1-5 and feeds them all a lunch of beans and rice. Some of those kids walk as far as 10 miles each way to get this education and each kid is spotlessly attired in a pretty school uniform. --The power of one committed man!
In '97 when I was there on a project I was invited to the wedding of Julio, one of the Bible students. This time I met him again and he is a pastor of a large new church in a suburb of Cap Hatien where he will also start a school and he and his wife have 4 children (under 5-like us).
->At first glance things seem chaotic and unorganized and one wonders how life can function. There is no phone service, mail service, public transportation system, traffic control, running water, sewage system. After a while you realize that although these people are very poor they are far from stupid, in fact they are very resourcefull. For example, although there is no public transportation system, there are numerous entrepreneurs who run their pick up as a private bus picking up paying passengers along the way with a "conductor" on the back to collect. When a passenger approaches his stop he or the conductor bang the roof or side of the truck and the driver stops. From this they get their name "Tap Tap". In spite of an absence of traffic control the drivers seem to have developed a fairly sophisticated but workable system of "chicken" which is governed by some combination of the size and value of the vehicles and the courage and confidence of the drivers. Oddly enough in 6 visits and many rides and traffic jams I have yet to see an accident although some of the near misses are positively breathtaking!
->The people are remarkably cleanly and tastefully (and modestly--no shorts or slacks) dressed, particularly the children in their school uniforms. Virtually all education is delivered by private providers, churches orphanages or NGO's (non gov't organizations) mostly Christian and each school has its distinctive bright colours so as one drives along the road the colours of the children's clothes change regularly.
->The people are invariably pleasant, happy and polite and I felt perfectly at ease other than being an obvious object of interest and curiosity. I kept catching myself staring at a particularly winsome child or teen and wondering what kind of a future he or she would have - wondering why they were given a life in Haiti and not me - or my kids - and if so how would I do?
->There is tremendous satisfaction in having been able to do some thing even if just a little bit and a tremendous desire to do more.
Finally,the most difficult part is "re-entry" - coming back into our wasteful, materialistic, "throwaway" society. I take down my worst clothes and leave them there (much to Collie's relief) where the Haitians will clean, repair and gratefully use them. This morning in church our final recessional hymn was one of my favourites sung at Charles and Diana's wedding, "Christ is Made the Sure Foundation". Although I love to sing hymns (as those nearby learn) I simply couldn't finish this one - I was too choked up with thoughts of Haiti fresh in my mind. I had to remain in the pew for a while to regain control as it hit me that for Haiti not only is Christ the sure foundation but He is the ONLY foundation. People like Mano, Tony, Julio, Kathy and Alice and the folks at OMS know this, that the darkness, corruption, superstition and ignorance of Haiti can only be defeated with the Light, Love and Hope of Jesus Christ.
"Oscar" is on TV tonight but I'm not watching. I just can't. The danger for me is that as time passes memory fades, eroding dependence upon Jesus with our self satisfying materialism.
I need an annual Haiti "reminder"!
Love, The Patriarch
Fred Christmas
Director of Development The Leadership Group 201-2121 Argentia Road Mississauga ON L5N 2X4 (T) 905 813 6246 (F) 905 813 6250
fred@theleadershipgroup.ca
www.theleadershipgroup.ca
There were three of us "sunshine boys" (solar panel installers) in our group of 7. Don Adkinson a retired solar consultant who was down with me in '96 and '97 and Wayne Neeb who has his own commerical electrical contracting business. I have been to Haiti five times - '91, '94, '95, '96 and '97.
We all met at Toronto Pearson airport on Saturday March 15, 2003 at 5:30 a.m. and flew via Montreal to Port au Prince - the capital of Haiti. From there we flew Caribbinaire to Cap Haitien in the north part of the island arriving at the OMS compound just in time for supper. The first Haiti experience was getting from the Air Canada terminal to the Caribbinaire terminal at the Port au Prince airport. What would have been an easy transfer in any normal airport was a trial (nothing is normal or easy in Haiti). We had to pick up our bags,walk out of the airport into the heat, dust, dirt, noise and smells of Haiti, run the gauntlet of dozens of men and boys seeking to carry our bags for a buck(US), go 20 feet to a couple of vehicles, drive 1/2 a block to another part of the airfield and reverse the procedure into the Caribbinaire terminal. It's not that we mind losing a buck, just that we don't want to lose our bags. The next experience is the drive from the airport thru Cap Hatien to the OMS compound. The distance is about 10 miles but it takes well over an hour. It must be experienced, it cannot be adequately described. The roads are poorly maintained, crowded with vehicles of all types (all old), masses of people, vendors' stalls, dogs, the odd pig(always black), traffic jams, groups of men standing aruond, women walking with an amazing variety of loads balanced on their heads with no hands (the prize load was a large pan full of live chickens relaxing quietly with their legs tied togother).
The OMS compound is a 40 acre estate with a number of bungalow residences, workshops, storage areas, a church and Bible school with huge trees -coconut, mango, banana etc. Arriving just in time for supper, after getting our room assignments and washing Cap Haitien off, we joined the existing group for supper--a bunch from the Fergus, Arthur, and Drayton area and some Americans all doing various projects, the other Canadian's drilling and installing hand pump water wells and building a rural pastor's residence.
