We spent Sunday at the beach. It was pretty much one of the best beaches in Haiti. It was at a resort on the other side of the mountains from Cap Haitien. Very secluded and very beautiful. It was for rich people so it was pretty empty. The beach was beautiful and it was fun. There were lots of sea urchins in the water. I also gathered up a few pretty shells on the beach.
Monday was pretty frustrating because that’s the day we were going to start building toilets in Shada and the Village. We woke up to pouring rain. It pretty much rained all day, so we had to stay home. We made the most of it by listening to SOL’s presentation, basically introducing themselves and telling us what they do. They are very inspirational people. The whole idea of SOL and SOIL is to really be part of the local people, to listen to them and help them to make decisions and solve problems. The staff of SOL are so successful that other bigger organizations have offered them jobs that pay a lot more money. They continue to turn it down knowing that they will not effectively help the people. In a place of such high poverty, these people do what they truly believe in, no matter the cost. It’s hard to find people those kinds of people.
It continued to rain and we ate Legume which was like a mashed squash. Delicious. Sarah gave a presentation on participatory learning, which really challenges our traditional teaching methods by involving people in the learning process.
Greg, Tricia, Rachel and I went to the only tourist market here. They sell artwork: paintings, sculptures and woodwork. I bought a couple of masks and a painting. I didn’t really try to bargain with them.
More than anything, being here has allowed me to make contacts with other students to see what we can do for SOL/SOIL and Haiti in general. I have so many ideas to mull over. I think Miami has a lot of potential. I’m also going to really learn more about the Haitian community in Miami when I return.
We’re all hoping the rain will stop tomorrow so we can go to Doug’s Village.
Monday was pretty frustrating because that’s the day we were going to start building toilets in Shada and the Village. We woke up to pouring rain. It pretty much rained all day, so we had to stay home. We made the most of it by listening to SOL’s presentation, basically introducing themselves and telling us what they do. They are very inspirational people. The whole idea of SOL and SOIL is to really be part of the local people, to listen to them and help them to make decisions and solve problems. The staff of SOL are so successful that other bigger organizations have offered them jobs that pay a lot more money. They continue to turn it down knowing that they will not effectively help the people. In a place of such high poverty, these people do what they truly believe in, no matter the cost. It’s hard to find people those kinds of people.
It continued to rain and we ate Legume which was like a mashed squash. Delicious. Sarah gave a presentation on participatory learning, which really challenges our traditional teaching methods by involving people in the learning process.
Greg, Tricia, Rachel and I went to the only tourist market here. They sell artwork: paintings, sculptures and woodwork. I bought a couple of masks and a painting. I didn’t really try to bargain with them.
More than anything, being here has allowed me to make contacts with other students to see what we can do for SOL/SOIL and Haiti in general. I have so many ideas to mull over. I think Miami has a lot of potential. I’m also going to really learn more about the Haitian community in Miami when I return.
We’re all hoping the rain will stop tomorrow so we can go to Doug’s Village.
1 comment:
Legume sounds good!! I was talking to Patty about it ans she said they use some vegetable called "lalo" that only grows in the area. I wish I was there, it sounds so interesting, Patty is inviting us to go back for Easter!!
Love you
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