Street Markets and Playing With Children in Haiti

Karley Writing:

 In the evening of our first day here, we decided to head off on an adventure to the street markets right outside our guest house. It was a very interesting experience, seeing as most of the woman were selling the exact same merchandise. Some woman even started to push each other when fighting over Jess, who was about to purchase a souvenir that both woman were selling. They are all very persistent; they like to grab you by the arm and lead you over to their part of the road. I didn't end up buying anything since I was too overwhelmed, but I watched as other members of the group bargained for the things they wanted. I then had the unusual experience of a boy coming up to me (I'm pretty sure he was a few years older than me), starting a conversation, and then asking to marry me. I declined politely, stating that I didn't think it would work out between us. He then tried to sell me some bracelets, so I took that as my cue to rejoin my group. I happily took pictures of the children after that, who were roaming around and playing with each other. 

As soon as we returned from the street markets, we had about an hour of sunlight left so we decided to hang out with some of the kids who were playing soccer in the front area. Apparently some of the kids didn't want to play with us, and ran off with the ball to start their own game. We then decided to join an intense game of basketball that was taking place, and then Jess had the idea to grab a frisbee/boomerang (which we later named "The Frisberang"). While we were playing, Jess and I noticed a little boy who was having some troubles with keeping up his pants, and we later realized that his button was broken. Jess ran up to the guest house and brought down a new pair of shorts for him, which he smiled brightly at and quickly put on. He spent the rest of the evening with us, and we had a really fun time.

Paper Jewelry in Pignon

Karley Writing:

Yesterday afternoon the girls, myself and Blake headed over to a school and church behind the Haitian streets to buy some jewelry that was being sold by women in the community. This was the first time the women had gathered together to sell their merchandise collectively. They were all hand-made by the women and they were keen to get pictures with those who bought their specific items. Everyone bought something, whether is was bracelets, key chains, earrings, or necklaces. We learned that since they were crafted by hand, some jewelry could take up to 8 hours to make, which was the reason why they were so expensive. I ended up buying 4 bracelets, which ended up costing me $20.00 American. This is the woman who made the bracelets I bought, she was more than happy to take a picture with me.

As a special bonus to our time in that area, we saw children playing on the top of the roof of a building right beside the school. When we asked the locals what it was used for, we were informed that it was an orphanage, which was the first one we had seen. As we entered, the bottom floor was very bare, aside from a lone bicycle lying on the ground. We continued upstairs to find out that all 8 girls were sharing one room and all 7 boys were sharing the other. They were all very excited that they had visitors, and we were all sad to say goodbye. We were hoping to go back today to deliver some toys and stickers, but where unable to carry out that idea.

College de la Grace - Pignon

This morning we spent about 4 hours participating in the 20th anniversary of Caleb Lucien's College de la Grace in Pignon. Caleb has done amazing work with this school. It has 1200 students and has added a vocational program. One of the ingenious things Caleb did when he started the school was to buy 8 motorcycles to use as taxis to bring teachers to his school. The reason he did this was because the school is in a rural area and he couldn't recruit top quality teachers from the immediate vicinity.

Twenty years later, CDG is recognized as one of the top schools in the north if not the entire country. Caleb will give scholarships to the top students to study in the US, Cuba, and DR on the condition that they return to Pignon for some years of service to the community. The alumnus of the year award was given to one such student who received medical training in Cuba and was not back in the local hospital as a doctor.

Here is a photo of Caleb (at the mike) giving a very impassioned speech about his vision for the future of education in Haiti. He joined the Laurier group in the evening for some Q and A which was enjoyed by all!

From Toronto to Pignon

Steve writing:

We had an amazing day yesterday. Unlike when I normally fly to Haiti, our flights were (almost) on time! We were an hour late leaving Miami which meant getting into Port au Prince around 4 pm. We picked up our luggage (all 17 pieces of checked bags) and found our driver. Then it was a matter of figuring out how to get 17 pieces of luggage onto the top of the van - this gives a sense of the packing

Once we were on our way, we got to see some of the sights of Port au Prince before heading into the country. After about two hours, we stopped in Mirebalais and provided some French books to Ecole de Choix. We then continued another two hours, much of it during night now, past Hinche to our destination ... Pignon. The last stretch of the road (1 hour) was mainly mud and, considering it had just rained, it was quite an exciting drive!

Once in Pignon, we were welcomed into the 3rd floor of the Lucien guesthouse. Our sleeping facility is divided into the male and female sections and there are a number of other guests staying in the house. We were all tired but stayed up for a couple of hours to debrief about the day and to talk about the next day (today). The next blog post will give some updates on today's exciting events!

Midnight ... time to pack up

In two hours we leave for the Toronto airport and the excitement is building! We get picked up at Laurier @ 2:30 am and meet some of our Toronto contingent at the airport. So far all flights are on schedule ... a minor miracle for American Airlines. Of all the trips I have taken to Haiti, I would guess that at least 1/2 have had delays or cancellations. Let's hope for better success this time around.

Here's what we anticipate (always important to remember!) happening in the next 24 hours:

-meet team at Laurier @ 2:30 am
-check in to AA and depart for Miami @ 6:30
-flight to PAP leaves at 12:25
-get picked up at PAP and drive to Mirebalais (Ecole de Choix) where we will leave French school books and see the new hospital that Partners in Health (Dr. Paul Farmer) has built
-continue to Pignon ... total travel time on the road in Haiti, approximately 4 hours

Our first three days will be spent in Pignon, celebrating the 20th anniversary of College de la Grace and doing a day of workshops for their teachers. More on these events in future blog posts.

Remember to follow us on Twitter using the following handles: @drstevesider or @karleysider or use the hashtag #laurierhaiti2013

So let the packing continue and the fun begin!

A youthful perspective to Haiti

This article appeared in the Woolwich Observer this weekend. It gives a nice overview of what my daughter Karley will be doing as the "social media lead" for our Laurier team which leaves this week for Haiti (click on the different coloured font below):

Bringing a youthful eye to work in Haiti

Wilfrid Laurier University team - 1 week until departure

We have had an amazing couple of weeks as some of the last details of our trip have come together nicely. We are in Haiti from May 9-19, with a focus in the first 3 days in a smaller community (Pignon) and then in Cap-Haitien (Haiti's 2nd largest city). The time in Pignon will be spent at College de la Grace (pre-school, elementary, secondary, and vocational program - well over 1,000 students) as they celebrate their 20th anniversary. On May 11, we will be working with 50 teachers on topics such as curriculum development, supporting students with special needs, and leadership capacity.

From May 12-18, we will be working with the Public University of the North at Cap-Haitien and the Haitian Ministry of National Education. We will be doing English as a Foreign Language in schools as well as providing workshops for school principals. We are excited to be working with Sacred Heart Center in providing support to their  pre-school and nutrition programs.

There has been some great uptake on The Waterloo Record story (click on the blue to read the story) about the Digital Mentoring Project:

BlackBerry made a very nice donation of new phones to the project and we have had 100+ used BlackBerries donated!