Sunday the group split and visited 4 different churches. Our 7 went to Pastor Mano's (Emannuel) church near the airport and a half block away from the new orphanage we will be working on. The Church was an experience - large, very full and of course very hot. We were escorted through the crowd and to the very prominent front seats on a very elevated platform along with 3 pastors, a large choir and the organ. We were embarrassingly front and centre and stood out like 7 very sore thumbs. The choir was large, loud and very well-disciplined by a tall, thin very active director who had them well trained (I have a little experience in that line.) The organist played effortlessly by ear in any key the choir decided to sing.
Pastor Mano, obviously a great leader, introduced Jim at great length with what seemed like a great build up (it was all in Creole which is a sort of pidgeon french and undecipherable to us), then asked Jim to introduce each of us as we stood and waived a greeting (Joel received by far the biggest hand but then he is 16, 6'2" and very good looking with long blond hair -unsual in those parts). After the service we each shook at least 100 hands and then walked to the new orphanage thronged by groups of little kids who wanted to hold our hands and chatted away with us very animatedly and unfortunately quite unintelligibly. But you learn to smile and call out "bonjour" until noon after which it suddenly becomes "bon soir" (evening seems to start early there).
Monday we unloaded the 40' container which had an amazing size and variety of load - every thing from floor tiles for the orphanage, used bikes and old foot treadle sewing machines plus, of course, all our solar equipment and fixtures.
Tuesday and Wednesday we installed one system at Mano's orphanage, then went to check on the next orphanage-EBAC (something about evangelical baptists) run by 2 American ladies for 25 years Kathy and Alice (K&A) from a little town in west Pennsylvania. There are some 60 kids there and they have a new 2 storey bldg, school down, res up in which we are to install the 2nd system--which we did.
In between all this Jim took us on a side trip to Plaine du Nord a little town about 10 miles off the beaten track and which is the voodoo centre of Haiti. Voodoo is no laughing matter in Haiti but a force to be reckoned with. It was there that Anna and I and 3 of her St. James students put the finishing touches on a new 2 storey school in '95 by finishing painting the outside of the 2nd storey (standing on an 18" ledge). That school is part of a complex of 2 schools and a large church started by a pastor named Tony Paul who was a poor kid from the country educated by OMS, went thru their Bible school and decided to take on voodoo at its source by starting a small church there and in spite of death threats hung in until now voodoo is on the decline and Tony educates 2000 kids in 2 shifts 8-12 & 1-5 and feeds them all a lunch of beans and rice. Some of those kids walk as far as 10 miles each way to get this education and each kid is spotlessly attired in a pretty school uniform. --The power of one committed man!
In '97 when I was there on a project I was invited to the wedding of Julio, one of the Bible students. This time I met him again and he is a pastor of a large new church in a suburb of Cap Hatien where he will also start a school and he and his wife have 4 children (under 5-like us).
What are some impressions of Haiti? There are so many, let me try a few:
->At first glance things seem chaotic and unorganized and one wonders how life can function. There is no phone service, mail service, public transportation system, traffic control, running water, sewage system. After a while you realize that although these people are very poor they are far from stupid, in fact they are very resourcefull. For example, although there is no public transportation system, there are numerous entrepreneurs who run their pick up as a private bus picking up paying passengers along the way with a "conductor" on the back to collect. When a passenger approaches his stop he or the conductor bang the roof or side of the truck and the driver stops. From this they get their name "Tap Tap". In spite of an absence of traffic control the drivers seem to have developed a fairly sophisticated but workable system of "chicken" which is governed by some combination of the size and value of the vehicles and the courage and confidence of the drivers. Oddly enough in 6 visits and many rides and traffic jams I have yet to see an accident although some of the near misses are positively breathtaking!
->The people are remarkably cleanly and tastefully (and modestly--no shorts or slacks) dressed, particularly the children in their school uniforms. Virtually all education is delivered by private providers, churches orphanages or NGO's (non gov't organizations) mostly Christian and each school has its distinctive bright colours so as one drives along the road the colours of the children's clothes change regularly.
->The people are invariably pleasant, happy and polite and I felt perfectly at ease other than being an obvious object of interest and curiosity. I kept catching myself staring at a particularly winsome child or teen and wondering what kind of a future he or she would have - wondering why they were given a life in Haiti and not me - or my kids - and if so how would I do?
->There is tremendous satisfaction in having been able to do some thing even if just a little bit and a tremendous desire to do more.
Finally,the most difficult part is "re-entry" - coming back into our wasteful, materialistic, "throwaway" society. I take down my worst clothes and leave them there (much to Collie's relief) where the Haitians will clean, repair and gratefully use them. This morning in church our final recessional hymn was one of my favourites sung at Charles and Diana's wedding, "Christ is Made the Sure Foundation". Although I love to sing hymns (as those nearby learn) I simply couldn't finish this one - I was too choked up with thoughts of Haiti fresh in my mind. I had to remain in the pew for a while to regain control as it hit me that for Haiti not only is Christ the sure foundation but He is the ONLY foundation. People like Mano, Tony, Julio, Kathy and Alice and the folks at OMS know this, that the darkness, corruption, superstition and ignorance of Haiti can only be defeated with the Light, Love and Hope of Jesus Christ.
"Oscar" is on TV tonight but I'm not watching. I just can't. The danger for me is that as time passes memory fades, eroding dependence upon Jesus with our self satisfying materialism.
I need an annual Haiti "reminder"!
Love, The Patriarch
Fred Christmas
Director of Development The Leadership Group 201-2121 Argentia Road Mississauga ON L5N 2X4 (T) 905 813 6246 (F) 905 813 6250
fred@theleadershipgroup.ca
www.theleadershipgroup.ca
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