If Haiti is to find a pathway out from tragic poverty, tourism must be a part of that equation.

PBS put together a brilliant documentary that we’d urge you to view.  It touches on one dreamy-eyed entrepreneur who’s betting on an influx to the tourism economy.  He’s building a restaurant near “The Citadel,” a testament of Haiti’s once-great and promising future, and an under-appreciated world heritage site.

We could spellbind you with tales of Haitian atrocities, toxic pollution, and the ugliest forms of poverty. But you won’t catch us doing it.  While we’ll never pretend that there aren’t rancid elements of Haitian society, we’ve made a conscious choice to hone in on the good that exists in their society.

To begin with, I want to point to a linguistic anomoly which I beleive communicates something significant about the Haitian people. Latin languages are pervaded by a “no-interrogative” to conclude sentences. To provide a tangible example, consider how often you hear something like this in Spanish: “Hace frio, no?”  It’s a sort of cross check to ensure that what they’re saying is being properly communicated.  In English, we might say “It’s cold, right?,” or, “It’s cold, isn’t it?”

Haitian Creole is a derivative of French – a Latin language, yet in constructing their own language, Haitians took a different tact, using a “yes-interrogative” to conclude their sentences.  “Fé cho, oui?”  “It’s hot, yes?”

Perhaps this is reading too much into it, but I believe it’s an insight into the optimism which we keep telling you seems to permeate their smiles.

The other interesting bit of Haitian trivia we wanted to share involves a custom of greetings which dates back to the early days of the freed-slave society.  When approaching another’s house to make a visit, the Haitian people announce, “Oné!” (Honor) to which is replied, “Respé” (Respect) -two virtues which replace the parametric vices in slave-society: dishonor and disrespect.  It seems to be a token of their commitment to uphold fundamental principles for which their independence was earned.

I’ll try to remember as best I can, but he was telling me while we were riding in the back of the pickup and that, in and of itself, is something that requires more concentration than I can usually muster. Traffic is always an adventure!

Soap – 15 Haitian dollars
Toothbrushes – 25 Haitian dollars
Toothpaste – 20 Haitian dollars
Washcloth – 10 Haitian dollars
Shampoo – 15 Haitian dollars
Floss – 15 Haitian dollars
Razor – 15 Haitian dollars
Bag – 10 Haitian dollars
Bottle – incalculable, these bottles filter out microorganisms and generally aren’t available here.

Yes, Haitian dollars likely don’t make sense to you, but for your reference, 8 Haitian dollars make a US dollar – yet that still won’t have any meaning until I tell you that Pouchon told me that he would have to work for at least 2 weeks to earn that much money. And that’s if he could ever find the work to begin with.

We are grateful to the Idaho Falls South Stake and Austin Hansen for putting these kits together for us to pass out. If you could only see the flurry of activity that comes when we start doling out the goods. We take comfort in knowing that these items are so appreciated.

With the exception of the downtown area, referred to as “Le Ville,” which may never the rubble has been largely removed, erasing the superficial physical traces, but not the profound emotional scars. Families separated, faculties stolen, children orphaned – this was a tragedy on a unimaginable scale for people who already endure a grinding poverty with little hope for much more than incremental progress generation after generation.

Yet, you’d never know it from looking at them. These are a people who are too proud to wallow in defeat. Huge factories and entrepreneurial individuals alike churn out grey cinder blocks – the staple to Haitian construction – without regard for demand – a metaphorical declaration of resilience.

Meanwhile, our team of masons is busy transforming those blocks into a home for one of those widowed by the tragedy. Reluctantly, though, they work only under the condition of a full day’s wages for a half day’s labor. They may be diligent, but they’re not oblivious.

In a few short days, walls have risen from a cobbled foundation to form a home that hardly seems humble until you consider that it will house at least six people. Plumbing, electricity, and ventilation are all afterthoughts if not neverthoughts.

Realizing that we can’t do something for everyone, the benefit of home building is that it involves a lot of labor and provides a source of revenue for people that just doesn’t come around all that often. We’ve hired 10 laborers, all of whom will make more in the 8 days they work for us than in 2 or 3 months to come.

We’ve also rekindled old friendships and checked in on some of our previous projects.  Two years ago, a new home for the Polikap family was our primary objective.  We hoped that our contribution, (which, in and of itself is a compilation of the contributions of all of our generous donors) would not only provide much needed shelter, but also inspire these people to improve their conditions themselves.  When we departed with heavy hearts, we hoped the store of materials we had left would be transformed into more living space, and used for the betterment of people we had come to love.  We were so pleasantly surprised to find that two years of industry and a meager supply of resources had added a gate and a “kitchen” to two of the homes we had worked on.

If that weren’t rewarding enough, we also had the good fortune of finding that two years had also been kind to our friends.  Stanley, who was 14 when we last saw each other, and who’s parents have long since passed, leaving him in the care of friends, has grown and become much more fluent in English.  I added him as a friend on Facebook and within moments he began commenting on my photos.  As I saw the notifications rolling in, I could only wonder about the sensation it must offer for him to have a window into our world.  Clicking through pictures of heavenly vacation spots must be surreal  to someone whose travel has not often, if ever, extended far beyond the grey cinderblock surroundings of his makeshift home.

