Final Reflections

Hi everyone!

Our group is back in Erie safe and sound after a long day of travel!

Upon reflecting on the experience and new global world perspective that Chiapas gifted us on this trip, we are in awe of how important fair-trade is and how much work goes into our daily cups of coffee.  We think it is important to share the mission and importance behind Café Justo. After our reflections this week around the work of poverty reduction and migration, our whole group now has a deeper understanding of the world around us and how to go about our daily consumption in a more ethical way.  We believe all humans deserve a fair wage and not to be taken advantage of in the supply chain.

In all, this trip has been an inspiring experience, and we know we will never forget the coffee growers of Chiapas, Mexico. We will never forget their welcoming, open arms and complete hospitality when they themselves were living in poverty.  We will never forget the roosters crowing at night or seeing the volcano in the distance every morning.  We will never forget the sweet bread and the mangos, and the constant cups of coffee with a swirl of sugar in it.  We will never forget the twisting of our hearts at the migrant shelter and knowing how much human suffering was in one place, and not being able to alleviate it in that moment.  Mostly, we will never forget how much impact the simple decision of what coffee you will drink in the morning makes on one person’s life.  Thank you, Chiapas and Café Justo, for these imprints.

Mid-Week Update

Day #3

Our third day in Salvador Urbana began with learning about the process of patio drying with a local family. We not only learned about this process but also engaged in conversation about young people in society and their relationship with faith and seeing the true Christian message being portrayed with people fighting for economic justice.

Following the patio drying we had lunch with the family and then headed to the cabana to swim and relax for the afternoon.

Later, we met with the president of the Cafe Justo Coop and his family. Through that conversation we learned more about the infrastructure of the co-op and observed how the economy provided by Cafe Justo has allowed members more opportunities such as education.

Day 4:
Today we began by visiting a migrant shelter near the boarder of Mexico and Guatemala. We saw many people and families there looking for a safe place to stay until they could find safety either in Mexico or the United States. While this was very important for us all to witness it was difficult to see the situation so many people are in. In addition, it made a connection as to why fighting for economic justice is so important. With economic justice people would not have to flee their homes and we wouldn’t be seeing this problem.

We got to go to a local restaurant for dinner where we had virgin pina coladas in pineapples! We visited Mayan Ruins and learned a little bit about their history. To finish off the day, we went to a local coffee museum where we relaxed and had some deep reflection, focusing on migration issues and the root cause of the increasing migration rate, poverty and economic injustice.

Chiapas Update: Day 1 and 2

 Hello there followers! These past two days have been a delightful introduction to our ABST experience! Within this time we have met a series of growers in the Salvador Urbina community and have learned about the beginning stages of coffee farming! Some highlights have been visiting with farmers named David and Samuel, who taught our group about their lifelong craft of coffee farming, and the change that Cafe Justo has brought to the community.

In this time we have been able to learn about the harrowing economic difficulties that many face in communities across Mexico and the world. Just a decade ago, Salvador Urbina and the surrounding areas were mainly comprised of women, the elderly, and children. So many families couldn’t sustain themselves, and to try to keep afloat, so many men came to the United States to earn a sustainable wage. During this time, they worked tirelessly, paying taxes and social security that they would in many ways never tap into. But every cent they could, they would send home to support their family, including children that they had never met.

This struggle and sacrifice has been elevated by programs like Cafe Justo’s coffee co-op, providing a path for families to sustain themselves and earn equitable wages in their community. It has been transformational to see economic justice lived out, literally connecting families in the homes we are visiting.

Now, we are preparing to learn even more about the coffee growing process, and continue to connect it to migrant issues and the communities we are immersed within this week. Be sure to stay connected by reading our Facebook posts and blog as the week progresses!

Travel to Chiapas!

Hi everyone!

We are so excited to announce that the Haiti ABST is leaving from the Cleveland Airport tonight!
Unfortunately, due to the conflicts in Haiti, our group is again not able to travel there this year, but we will be traveling to Chiapas, Mexico to visit Cafe Justo. 

Cafe Justo is also a fair-trade coffee farm similar to Just Haiti! Cafe Justo was the business that inspired the Just Haiti coffee company and has parallel business and ideology practices. Our group is excited to see this unique perspective on Just Haiti and learn about fair trade economics and poverty alleviation. We are also fortunate enough to have Kim Lamberty, the founder of Just Haiti, traveling with us, providing her wisdom, experience, and perspective to the trip!

