G.U.A.T.E.M.A.L.A.

When working in Haiti, one needs a break from the sun and heat. We know that we are especially fortunate to have this break from time to time. Antigua, Guatemala. This morning we awoke to an overcast day, with the clouds acting as a foggy lens for the sun to shine through, dispersing a bright, gray light. Breakfast at an old Spanish palace built in the 1500's while chatting, shooing away a very determined black crow that was fixed upon gobbling my whole wheat toast and delving into various articles in the Economist. While Monica has gone to get her feet dolled up, I am happy to find a nice, restful place to sit and drink un Moca Caffe. I find myself sitting underneath a roofed terrace in the courtyard of a coffee shop a few minute's walk from our bed and breakfast, and appreciating the fact that it is still raining. Trickling fountains, large tropical plants and bright textiles adorn most spaces, both indoors and out. The architecture is beautiful here - it is strange to see buildings standing upright and I have to remind myself that there aren't large piles of rubble or rubbish in the streets to dodge. The last major earthquake to occur in Guatemala was in 1976, which killed 23,000 people and injured another 76,000. It is difficult not to think about earthquakes sometimes. However, the destruction of the last major earthquake in Guatemala does not compare to the Civil War here, the longest civil war in Latin American history (1960-1996), which claimed as many lives as did Haiti's January 2010 earthquake - not to mention the 45,000 Desaparecidos. Despite its history of hardship, there is reason for hope in Guatemala. Just look at what we saw...beauty, culture, thriving local agriculture and tourism...we wish this for Haiti.

Lago de Atitlan















Kayaking Lago de Aitilan









Finally, a Cafe!!
















The Ecohouse we stayed in at Lago de Atitlan






View from our Ecobed...



Our Ecobed


Bathroom


Sustainable Fair Trade Coffee Farm Tour










Antigua, Guatemala




View from room...

Hygiene Educators

Below I have copied the article entitled Staying Healthy that appeared recently on the Samaritan's Purse website.

The article highlights the amazing Haitian hygiene educators I am privileged to work with. Currently, I am working with eight hygiene educators. Over the past few months I have had the joy of facilitating participatory hygiene training, which has the goal of building the hygiene educators' capacities in community health education within a disaster context. We have experienced many successes as a team as well as many challenges. The job itself is challenging as the climate is sweltering hot and conditions, in terms of sanitation, in the camps where we train in are poor. Yet I feel I have learned even more from the them as we continue to educate on disease prevention in the internally displaced persons communities. Here is the article in full about two of my wonderful hygiene trainers...



Hygiene education helps prevent the spread of disease among earthquake survivors in Haiti

An escalating “buzzzzzz” filled the open-air classroom in Haiti where a lively group of 3-to-6 year olds reacted to a larger-than-life illustration of the ugly “bug” that can make children sick if they don’t wash their hands.

More than 60 children at the Mission of Hope school and orphanage sat cross-legged on mats and listened intently as two Samaritan’s Purse health and hygiene workers talked about the importance of hand washing and cleanliness.

The children quickly learned a song about hygiene to the tune of Frere Jacques. Every hand went up when Myriam, the team leader, asked who wanted to stand and repeat the five important points about hygiene they had just learned.

“I really love working with children,” Myriam said. “It’s so important to teach them how to protect themselves and others from catching and spreading dangerous diseases.”

Five-year-old Marie counted her fingers as she repeated the key points of the lesson. Everyone joined in the applause when Myriam and Flosie, her coworker, smiled and said, “Bravo!”

Concerns about clean water, sanitation, and the spread of disease became critical following the earthquake, as hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and were forced into makeshift camps. Samaritan’s Purse responded by providing shelter, clean water, latrines, health education, and hygiene workshops in tent camps, schools, mission compounds, and community centers.

Nearly 12,000 family hygiene kits were distributed in the worst-hit parts of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.

Health and hygiene teams continue to coordinate education programs for children and adults living in tent communities. They also conduct on-site inspections and meet with community organizers who help monitor health and sanitation projects in the camps.

As Myriam and Flosie entered a tent camp in Grand Guave, children swarmed around them as several adults walked over to receive cleaning supplies and talk about conditions in the community.

“Working with the people who live here helps them take ownership of the community and feel a sense of involvement in it,” Myriam said. “Together, we can promote proper hygiene and create a healthier environment for everyone.”

