A Friday In Haiti

Today was a very long day. We began about 7:00 with breakfast, then drove to the CRS office in Le Caye. We picked up our two guides for the day—a doctor and an agricultural manager--and proceeded to the “country.” It was a several hour trip that took us along beautiful coasts where the blue/green ocean lapped deserted shores. It also took us on winding almost non-existent roads and even through a partially dry riverbed. (I am very appreciative of Hondas at the moment and the drivers were nothing short of miracle workers.)

Our goal today was to see development in action. There were two programs that we saw that made a big impression. One was a program for new mothers in outlying areas. We went to what is called a Rally Point. There is a designated space in a local area where mothers and young children come once a month to have their babies weighed to insure they are growing and gaining weight. The babies are tracked until they are five. The moms are from the local area and form a Mother’s Club to support each other. From the CRS staff, they learn about the importance of breast feeding, good nutrition for moms and babies and other skills designed to make sure these children get a good start. Since this program began the mortality rate for both moms and infants has plummeted. The wonderful thing to see was how proud the moms were of their babies—and they were adorable—and how they really took what they learned to heart and used the new skills. They also formed a bond with each other which gives an extra added support structure.

The other program was agricultural and it too was run in a village by the Mother’s Club. We saw a sample garden that produced peppers and sweet potatoes which was planted to maximize the yield. The goal is to grow enough to feed the family and to have some extra to sell. This is really important because we learned earlier that Haiti does not have enough food for her people even counting all that is given as aide from the international community. The community leaders of this group were very vocal about what assistance they needed to succeed. At one point there was a conversation going on in Spanish between one of our delegation and the doctor who was accompanying us at the same time as the women were telling us about their project in Creole which was being translated into French and then translated into English by some CRS members! It is a small world after all!

The day ended with a dinner at a local restaurant with other CRS leaders who are in charge of the programs in the southern part of the country. We ate outside at the beach and enjoyed not only the atmosphere but listening to these young experts who are devoting their lives to improve the quality of life of the Haitians. The poverty is truly overwhelming and the infrastructure almost entirely absent, but these community based programs seem to not only inspire but succeed. We saw happy, healthy babies and a flourishing garden …not to mention hopeful people!