"Haiti Update" - Marilyn Nowalk, May 17,2010

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“… it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us …”

Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities

It was Tuesday afternoon in May, and I was looking out the airplane window over Port au Prince, reflecting on my stay.  Dickens’s words, which follow the more well-known “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” seemed to fit almost literally – just as the sprawl of the city slums gives way to the beauty of the Caribbean ocean, the winter of despair following the January earthquake was giving way to a season of hope.  The Haitian people, my hosts for the past five days, have been beaten down by months of tragedy, by decades of misgovernment, by centuries of poverty.  But they continue to be warm and welcoming, optimistic and resilient.  Through their pain and struggle radiate hope for their future, for their children, for their country.

This was my first trip to the island since the earth shook on Jan 12, 2010, but my third to the nation.  When I arrived in Port au Prince last April, the beauty and spirit of the people touched me, and got under my skin, just as the poverty and pollution saddened me.  I knew then that I would return.  There was good work happening, and lives being changed, and I wanted to be part of it.  In June of 2009, I traveled to the rural mountain village of St. Etienne, where the St. Patrick’s partnership has spanned 30 years.  There, I expected people to be hospitable, as they were in the city, as we would be if we welcomed out of town visitors to DC.  What I did not expect is the embrace I experienced.  I was welcomed like the family member who had gone off for a spell, and had returned home.  Against all protests, I was given the best bed, more than I could possibly eat (though the family barely had enough to feed themselves), and after-dinner chats that transcended language and cultural barriers.  I toured schools, giggled with the children (isn’t it wonderful how laughter needs no shared tongue?), and marveled at how difficult life was by my privileged US standards.  But in retrospect, those were the good old days.

What did I see this time?  When I arrived, frankly, I had a difficult time processing what I saw.  The airport was functioning, nay, it was new, with a jetbridge and air conditioning, both improvements from before, thanks to the US military-industrial complex.  Gone were the CNN-captured masses of humanity crowding the street and rioting for food, rioting for a chance to save their families from literally dying of thirst.  The airport region, in fact, seemed almost sanitized, cleaner than it was before.  St. Patrick’s own force of nature, Marcy Ference – PE teacher, longtime and frequent Haiti traveler, benefactor and fundraiser in chief, was with me, and also commented on the efficiency of the current operations.

Once we started driving, the landscape changed.  Piles of rubble and half-standing buildings met the eyes on all sides.  I imagined the topography to be similar to war-torn Iraq or Afghanistan.  Tent cities were everywhere we looked, in every vacant lot, soccer field, untilled farm.  It is hard to explain how large they are, or how crowded.  The density of these new environs surely rivals that of the high rises they replace – tents no larger than an American bedroom house families of six, ten or more.  They are so close together, you cannot even walk between them except in the architected walkways.  The result is searing temperatures – with no space, there is no airflow, so the heat hangs stagnant like the drying laundry which dots the walls of every abode.

An interesting sidenote of the tent dwellers is this: not all of them have lost their homes in the manner we would imagine.  While many homes have been reduced to piles of rubble, many are ostensibly intact, but in which the residents are afraid to sleep.  Aftershocks continue, three and a half months following the disaster – I was awoken from a deep sleep by one – and each is a small reminder of the terror that changed so many families forever.  As we walked though Jacmel, four hours from Port au Prince and 90 minutes from the epicenter, the streets were lined with tents both replacing homes and supplementing them.  Where houses continue to stand, slowly, mothers were beginning to cook inside, and children to play or do their homework.  But sleeping remained outside, regardless of the weather, which is already brutally hot and humid, and will soon become rain-soaked.

In the village of St. Etienne, we had heard mixed reports of the damage, our objective for this trip was to see things with our own eyes.  The church is without walls – three of them were completely gone, as if they had never been there, the fourth stood defiant but badly damaged.  Thankfully, the retaining wall, financed and partially built by St. Patrick’s, remained strong, keeping the debris from spilling into the road, and allowing us to walk safely on the church’s foundation.  The rectory area of the building appeared structurally sound, but the local priest, Fr. Jonas, indicated it will be a long time before he feels safe sleeping indoors.

At the St. Etienne School, the buildings stood strong and proud.  Though some out buildings were lost, the American-designed and engineered classroom buildings escaped with relatively little damage.  And yet, there were outdoor classrooms set up under tarps.  Later explanation would describe that many children were too traumatized to be indoors, and the parents of many more feared for their children’s safety and prohibited them from being inside for any period of time.

At Christ Redempteur School, the situation is much more grave.  All of its classrooms were lost, along with the apartment in which lived the director, his wife and three young children.  Those children that have returned to classes (only about 25 percent of the former students, even though the Ministry of Education restarted the school year on April 11) are being lectured in tarped areas which can best be compared to American carports (though larger).  Children of multiple grades are forced to sit together, harkening back to the days of the American one room school house.  The outdoor setting also increases distractions for the children, further challenging the teachers.

Supplies are at a minimum in both schools.  At Christ Redempteur, all was lost as the buildings and storage room literally fell of the cliff into the ravine below.  St. Etienne School, which managed to avoid loss due to Mother Nature, fell victim to its companion – theft by members of an organized gang from Port au Prince.  The school director explained that the security guard quickly (and correctly) submitted when the thieves brandished their guns late one night in early February.  Within hours one could surely find the stolen rice and beans which had formerly been provided for school lunches, along with all manner of school supplies and books, available for sale on a PAP street corner.