Certainly the internet must offer a juxtaposition of hope and despair – a communique’ that life exists in other forms – something which could provide as much encouragement as it could its polar opposite.  As Stanley flipped through my images – representations of wealth – would he feel admiration or jealousy?  Would he swell with optimism our would he cringe with anguish?  Either way, I suppose he’s entirely justified. We are blessed.  We are given much.

We haven’t done enough.  When I think about the money I’ve wasted on frivolous things and the time I’ve thrown away in trivial pursuits, I am so humbled to consider that there are still impoverished but eager people in Haiti (and other places in the world – for that matter) who would willingly sweat all day for five dollars – money that wouldn’t be spent on pleasures, but on necessities.

I’m proud, though, that we have assembled a team of caring and dedicated individuals who, once again, want to dedicate what little time and money they can spare, to make a difference in the lives of the impoverished but eager.

In the first week of January, the first group will depart on relief mission that will span almost two weeks and involve a series of service opportunities.  Our primary objective will be to build a home (or, more appropriately – living quarters) for a widowed mother of six in the Croix-des-Bouquets area.  We anticipate that, much as it has in the past, our service there will open further opportunities in the area and we hope to find projects which will continue for months after we’re gone – providing employment and training opportunities for a number of individuals.  We will also be helping in the orphanage. We are delivering a number of  hygiene kits and other donated relief supplies.

Our philosophy has alwas been that even that we can’t do everything for everyone, we can do something for someone.  If you would like to be involved in Haiti Sak Plen’s relief efforts, please contact bradleyjai@hotmail.com, comment on this post, or call 208-612-1006.

 As we channel our energies for another mission to Haiti, we are very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with a fellow Haiti relief organization to see to an end a project of tremendous scope and vision.

We’ve directed our present focus to “L’Orfelinat L’Enfant de L’Espoir” (O.E.E.)- a group of orphans that we found living in tents on the outskirts of Leogane, Haiti, close to the epicenter of the quake. We are now building a school called “L’Espoir de Haiti” for the children at the orphanage and the neighboring tent city.  Our long-term plans are to create a self-sustaining facility that will provide a foundation upon which these children can build a meaningful future.

SITE PLANS

The land that is shown below is the piece of property that was purchased for the school. It is divided down the middle, almost exactly in half. On the right half, you’ll see the plan in progress for the school campus, which will include 10 classrooms (4 are finished), a cafeteria/large group meeting area (finished-the shade canopy), a basketball/mini futbol court (cement), a playground, kitchen, larger soccer field (grass), 4 composting toilets, and an office (finished- on the end of the shade canopy).

On the left hand side of the picture you’ll see the agricultural area that will be used to teach the students self reliance trades. It will also be a means to help make the school sustainable by generating revenue. The structures that you see are the trade school, the guest house, and caretaker’s house (domes).

We’ll be implementing many ideas to help make the school sustainable, including raising two different types of chickens for meat and eggs, tilapia ponds, a tree nursery, rocket stoves, alternative fuel briquettes, oyster mushrooms, and beekeeping. We’ll have three fenced areas (upper left) that will serve as both garden areas and livestock corrals. We’ll plant each area four months apart so that we are getting more consistent yields year-round. After an area has been harvested, the animals will be rotated to that area for a few months to provide fertilizer.

The middle section of the agricultural area will be left open for about a year so that we can determine what will be the best use of that part of the land, based on the results from our first year of operations.

We’ll be collecting and filtering the greywater from the kitchen and showers and storing it in a cistern along with the rainwater collected from each of our buildings. We’d like to get a solar well and need about 16 solar panels to meet our energy needs.

There will be a short wall dividing the school from the agricultural area and another dividing the school from the children’s home (orphanage) which lies to the south, or the bottom of the picture. This will keep the children more secure at the orphanage, as other children and people from the community will be using the school as well.

We realize the ambitiousness of this plan, but know that to do any less would be to compromise the long-term viability and success of this project.  If you can help in any way, whether it’s a humble contribution, the dedication of your time and efforts, your participation as a teacher in the school or self-reliance trades, or however else we see fit, we know that you will be rewarded with great satisfaction in helping such a beautiful, yet tragically hope-denied people.

In the past year, we have sent two relief parties to Port au Prince, particularly focused on the Croix des Misiones area.  In each case, we have provided tools, construction materials, training, and employment for locals to reconstruct and reinforce homes in a manner that will provide more sustainable housing for the people of Haiti. Our teams have also delivered a large quantity of hygienic supplies, food, and other necessities.

We hope to leverage our efforts to provide not only immediate assistance, but to teach  the skills necessary to evaluate and repair buildings to a group of local people and provide ongoing support so that they can pay the favor forward, and together build Haiti to stand on its own.

If you are like us, and the many others who have contributed to our cause, you want to help, but you also want to know how you helped and what it meant to the people.  Because of the generous sponsorship of our project, we can ensure that every dollar given to our organization will go directly to the heart of the need. 

Haiti Sak Plen is an incorporated American non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, and as such, contributions qualify for tax-deduction under section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.  If you would like to contribute, please use the link below to donate online, or mail a check to:

Haiti Sak Plen
3340 Merlin Dr. Suite 100
Idaho Falls, ID 83404

We greatly appreciate your generosity and ensure that all of our efforts and the fruits of your contributions have been and will be documented on our website and in a multimedia presentation.

Thank you for your consideration.