Lasting Memories in Haiti

I have now been back home in Vermont about 10 days . It has given me a chance to sort out pictures and things I learned while on my last trip. Haiti’s slave population gained freedom via a revolt in the early 1800’s, a good 65 years before the U.S. abolished slavery. Toussaint L’Ouverture, shown in this picture here, is the courageous slave credited with sparking the revolution that freed 30,000 slaves from the French. Throughout its 200 year independence, the country’s economy has been battered with frequent political upheavals and coups. Because of the violence and kidnappings that too often occur here, the numbers of international workers have been limited. One often finds missionaries and the religious orders that have been here for decades. There are also some courageous volunteers from many countries who come here in spite of Haiti’s instability, that come for the simple reason that they want to help. I was so impressed to meet a group of young men from Canada who are here to help the street kids in the northern region. There are many boys age 8 through 15 throughout the country who are sleeping and living on the streets. The volunteers want to provide intervention by teaching them how to start enterprises or gain skills before they become involved in crime.

Benito, my sponsor and Haitian program manager and his colleagues in the Mackage Agro Entreprise Association (pictured on the left.) have been working with those volunteers helping the street kids start rabit-raising or beekeeping enterprises and learn alternatives livelihoods and means of support. They also help provide food to the orphanages and have helped landscape the public parc shown in this picture. This is only a small pebble in a huge ocean of work that is badly needed here but its wonderful that these efforts are taking place.

The open air Marketplace in Cap-Haitien stretched for blocks. It was amazing to be able to watch all its activity from the 2nd floor office of Makage. In spite of rampant poverty and lack of employment, buying and selling is very active. I hope to return some day to see the positive changes that will undoubtedly take place in years to come.