Also damaged were water supplies.  With no electricity and no running water to the homes, even before January water retrieval meant a long walk down a steep cliff to the tapped spring (a St. Patrick’s project from years past).  But now that spring and others has run dry; likely due to debris blocking the flow of water.  The UN has provided a large water tank which is filled by tanker trunk periodically and from which residents can draw, but this is non-potable water.  Drinking water must be obtained from an even farther away spring, adding to the burden of villagers surely pushed to the limits of their resolve.

Within the community, approximately 15 percent of the families have lost their homes completely, and are reliant solely on tents for shelter.  According to Fr. Jonas, the de facto mayor, approximately 50-60 percent more are living in highly compromised conditions, with some manner of cover such as a chicken coop or cook shed converted to a bedroom.  Many previously employed adults are now unable to work, either because their employment no longer exists or because it is too difficult to travel there.  Many new families and children have arrived, fleeing the damage in the cities or seeking the guardianship of relatives after parents died in the quake.

Slowly, life is getting better.  Children are returning to school, and to some manner of routine.  The markets have reopened, and food is available.  Emergency food has been delivered and is being distributed by the church.  For the first time ever, the village has a medical clinic, staffed daily by either a doctor or nurse employed by one of the many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) now at work throughout the country.  New, permanent toilets have been built on one school campus, a project by yet another international aide agency.  Members of the church have built a temporary structure under which they can worship, protected from the rain and beating sun. 

Through it all, the spirit of the people prevails.  One elderly woman told Marcy that she was trapped indoors during the quake, during which she praised God and begged for his help.  We have added our supplications to hers, and, having seen with my own eyes, I know we have been heard.  Like the poet Frost’s weary traveler, we have many miles to go before we sleep, and much work to do.  But St. Etienne will rebuild, its children will, with God’s help, flourish, and those who help will be forever blessed.

Though the outpouring of the community has been generous, the needs in St. Etienne are still manifold.  Click here to find out how you can help – financially, through in kind gifts, or with your time. 
Thank you to all the donors who have generously given to support our friends in St. Etienne.

Below is an accounting, to the extent we know, of where cash donations will go, and we still need any financial help you are able to offer.

In addition, however, we have received requests for in-kind donations, and again we seek the generosity of the St. Patrick’s community.  Drop-off areas will be made available in the Church and School buildings for your convenience.

1)      Shoes.  Both adult and children, male and female.  Shoes should be practical for mountain wear (no Manola Blahniks!), and for children, closed toes are especially helpful  These shoes need not be new (although Payless often runs great BOGO specials).  Look into your closets.  What shoes are sitting there that are no longer worn?  What about those your children have gently used, but have grown out of?  Or never liked in the first place?  Dust them off and bring them in; we will ship in large containers.

2)      OTC medicines and supplies.  Band aids are great, but we also need gauze, tape, bandages, hydrogen peroxide, children’s Tylenol and Motrin (check those lot numbers for recalls!), Benadryl, first aid spray – be creative!

3)      Children’s vitamins: While the food situation is no longer described as dire, children are still not getting a fully balanced diet.  Vitamins would help stem the tide of malnutrition.

4)      School supplies: Long a St. Patrick’s staple, these children depend on us for their pens, pencils, crayons and paper.  Supplies are very, very expensive in Haiti, and what was on-site before January was completely lost.

5)      Musical instruments:  Liturgical music is currently limited to vocals, as there are no instruments that survived the disaster.  Do you have a keyboard that your family is not using?  (Most of them operate on batteries, which will work until the generator at the church is ready to go.)  How about an accordion?  Drums?

Skills: Are you, or do you have an interested friend or colleague who is an architect, engineer, or other building or land use professional?  One very plausible reason the St. Etienne School escaped most damage is because it was American designed and built to US building codes.  If we could have similar talents to put to work at Christ Redempteur, perhaps the perpetual issues related to hurricane damage and erosion can be avoided in the future.

In the quest for full transparency, we share with the community where your funds will go. 

1)      School operations: In a normal year, St. Patrick’s shares the cost of operating the school with the parents, who all pay as their circumstances allow.  Since the earthquake, monthly tuition payments have come to a complete halt, as any money people have is dedicated to rebuilding their homes and their lives.  St. Patrick’s has committed to allowing ALL children to come back to school for the remainder of this term (which will run to August 12), regardless of their ability to pay. 

2)      In addition to the teacher salaries for the time when school is in session, we have committed to paying teachers and administrators for the time the schools were closed.  These teachers were without a salary from the Jan 12 earthquake to April 11, when schools reopened nationwide.  Since most teachers are making just above minimum wage, the loss of income for three months was devastating to families who live paycheck to paycheck.  This back pay will assist them with their own rebuilding.

3)      Rebuilding of the St. Etienne Church.  As you can see from the photos, the church is literally a pile of rocks, and must be rebuilt from the ground up. 

4)      Rebuilding of Christ Redempteur School.  Completely demolished, CRS must be rebuilt from scratch.  We do not have any feel yet for the cost, but know it will be a long-term project, with classrooms being replaced as funding allows.  The first step has already been taken, as funds were wired to pay for an architect to commence sketches and a geological survey.  Since erosion has created problems over the year for the school, with the rebuild a new location (on the existing campus) has been identified.

5)      St. Etienne School: While we are lucky that the damage was less at St. Etienne than at CRS, there remains a need for reinforcement, and also for temporary shelter until the buildings can be safely (and confidently) inhabited by students on a daily basis.

If you can help with a financial donation, please send it to the church office with HAITI written in the memo line.