The leaders this year are Melissa Bronder, a junior psychology major who has traveled to Haiti her freshman year and led the Haitimala experience her sophomore year.  Our other leader is Ryan Hamilton, a senior who has previously traveled to Guatemala, participated in the L'Arche, Mexico experience and led the Detroit ABST.

The accompaniers this year are Sarah Ewing, the Dean of the College of Health Professions and Science and Brian McIntyre, who works in the Center for Teaching Excellence and is an adjunct business professor.  Our participants are Jill Sullivan, a freshman PA major and Avery Hill, a sophomore OT major.

We are all incredibly excited to embark on this journey and take you along with us! Stay tuned for updates :).
- Melissa

Haiti-Mala Day One: The Early Bird Catches the Worm

Hello from beautiful Guatemala! As some of you may know, we had to transition from going to Haiti to now being in Guatemala (hence the name of our group). On our first day, we awoke early at 4 AM to leave Guatemala City and take a van ride to San Lucas. There, we met the two other Gannon groups and got ready for a boat ride around Lake Atitlan. We were able to explore local villages and see the culture and vibrant cultures. In the evening, we attended a very moving mass led by Father Kesicki. Pray for us and enjoy our video!!

Haiti Trip changes

Hello everyone!

The United States Department of State issued an emergency notification raising the travel advisory for Haiti from Level 3 (Reconsider travel) to Level 4 (Do Not Travel).  As a result of this, travel to Haiti is no longer possible for our group. 

The Haiti ABST has not been cancelled, however, and our group is taking on the welcome challenge of honoring the Haitian community by continuing to learn about and deepen the relationship with Just Haiti while at the San Lucas mission in Guatemala. 

We invite you to continue to engage with our blog and support us through this experience as we take on all the twists and turns of our journey!

With love,

Melissa

Introduction of the Haiti trip 2019!

Hello everyone! We are extremely excited to start our journey to Haiti in 2019! We will be traveling from March 2nd to March 10th and can't wait to share in this journey with you. 

We are currently preparing for the trip with the group by learning more about how Haiti started, the Haitian Revolution, and the relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We will also explore the Just Haiti coffee corporation and learn more about where we will be spending our week! 

The leaders this year are Melissa Bronder and Rachel Nye, who are both so excited to share in this growth experience with their group members and learn alongside them about poverty, fair-trade economics, and integral human development. 

Melissa is a Sophomore Psychology major who has previously traveled to Haiti on the ABST trip last year and Rachel is a fourth-year PA student who has led the trips to Ruskin, Florida and Detroit,  MI and attended the ABST to Washington, DC!

We encourage you to stay in touch with the blog as we continue to update you on our journey!

With love,

Rachel and Melissa

Return to Gannon!

We have officially (and safely) returned to Gannon.  Upon reflecting on the experience and new global world perspective that Haiti gifted us on this trip, we are in awe and filled with love.  After bonding and sharing in growing as individuals this week, our group is excited to take on the daunting, yet beautiful opportunity to spread the news of Just Haiti and its mission. We think it is pivotal not to just share the mission, but the why in our experiences with our peers, families, and community. After our reflections this week that were centered around the work of poverty reduction and ending injustices, our whole group now has a deeper understanding of the complexities of the world and how to go about our daily lives in a knowledgeable and understanding way. We believe all humans deserve dignity and basic rights, part of those include not being taken advantage of, especially not to the point of global poverty.

After this experience, I am able to better understand my place in the world and how to be more impactful in use of my talents and goals to help people in meaningful ways.  Instead of giving handouts and thinking that it's enough, I now realize that poverty reduction is centered around the idea of helping people help themselves. The people of Fond Tortue taught us that receiving the temporary happiness of a new house, or donations provide a world of opportunities to them; however, to provide an eternity of happiness is allowing them to provide for themselves, their families, and their communities. In most relief organizations, including the CRS, they do amazing, worthwhile work in the communities they're involved in and save lives, but they fail to have a true exit strategy. They will have to remain in Haiti forever because they aren't making Haiti an independent nation or empowering them.  We learned that when you develop a relationship in this sort of way, you're objectifying the people you're helping and they're objectifying you.  You view them as not able to help themselves and they view you as a wad of cash and resources.  However, when you build a relationship first and work together to find a solution to poverty in a community, you view each other as gifts to each other.  This is the foundation of the Just Haiti organization.

