Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Back to America!

"Welcome to the United States"

A bittersweet, sentimental statement as Team Haiti returned home. Excited to return to our beds, reuniting with our friends, and sharing our stories, we prepared ourselves for our layover at JFK. Finally, around 2 a.m., we returned home to Gannon, and the journey to re-immerse ourselves into our American culture with the invaluable lessons we learned in Haiti.

After a week of experiencing love, wisdom, and community our lives changed in what I thought would be a typical "service trip" but this immersion trip revealed more wisdom and gave fruit to powerful experiences has made a lasting impacting on each of our individual lifestyles.

Beyond what we learned about Haiti's culture and the love of the people present there, we learned and experienced the undeniable power of the individual, despite horrific circumstances. The history of Haiti seemed like story after story of a country taken advantage of and exploited, but the resounding characteristic of all these stories and their entire history was their perseverance. Continually, throughout the trip, we heard the same statement by Haitians in the city all the way through the mountains: "Haitians are strong. That is why we do not give up, because we are strong."

Throughout our experience, we focused upon the issues of poverty, exploration of human integral development, and, eventually, explored the possibilities we as individuals must do in our part in a solution against poverty. Immersing ourselves in Fond Tortue, hiking the mountains of Haiti, and even our long, long car rides contributed to our understanding of poverty and how to battle the fight.

Constantly reflecting on this experience for a few days, I'm still at loss of words for our trip and experiences. Our trip has inspired us to move into action mode, to make a change for our lives, our campus, and our worlds. Whether it was playing soccer with the Fond Tortue community, hiking up the mountains with the children of the village being our tour guides, or Kim sharing her wisdom and life experiences; every part of the trip brought its own, unique growing revelation.

A lesson that can definitively be said about our experience is that the issues surrounding Haiti and poverty, or even just Fond Tortue cannot be solved in a week during spring break. Instead, our experience led us to the realization the real help and impact we can make for Haiti is how we choose to live our lives here in America. The unspeakable bond created between our group must be salvaged and expanded upon so others can also share in the intimacy and solidarity through our experiences and choices. Part of the help comes from sharing, but a strong part of this trip is carrying this experience to lead us to be more aware of our decisions and fight against injustice.

As we are returning to our daily lives, stressing over exams, and being college students our team has dedicated ourselves to add in the fight against poverty as well. We aim to make change on Gannon's campus by supporting Just Haiti and their endeavors, while expanding Just Haiti's mission to our own on campus and in our individual lives. Team Haiti looks forward to working together as a group and sharing our individual experiences, stay in touch and there will be more to come!

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support,
Kishan

Friday, March 3, 2017

The Grand Finale

Our last full day in Haiti from Kendra....

Hey friends! Our morning started off with a full breakfast and an even greater discussion. We had the opportunity to read Kim Lamberty's article called The Art of Accompaniment. This article was really special because it took our experience this week to the next level from discussions to published work. We discussed a lot of how aid organizations really impact those struggling with extreme poverty by providing alternatives for them to grow themselves into a better situation.

It was really great having Kim be present to go over her article with us. She helped us go deeper into how these relationships really lead to long term results with the poor. On top of that, relating her work in Just Haiti provided another experience. For those of you reading, I really recommend reading this article. It just may change your life!

After the discussion, team Haiti once again piled into our beloved van going off to the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) here in Port-au-Prince. There, we learned a lot about the incredible work that CRS is doing here in Haiti. From education to health care, CRS plays a major role in supporting Haiti. After asking a plethora of solid questions we once again piled into our beloved white van.

After the CRS presentation, we moved on to the national Haitian museum. There we had the opportunity to see the anchor from Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria.... Crazy right? This stop was particularly special because we were able to experience the epic story of the Haitian people. A band of slaves that rose up to overthrow the French army of 40,000 people; that was the birth of Haiti. The anchor was special, but what was more worthwhile was seeing the strength of Haitians throughout the week correlate in its presence in their history

On top of the rich history lesson, the museum also offered an amazing restaurant. It was a bittersweet moment being at the fancy, westernized restaurant but we were also enjoying our conversations and leading into a momentum of discussions of what now.

From there it was off to the Fair Trade Cooperative. This special store is run by an amazing woman who meets individually with each artisan to make sure that she is buying their goods at a price that is able for them to live off of. On top of ensuring fair payment for the hard work that the artisans put into the products the cooperative also ensures that they are making products that will sell. Over all, this business model is a great way to empower local artists and is one that I am happy to put my money and support behind.

This theme of empowerment is extremely important to our work this week in Haiti. It is one thing to offer handouts to the poor but in the long run that isn't sustainable. The current approach to Haiti which is giving substantial amounts of aid from donating clothing to putting up telephone poles to even emergency relief programs are just putting a band aid on a much larger issue: Poverty. It is an epidemic that can only be treated by providing options for the poor. The people of Haiti are rich with resources. They are overflowing with assets from land to human capital. The people want to work and know how to help themselves but do not have the connections to do so. The communities, like all communities, possess leaders who need empowerment to help themselves.

The aid agencies are in a better position than the government to meet the needs of the people, mostly due to money. These vulnerable people do not need our charity but rather they need us to listen. The Haitian people know what Haiti needs but due to their situations they are not in the place to help themselves.

These words come from a place of experience. I, too, have been guilty of sending money to philanthropies that I am not sure how much money is trickling to the people at the bottom.

