Monday Saga Continues

Yesterday was a long day. After getting our hardware, tin, and associated components, we began the trip outward. Yesterday was the first business day we experienced in Cap Hatien. It amazes me how much is done my folks with so little. I watched a small framed Haitian load 10 bags of cement mix onto his wheelbarrow. I am told that they weigh either 50 or 75 pounds each! This gentleman squared his shoulders, squatted and lifted the bars and moved down the road. My last realization was to note he had on an old pair of cowboy boots!


We began out “outward bound” trek with a stop at the Bon Air orphanage. We dropped off some folks there and then continued our trek to the clinic, another orphanage, and then our ultimate destination, an old folks home – an almost unheard of concept here.

The road, already a patchwork of pavers, concrete and mud, began to deteriorate the further we got out of the city. We were taking the same road that leads to and from Port au Prince. Ruts two to three feet deep, pot holes five feet wide and filled with water represented unknown dangers. Horns continue to announce “Here I am!” Every intersection requires the same announcement, as there are neither signals nor any apparent “rules of the road”. The road is full of traffic – but most reflect the day-to-day activities of the Haitians. Ad hoc “cabby trucks” load a press of humanity and then move on. Shops seem to congregate by specialty. Electronics, tire repair (a very buzzing business), motor repair, sun dried nuts – each turn opens new experiences.

We continue to move away from the city and into a rural venue. Fields open up, “farmettes” begin to sprout around us. Banana trees, sugar cane, and pig farms begin to dominate; less concrete block structures and more woven bat huts sometimes covered with mud. We ford two streams as our “road” has been washed out. We continue following what appears initially to be a dry stream bed and arrive at the old folk’s home. We have arrived at an oasis! Well constructed concrete structures, painted bright colors, an outside latrine and some farming patches help provide a safe venue to older people, visited and cared for by their family or other families. We deliver our supplies, take our greetings and begin the return trip.