In addition, the Just Haiti organization takes no profit for themselves and the growers receive the full profits from their efforts. This allows Just Haiti to remain free from corruption because they are always working for the benefits of the Haitian community, not to pay their own salaries.  They are then free from the fear of becoming the reason for their own existence and working just for themselves because they need to pay their salaries. This ideation may not work for corporations at the moment, but the hope is to ensure no subgroup is exploited. To share the perspective, news, and true injustices it is an initial sacrifice necessary that Just Haiti decided to undergo.

In all, this trip has been an all around inspiring and invaluable experience, and I know I left a piece of my heart with the community and children of Fond Tortue. To help, please reach out to us and allow us the opportunity to share our story, to share Just Haiti’s story, to share our new home, Fond Tortue’s, story. In the meantime, you can hop over to justhaiti.org and buy some delicious coffee and take your first step to fight social injustice by taking part in the solution to poverty, not just a bandage!

With Love,
Melissa

Empowerment through community

Learning about Just Haiti and living among the community of Fond Tortue has been inspiring to say the least. Just Haiti has a mission revolving around the empowerment of small local coffee growers to receive a fair price for their crops using a fair trade plus model.

As a junior who has gone on three ABSTs, including Haiti, I have been transformed by the three stages that the Center for Social Concerns office (CSC) embraces. First being, Reach Out, which is working with hands on service projects. I participated in the Reach Out stage through the ABST to Guatemala my freshman year. The second is Explore Within. I was a student leader on ABST to Detroit my sophomore year, which falls under the Explore Within stage. It involves diving deeper into the social justice aspect of service, while still including some hands on service. Haiti is in the final stage of the CSC, Live Among. I am one of the two student leaders on the trip and it has challenged me in so many different ways. This trip and stage of development, Live Among, focuses on the social justice aspect of service and addressing the root of the issue at hand.

My journey through these stages of development has pushed me to think in ways to address the systemic problems and social injustices at their root. Building relationships and community with the people you serve is crucial to help empower those individuals to become dependent on themselves.

Dr. Kim Lamberty, the president and co-founder of Just Haiti, accompanied our trip. Kim has written many articles about social justice. For a reflection on Wednesday, the group read her article, The art of accompaniment (it’s worth the read). During reflection, what hit home for me was building relationships or the living among idea. If relationships are built before service that creates equal valuing of both parties, leading to a relationship that supports the dignity of each individual. When you start by giving charity first you begin to objectify the both parts of the relationship. One side will be viewed as the project and the other side will be viewed as the wallet and upholding the human dignity for both sides in this situation is very difficult. To create a true global community you must be willing to building these powerful relationships.

Annmarie Rosa

Integral Human Development

Extreme desperation, hearts aching, and poverty unimaginable to our standards usually depict the story of Haiti. A place where we are unable to travel, worried about our safety, and a brewing pot of disease define the media’s perception of Haiti.

However, over this week, and these past few days, our ideation conclude that amongst all of those depictions and despite the widespread knowledge of this situation, we redefined the depiction by living among the community and people themselves. We’ve found the love of a person, of a human. Sharing, smiling, and intentionally welcoming culture grew into our ideations of Haiti in its truest form, and we’ve looked beyond defining Haiti, what we’ve concluded is we see beautiful people, hard working people, and people that love. Haiti is a country, but in conclusion people are people, and the people we’ve encountered through many blessings are essentially love.

In our group discussions, Dr. Kim Lamberty, the Co-founder of Just Haiti ( justhaiti.org - go buy their coffee! ) wrote an article on Integral Human Development and the dignity of he individual. We divulged into the process of not determining projects based on success, but that we are in accompaniment on a battle of justice. Francious, Joane, and the people of Fond Tortue, taught and exemplified the characteristics of leaders that we all should learn from in life and our goals. The children led us on journeys through the beautiful, awing hikes in the mountains that we were breathless at the halfway point and they still had yet to break a sweat as children yet to reach junior high. We saw individuals come hours to a meeting to greet us, but largely to buy in on a movement bigger than themselves and sustaining a livelihood for their familial generations to come. These are people that can change the world. They are people that change the world. They are people that deserve human dignity, not to be looked upon as the poor but to be looked upon as people. As the article mentions, no one optionally lives poor. This poor is below the global poverty line. The article points in the Catholic viewpoint, we are called in our evangelicalism to directly fight the injustices of poverty, and not just help in aid but create a global development plan to ensure that they have the right to help themselves.