I'm no expert, but what I can say is share what I have seen. I have seen the American flag on the shirt of a poor farmer. I have learned first hand the complicated process of growing coffee beans. I have spent time with the children of these communities. I have experienced their hospitality, received their generosity, but most of all I have felt their love. A love that persists through all. I have seen the resilience and strength of an entire population.

These people, these friends, deserve better and it starts with us. So now I invite you my friends, to ask us. Ask us about this wonderful, beautiful, life changing experience so that together we can make a better future for Haiti. Also, check out Just Haiti, because they are an organization that is actually doing something worth supporting.

Lasts and Firsts

Hello from Team Haiti, Kishan here! An early morning consisted of cleaning and rushes of emotions for everyone on the trip. It was a day we feared, leaving our relationships with the community of Fond Tortue. After cleaning the house Françios generously loaned us for the past several days, we were delighted to have spaghetti for breakfast - I don't think we can go back from that for breakfast, ever. It was truly delicious! After a few hard goodbyes to Françios family, we started our journey to the first- ever Federation meeting. This meeting consisted of all the different Haitian coffee grower associations that partner with Just Haiti on their underlying mission of sustainability. However, before we reached our destination we once again witnessed the familial love and community displayed by Haitians. In the midst of our car being stuck, we attempted to manage our way out of the predicament by lead of our a driver. The power of giving and love overwhelmed us, it was a truly powerful experience. But, before we knew it a crowd of Haitians appeared, that we had never met, with tools and (literally) helped dig ourselves out of trouble. The car ride continued, it took about 5 hours to reach the Federation meeting which was held at a Church facility. Finally, after reaching on the bumpy ride we rushed to the bathroom before the meeting started. At the meeting, there were 6 Just Haiti partner representatives and Kim and Joann representing Just Haiti. Personally, the meeting filled my mind with ideas even through the heat of the day. Hearing the passion and joy all the members expressed for Françios' hard work, the collaboration of different association leaders, and the ideals and goals of Just Haiti developing before our eyes was truly a special moment to me and the team. A major advancement was the legal recognition of Just Haiti to make the shipment of coffee an easier task so a heavier load can be shipped and it wouldn't all have to be under the pressure of Françios' name. After approximately 2 hours of the federation meeting and discussing their plans as an organization and plans for development, it was time to eat! We walked across the street and ate at a restaurant together as Team Haiti and the federation in a delicious meal, some of us had the classic (but amazing) rice and beans and others had chicken. After dinner, the lasts of the trip continued. We piled into our indestructible van once again for our last long car ride. Personally, the long, treacherous car rides were priceless experiences themselves. The rides featured solidarity, intimacy, and love amongst ourselves and within conversations. From Becky asking if we needed snacks, my horrible jokes, to intimate conversations of our experiences immersing ourselves into this culture, we developed special bonds to empower each other and our individual ideation and personalities. In reflection, our day consisted of the development that the ABST program, Just Haiti, and our personal purposes so expect. It was a day of learning and noticing. Noticing the love, noticing the solidarity, noticing the people of Haiti as a population of potential and idealistic values that we desperately need to integrate into our lives. The culmination of our trip is at our fingertips, the love of Haiti is instilled in us, and the best part is what we are receiving on this trip has blossomed into something we will take and empower beyond our days in Haiti. We look forward to a day at CRS and Port au Prince, see you all soon! Love and prayers for all, Team Haiti

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

In Haiti, there's always another mountain behind the mountain.

Bonjou! It's co-leader Maddie! What a beautiful and powerful day in Fond Tortue it has been for Team Haiti. Our day started with a Haitian delicacy for breakfast - pumpkin soup! It was a delicious and wonderful way to start our final full day in Fond Tortue. After eating breakfast, we headed to the community church to celebrate mass for Ash Wednesday. We arrived after a short fifteen minute walk through the town. As a whole, Team Haiti found Mass to be a humbling and awe-inspiring experience. The congregation felt like home to the group, even those who aren't Catholic. The young priest and the congregation were very welcoming to us. For the members of Team Haiti who are Catholic, Mass was a time where the true meaning of Universal Church came to light. After Mass the group decided to go on a hike through the Haitian mountains. Originally, the plan was to a hike a mountain that we had already been up, but that changed when the kids in the village wanted to take us up a different mountain. We agreed and our adventurous mid-day activity began! For some (mainly me) the hike was challenging and honestly extremely sweaty. But the different views of the village and the group bonding made it all worth it! After arriving back from the long and adventurous hike we all enjoyed a yummy lunch! Following lunch we had a little time to rest before François took us on a tour through the village to show us the devastation of Hurricane Matthew and explain the process that the coffee goes through from plant all the way to bean! Seeing the devastation from the Hurricane throughout the village left the group feeling somber and upset that the houses couldn't be immediately fixed. François also showed us the process that the coffee growers go through to prepare the coffee bean for Just Haiti coffee. For the group it was a experience that showed them just how much labor and intention goes into preparing the coffee bean for consumption. Well, friends and family, it's been an insightful and impactful few days in Fond Tortue and we are very sad to be leaving tomorrow. But, we are also looking forward to experience Port-au-Prince and all that the rest of this week has in store for us! Thanks for reading the blog and we'll be home soon...but not too soon. :) Peace and Prayers! Maddie