Myriam and Flosie walked further down the main road to an outdoor community center where a second group of children had gathered. Another “buzzzzzz” echoed through the crowd as Myriam pointed to the nasty bug on her colorful chart and started another presentation.

Stories

There are many stories to tell. We have lived in Haiti just under 3 months now and are still barely wrapping our minds around the complexities that we see here. It is easy to forget to process our time in Haiti. We often remind each other to write down the stories of the people to help us reflect and voice their needs better.

A Story about Cite Marcel, in Leogane, Haiti

When I first entered Cite Marcel in Leogane, it was late afternoon and the sun had begun to fade behind a sea of clouds that released thin sheets of rain. The moment I stepped out of my vehicle I was struck by the thick stench of stagnate water and open waste that I had been shielded from behind the sterile coldness of the windshield and air-conditioning. I had visited many IDP camps by this point, but never had I seen such awful living conditions. The stream that came from the center of town had long stopped flowing and the water reeked of the remnants of sugarcane and corn from the distillery upstream – hardly drinkable – and made worse by human waste and garbage of all sorts. While walking round, I discovered that there was no basic sanitation in Cite Marcel and though hundreds of people had built shelters made of sticks, sheets and palm fronds, there was seemingly no access to any resource that would make such a large group of people want to stay in this place.

As I met more people who had made this their home, I could not help but notice what sounded like endless gallons of water flowing from a tap. As I looked to my left, above a grouping of tents, I saw a young woman standing on a platform operating a simple water pump that gushed forth clear, sparkling water. And, as she collected water into a large bucket I was filled with a sense of relief. Aha! Cite Marcel could not possibly be such a terrible place to live – with all this fresh water available!

As I asked about this water, I found that it was fed by an underground spring and privately owned by a family that had been able to move to another Caribbean nation. Before leaving Haiti, this family had given the responsibility of guarding and caring for the water source to a local family, and one of the daughter’s of this family had been the one gathering water. Some of the community leaders then explained that absolutely no one else was allowed to drink this water – and with this new knowledge, the relief I had felt just a few moments ago disappeared, being replaced by a sense of loss, a real sadness that a resource so precious and visible, could not be enjoyed by the hundreds living there. Despite such a desperate place to live I was astounded by the joy and resilience of those living in Cite Marcel.

One of the main differences between the people of Cite Marcel and those of other camps I had worked in was their reliability in collaborating with Samaritan’s Purse to bring practical interventions to life, rather than passively waiting for services to be offered and delivered. Though I could not immediately address the issue of water, I coordinated with one of Samaritan’s Purse’s partner organizations who specialize in water engineering and they began to assess the situation and have been working to provide clean water within the community.

Partnering with the leaders of Cite Marcel, 2 latrine holes were quickly dug, and because the water table was only a few feet below the ground’s surface, it was clear that the latrines would have to be constructed primarily above ground. Just as speedily, masons and other tradesmen within the community offered their services and began to erect a cinder block wall. Within just a few days, two beautiful foundations had been completed and lined with plastic and the community’s strongest men were now hoisting the prefabricated latrine onto its strong foundation. A little while later, other men had begun to clear a place for steps to be built. With almost no effort on my part, members of the community mobilized and began to pick up garbage and place it in the rubbish pit that had just been dug.

Though it will take time to address the issues of equal access and rights to water, the people of Cite Marcel can now use the restroom without having to worry about making their environment worse. The thoughtful signs, etched with chalk onto small sheets of plywood on the fronts of the latrines, and discovered just a few days later are a testimony to the power of partnership and solidarity. The signs, scrawled in Creole, read: ‘Thank you Ian and Samaritan’s Purse for giving us a new life.’

Haiti's beauty is not all under the rubble-Part II

Easter break-Port Salut, Haiti

This weekend we were off for Easter break and used the time to see more of Haiti with our close friends Ben and Lexi from NC and two new friends Bryan and Sharon. We went to Port Salut, Haiti on the South Coast, which is a tranquil little costal town untouched by the quake. Port Salut is actually the birthplace of former exiled president of Haiti Jean-Bertrand Aristide. These were our first glimpses of life in Haiti outside of building rubble and camps containing displaced people. It felt like a different country altogether - how curious it was to see life in Haiti - life not effected by the disaster; not directly effected anyway. It was refreshing. The people were singing, dancing, going about their normal daily chores and celebrating Easter. Back to work this week.