In reflection of the trip, and our once in a lifetime experience of joining a community and living among them in the rural areas that are hardly accessible, I’ve realized and understood the first step to true development and not just aid is to respect the human dignity of a person. The ideations in fighting poverty is to not use a bandage by looking upon the issue as a project, but to find a solution of empowerment by looking at the dignity of the individual, of the person. Religiously, spiritually, and humanely, I find it impossible to sincerely accept the global trend in making helping the poor as an industry, and decide to join the integral human development called upon all of us as just members of society.

To the love of the people I’ve experienced this journey through, I hope you all will search, ask, and join this walk of integral human development aimed at the dignity of an individual, and end to injustice.

Kishan

Written on 2/25

2-25-28
First full day in Haiti was a success! Today we woke up bright and early to attend Sunday mass in Les Cayes. The community was beyond welcoming and hearing the catholic mass in Haitian creole was really amazing. The vibrant community sang and danced in a way that left us all smiling:)

After that, we packed up our bags and journeyed towards our destination for the next three days- Fond Tortue. About 2 hours on the rough Haitian mountain roads was grueling but also an exciting adventure and I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. Regardless- I will never complain about pot holes in Erie ever again.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the friendly community and TONS of kids. After settling in, we found an open field and played soccer and tag with the areas kids and made some new pals. The kids were so excited to be with us and it has been such a blessing to be present with them today. While playing with them was fun, there were also some frustrations today about communicating. Physical presence is important but I wish we were able to talk with them more fluently so as to get to know them better.

We also got the opportunity to see one Just Haiti’s coffee bean nursery’s, and learn a little about the agriculture in the area. Kim was open to answering many questions we had today, and did an amazing job catching us up on the current problems in Haiti and how the Fair Trade Plus model is working to help the small scale coffee farmers succeed in a system designed to give them the short end of the stick. We’re excited to soon meet the growers and dive deep into the problems with coffee trade and fair trade.

The desolation in Haiti so far is very clear- especially from what we witnessed in Port-Au-Prince. But this small village has showed us such hospitality and demonstrated something so crucial: celebrating and appreciating life. The kids here don’t have much of anything, and they are so happy.

We are so excited to see what tomorrow holds in store! With the first day being so fruitful and educational, I am interested to see what else Haiti has to teach us.

Hope all is going well back home!

Sara Oros

We made it!

We have arrived in Haiti! We have had a long day traveling on two planes and 2 long car rides. We will be posting more  about our adventure tomorrow.

Welcome Friends and Family!

Thank you for checking in on the Haiti ABST blog for 2018! At this point we are forming our group and getting to know each other. I think I can speak for everyone by saying we are excited you are interested in following our experience. Our goal is to post at least once a day while we are in Haiti. However, the internet can be a bit spotty so we will try our best to get them posted. In the mean time, please explore blogs form the years past from other groups of students who have participated in the ABST. We are excited to share our stories and experiences with you!

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

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

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

The General Assembly

Day 3: Hello everyone, this is Arron!

So, it's day 3 in Haiti, and so far we've been immersed in many different parts of this country's culture and community. Today was another day full of new interesting experiences. After breakfast this morning, we had a huge meeting with leaders of KDB and some of the community where the leaders were from at the church that was just down the road.

On the way there, we encountered a group of kids playing instruments and singing with one child in the middle with a costume. All the kids were dancing to the music. The reason for this was that we came Haiti during the season of Carnival. It was one of the more exciting things that I've seen the youth in the community partake in. But the meeting we had at the church was more amazing to be apart of! There were so many people at the meeting, which, according to Kim, hasn't been that way in the past because lots of the people live very far away. In this meeting the leaders and communities discuss their commitment to the plan they've made and also share their appreciation to Just Haiti and their partners for helping get them to the place they are now. The main concern of the association right now is replanting to recover from Hurricane Matthew. Members of KBD were concerned about the origins of these seeds, but Just Haiti plans to buy seedlings that are from Haiti, despite the fact that seed prices here are higher than in the United States. This commitment to the Haitian community reaffirms Just Haiti's commitment to accompaniment and sustainability.

