Relatively little damage from Hurricane Tomas!  We have a day off and are hoping the sun will shine so we can get outside and take some deep breaths before bracing ourselves for whatever comes next.    

Without journalistic abilities myself, I keep searching for someone that will be able to capture the   overall essence of the biggest problem here in Haiti and I think this editorial is close:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/06/AR2010110603570.html 

Another Disaster?!

Hard to believe we are facing another possible disaster here, but we are doing what we can to prepare for Hurricane Tomas.  I have spent the last two days at one of the camps we manage and have helped to remove every possible object from the common areas that could become a missile.  I hope we did all of that work for nothing, the storm misses us and we can move everything back in and set up all the tents again!  Despite all of the warnings and information about the storm very few people are leaving the camps.  Some don't believe the storm will hit (let's hope they are right), for many there is nowhere else to go and some are reluctant to leave the only possessions they have left.  I am very worried for them.  

It was extremely windy earlier and now it is calm but has started to rain.  We were told we needed to leave work by 3pm today - the UN closed their base at noon and the Haitian government asked schools and businesses to remain closed today and tomorrow.  Along with the work in the camps, I had several news outlets call for interviews.  Here is one that is online already:

 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/04/tropical.weather/index.html?hpt=T2

I am at home and Al just called to say he is on his way. We have plenty of food, water and movies as long as our electricity and / or laptop batteries hold out.  I will post updates as soon as I can after the storm.  Keep your fingers crossed for a big MISS!

Over the Mountain

 

What a great hike!  We left Port au Prince Saturday morning at 6am to drive up into the mountains with five friends.  We set off at 8:30 and followed a path we'd taken a few months ago.  This time we continued to the top of the mountain.  At 6,000 feet, one of Haiti's two National Parks contains one of the only forests left in the country.  We stayed overnight at a small lodge there.  They fed us well and Sunday morning we were on our way down to Jacmel and the beach.  We covered the 6,000 feet down in 5 1/2 hours on what the lodge owner called a "goat path".  It was one of the hardest hikes we've done but definitely worth it!  Our days at the beach were cut short by the need to get back to Port au Prince for hurricane preparations.  Hopefully we won't have much to write about for that.  Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed.

 

Lots of people and these donkeys were loaded with carrots on their way down to Port au Prince.  Not surprisingly, we had them for lunch and dinner at the top.

Look closely - the baskets are full of live roosters hanging quietly.

La Visite National Park.  Despite the big road, there are no vehicles other than the Ranger and a few motorcycles. 

10 miles and almost 5 hours to hike up - we were glad to arrive at the lodge.  The Calla Lilies in the vase on the right are growing wild all over near the lodge.

Wood (made into charcoal) is still the most widely used fuel source and as you can see from the photos, deforestation in Haiti is very real.

The top 1/3 of this photo shows the river coming down from the mountains into the sea.  We were warned to get across the river before the storm hit.  When we arrived at the bottom we rode in a tap tap across it - water came into the back of the truck and it hadn't rained the night before.  Hard to imagine the amount of water after it does rain.

Al posed with coffee beans growing just for him.  He loves his Haitian coffee!

One of the many things we hiked through or past was this banana grove.

While hiking down the edge of the mountain a herd of cattle with big, sharp horns were coming up.  We teetered on the edge of the path hoping they wouldn't get too excited about us being so close!

Finally at the beach!  This beach house has been rented by a friend of a friend for a few years.  It was amazing to sleep so close to the water.

Other friends had driven the four hours from Port au Prince (it is a different route, but it's crazy that we hiked there in 10 hours) on Saturday and had food, water and a cold beer waiting for us at the beach.

Our friend Leah (second from the right with her husband Jake) loves Halloween so for the first time since we've been together Al and I dressed up - we carried our mummy costumes up and over the mountain so we could wear them for 10 minutes.  We had some good laughs.  I'm second from the left and Al is in the middle.  Our friend Ann is on the far left.

Introducing Mark's Babies

On a Sunday when the newest crisis here is the Cholera outbreak that has now arrived in Port au Prince, I prefer to focus on a little hope and happiness.  Mark's ti poul have been named:  Wishbone, Wings, Titi and Legs.

On a more serious note,  we are doing everything we can as aid organizations to continue to teach proper hygiene including washing hands with soap and washing raw food with clean water.  We have people going door to door daily in the camps we manage to check on families, isolate anyone that is sick and provide general Cholera information.  We did a soap distribution yesterday morning at 7am.  All that and holding our breath hoping it doesn't become an epidemic.  The good news is that it is easily treated if identified early.

Art Fair

So much fun last Sunday!  We went to a huge Haitian art fair - Haiti is known for it's amazing artists.  Good food, some music... just like some of the neighborhood art fairs in the U.S. 

Update on Mark

Remember Mark?

Mark just had chicks!  She had them behind the giant stable of crutches behind the Healing Hands guesthouse a few days ago.  I couldn't get close enough to take a photo - she's tucked tightly into a corner (hopefully to protect them from the rats!).  I heard them and saw one tiny little guy last night when I stopped by after work to have a peek.  Hopefully they all survive and Mark will bring them out to meet us soon!

Livelihoods

One of the things I'm most happy about is a project that was able, for a short time, to make a difference in the lives of a few people.  We were having a hard time finding work for people with disabilities in the Cash for Work program I manage in one of our camps.  One of the items we purchase most is Haitian Brooms. 

We were able to find a skilled educator to teach a small group of people with disabilities how make the brooms which we then used in our program.  During the four week program the group received tools, materials and training and received Cash for Work wages.  Those interested in continuing on their own were tested yesterday to ensure they were ready to produce brooms which could compete with those sold in the open marketplace.  All five that were interested will keep their tools and enough materials to get them started.

Because the general population here is indifferent towards people with disabilities I hope to connect them to some hospitals or clinics that could purchase their products directly.   I'm also looking for additional funding so we could continue the program with more people and other skills (sandals, handbags and shopping bags from recycled materials and more).  In addition to people with disabilities it would be amazing to include other people in the "vulnerable" category:  single parents, the elderly, etc.