It is official! I am in Les Cayes, Haiti sitting on the balcony overlooking our neighborhood. People have been singing at the church up the road, motorbikes are speeding by, and currently a neighbor is blasting his TV/radio.
I arrived in Haiti last Thursday, two days later than planned. Customs and immigration was so much easier this time because I knew what to expect. They finally put luggage belts into the baggage claim area. Before, there was just one small belt in the back that Haitian workers would take your bags off and push them out on the floor for collection. Knowing that my boxes wouldn't be hard to miss, I stood to the side and waited for them to come out instead of jumping into the madness. The journalist and videographer must have taken my stance as overwhelmed, because they kept videotaping me! Let me know if I ever show up on some documentary on Haiti :)
I spent the first evening in Port-au-Prince at the MTI house (Medical Teams International). I met some wonderful medical missionaries who came together from various Evangelical Covenant Churches throughout the US to serve for 2 weeks in Haiti. They were expecting to help with cholera cases in the clinics, but, praise the Lord, it has gone down by 90%! Those who wonder about the effectiveness of short-term missions should know that the major reason for such a drastic decline is due to those who came in and educated the Haitians on hygiene and preventative measures.
The next day we had to wait until after noon to make our trip to Les Cayes (about a 5-6 hour drive). Many people were protesting along our route (mostly burning tires) because of soon-to-be-announced election results. It's sad that is their only way for their voices to be heard. We made it in to the city shortly after dark and moved in part of our luggage before dinner and bed.
Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon and evening with Olga (my boss) discussing her vision for Centre Lumiere and what my job responsibilities will be. I will be working with various areas. From what I can understand, CL is divided into 2 areas: the self-help center and the teacher training school. The self-help center creates craft projects, teaches a short lesson to ladies in the city on how to make that craft, and then gives them the materials to do so. We sell the product for them to help them make money. I will be looking over the materials they have and designing products for the ladies to make.
The teacher training school has several parts. There is one school locally that teaches the women home economics skills and helps them to sell their products. It is a 4-year program, and they receive an education in Bible and basic life skills in addition to sewing, embroidery, and crocheting. Then, the most dedicated women that graduate from that program are chosen to help teach at one of the five other schools around the area. I may be responsible for several things: I will create and teach some of the life skill classes (like First Aid, organization, changing a diaper, etc.); I will assist in teaching some of the home economics classes; and, I will observe the teachers in the various schools and provide instruction based on what I see (discipline, classroom organization, teaching styles, etc.). All of this is to be determined within the next few weeks.
I am looking forward to getting started! As a side note, the language courses that I worked on before coming have been a help in recognizing some key words in Creole (thank you, Pimsleur!). Unfortunately, I'm hearing more than just that language here. For example, six people ate dinner around the table my first night in Les Cayes, and four languages were spoken (Spanish, English, French, and Creole). Then, Saturday spent with Olga was predominately in German (her family and the founding missionaries of the center here in Cayes are German). Please pray for patience with the language acquisition. I just need practice, practice, practice!
View from the 2nd floor balcony looking down our street:
Berkley taking it easy on my bed:
Olga's building project nearing completion:
The foundation for a Haitian house below Olga's property (laid by hand):
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