After the meeting was over, we had lunch, which since we've been here has been absolutely delicious! Once all of us had our fill, we individually hiked up the mountain with some of the children. For some of us it was for the view of the town and the mountains, and for others it was training for a marathon! When we all made it to the top, it was actually a beautiful moment of solidarity as it was a struggle for all of us to get there but we all got to enjoy the beauty of Fond Tortue from an overview perspective.

It was again another eye-opening day in Haiti, and we look forward to another one tomorrow!

Bon Nwit!

Day 3

Today was a really significant day for Team Haiti. Not only did we immerse ourselves even more into the community, we finally got to meet a few of our community partners and have our first real look into the hard work and dedication it takes to keep KDB (Kafé Developmen Baraderes) up and running.

As usual our day began bright and early with a simple breakfast of eggs, coffee, and Haitian bread. Afterward we were able to help clean the dishes. This was a great opportunity to create connections between the group and the community. We all needed to work together to wash, rinse, and dry our plates and utensils. Afterward we were greeted very enthusiastically by the kids who again wanted to talk and play with us, regardless of the language barrier. This kind of openness to communicate and interact is apparent in all the Haitian people we've encountered.

As we played with the kids, our community partners as well as Joann, an agronomist partnered with Just Haiti arrived in Fond Tortue and greeted us warmly, despite our broken Creole. As the last of our partners arrived we made a small trek to a grove of sorts where we were able to sit and participate in the business meeting between Just Haiti and KDB.

Right off of the bat we were struck by the strong presence of the growers and the equal share of power present in all their interactions with one another. As stories were shared of life post Hurricane Matthew with the destruction of homes and their gardens, it was hard to miss the pain in everyone's voice. Although Just Haiti played a significant role in hurricane relief efforts there response was one of concern for relationship rather than charity for the other. Overall the tone of the meeting was one of hope for what's to come.

It was then that we got to do exactly what we had been waiting to do for months, help with coffee planting! All 8 of our team, plus Kim and the growers made our way to a patch of forest with enough shade for the plants to grow and got to work. The growers (and Arron) used a pick axe to break the soil and after watching the growers plant the first few trees we hopped right in. The growers would dig the hole, and a member of Team Haiti would take the trees from their plastic and transplant them into the ground, making sure to pack enough soil to keep them upright. We fell into an easy routine, the growers even trusting us enough to just move on after the hole was ready. This is something that resonated with me the most, the complete and utter trust that was shared with us when handling something so vital to their survival.

A common theme in our adventure so far is the sheer willingness of the Haitian people as a whole to put their trust and faith by allowing us to know them as fellow humans with varying cultures despite the stark differences. Be it the kids willingness to play with us, our hosts willingness to let us help with chores, and finally the growers complete trust in our intentions as partners is phenomenal. Cheers to another full day in Haiti!

Bon nwi,
Cytalia

Bonjou Zanmaim mweh (good morning my friends), this is Melia!

Day 2 in Haiti started bright and early with mass at 6:30. The simplicity of the chapel at the Outreach to Haiti guest house reminded us of our commitment to simplicity this week. The reading I read represented the fact that only God has the right to judge us, a reason as to why we are going through the week remembering to "notice rather than judge."

Following mass, we all piled in the van to travel up the mountains of Haiti to visit Just Haiti's community partner in Fond Tortue in the Baraderes region. The drive took about 7 hours. The ride was filled with scenic views and plentiful conversations. There were no planned stops, but when we finally decided we couldn't go any longer, we stopped to use the bathrooms. Unlike the United States, there are no rest stops along the road. Instead, we stopped at a random house. Our group was a bit nervous to impose on strangers, but we were welcomed with Haitian hospitality. Not only were we allowed to use the bathroom, but they offered us all fresh coconuts to drink the water and then eat them!

We were greeted by many smiling faces, including some kids of the town who remembered my name from last time I was here! For dinner, we ate a feast of rice and brans and goat meat (cabrit).  After dinner, we blew up the soccer balls we brought and started a game. Despite our language barrier, we formed relationships with the kids via dancing, soccer, smiling, and other forms of universal communication.

At the end of the day, most of the group reflected on the fact that today was a wonderful day despite spending 7 hours of it in the car! We enjoyed each other's company and felt solidarity within our group. We are thankful for our opportunities to continue to form relationships with each other and our new community partners!