Haiti 2005 Travelogue

This page is in reverse chronological order so newest postings show up at the top.

THE FINAL WORD

Our trip to Haiti--our planning, our hopes, and even our fears--has come and gone. Haiti remains now only in our memories. It remains in the acrid odour of a charcoal fire over which is cooking the most incredibly savoury stew. It remains in the clamourous sound of an dilapidated, funky school bus barrelling down the highway, always in a hurry, always late for the next village but on a schedule not even the driver knows. It remains in the sight of a years-ago condemned dump truck spewing black smoke from its stacks as it lumbers up a breathtaking mountain. It remains in our soul the joyful, exuberant, ecstatic worship and thanks to God exhibited by those who struggle in the midst of exasperating ruin and bottomless decay. It remains in the inconceivable beauty of the azure Caribbean Sea lapping at the edge of unfathomable poverty. It remains in the unforgiving smell of piss and garbage permeating every corner of a broken-down orphanage where children laugh and cry. And live.

Haiti haunts me daily. And it gives me hope daily. I stare at the blinking cursor on my screen and think: “Have I done all I can?” And like the cursor waiting for the next input, the next thought, I think: “No. There’s more. There’s always more.” I speak for myself here, but I know I speak also for the team when I say our work is not yet done. Haiti touched our souls. Haiti is like poetry that caresses the heart but is difficult to put into words.

We look forward to a continued relationship with Eben-Ezer Mission in Gonaives and have plans to initiate Eben-Ezer Mission, Canada; this would grant us charitable status with the federal government. Plans include school upgrades, child sponsorship, medical facilities enhancement and information sharing. Our dreams are big, but not so big that we cannot overcome and thrive.

Why dream? I try to imagine the heart of my new friend Alexander Figuens, a waiter at my hotel, who showed me a photo of his two beautiful sons and stone-faced asked me in quiet, economic desperation if I wanted to buy his children.

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Jeff Hoogendoorn, Team Leader
victoriahoogies@hotmail.com






14 February 2005

Greetings from Montrouis, Haiti. Beach town. The Hoogies have been spending some down time at the beach. We've been doing some snorkling among the reefs, swimming, kayaking and enjoying general family time. All the 85 Haitian bibles we had have been distributed. They were such a success. We are finding such poverty everywhere. Even the working people are in such dire circumstances. A resort worker makes only $2 or $3 US per day. Everyone asks for money. Dan and Cynthia should be arriving today for a little R & R themselves. Thank you all for your prayers while we've been gone. We thought Pastor Michel wanted our hands but it turns out he wanted our hearts. That has not been a problem.

Bondye bene nou,
(God bless you)
Jeff


12 February 2005

As most of us have left for PaP, Dan and Cynthia remain in Gonaives until Wednesday. They are going for a hike up the mountain today. I (Jeff) had to drive one of the vehicles from Gonaives to PaP yesterday, a harrowing 4 hour drive. It was really fun. We said farewell to Pastor Michel this morning at the hotel. He said he has been blessed by our presence yet it was us who have been blessed by them. Lots of work ahead for us to do once we get home. I don't think I mentioned the problems we had getting the medicine in the country. Dan got taken to customs where he was interrogated. They tried to extort money from him to allow him to bring the medicine in. However, Pastor Michel was with him and after over one hour, they emerged only $40 poorer. Pastor Michel made sure that he got a receipt for the money so the customs guys would not keep the money for themselves and they would have to turn it over to the government.

Ah, Haiti.
Jeff
P.S. Sorry, haven't been able to post pictures; too many technical difficulties


10 February 2005

Most of the team has been blessed with good health once again. Thank you for your prayers and concerns.

We had a chance to go to an orphanage yesterday and the day before. The children live in conditions so deplorable you would not allow your dog to live in. They have ripped, old mattresses or no mattresses at all. The water they drink is contaminated and as such have all the health issues related to that. We have pledged to provide them with two water filters made locally which require no filter changes. The pastor who runs the orphanage does not have enough food for them each day. When they are sick, he has no access to a doctor or a nurse. The situation remains bleak. Bleak. The children were each handed a teddy bear made by some loving women in Vancouver. Their eyes lit up when they realized they could each have one. For many, it is their only possession.

We went to another orphanage for rescued street kids run by Eben-Ezer Mission. Pastor Charlie has 12 boys ranging in age from about 8 to 14. He also takes care of one girl. All these children were on the streets with no one to look after them. Street kids live in constant fear of their life; they risk getting killed by the police, yes, the police, or they risk being run over by the vehicles they sleep under. Some of these boys had been recruited by gangs to carry weapons. Can you imaging an 8 year old carrying a rifle or a pistol. It boggles the imagination. But, they were paid quite well for these actions. Anyway, we gave them some soccer balls and some clothing. You would not believe the soccer game which broke out. Man, can they play.

The 85 Creole bibles we brought were such a success. No one seems to have a Haitian bible. All have French versions, yet most people do not know French.

On Tuesday night, we were treated to a Haitian choir. They sang many songs for us and they prayed and gave thanks to God. The faith they have in the midst of such calamity is miraculous. And the fervour with which they pray is inspiring. Their prayers are not just humble, but filled with excitement, praise, zest, zeal, emotion. Their prayers are reminiscent of revival prayer meetings you might imagine.

Dan had some opportunity to work in the hospital but has felt somewhat overwhelmed by the situation. He is called to play doctor and nurse with limited resources. There is no xray machine and only a small lab where blood work is done. And often people come with a myriad of problems rather than just one so he has to diagnose head ache, stomach ailment, eye disease, ear infection and skin ulcers on one patient.

...and life in Haiti goes on,

Jeff


Tuesday 8 February 2005

Many apologies for the delay in updating the website. We've had such issues with electricity, unavailable satellite signals and ill health, all of which has contributed to our difficulties here. The team arrived on time in Port-au-Prince (PaP) on Friday and Saturday. We spent Friday evening at a hotel in PaP and drove to Gonaives on Saturday afternoon. There was a great deal of gawking out the windows as Haitian life flew past us. There was the roadside food stands, tire fixers, beauty "salons", drink sellers.

Then there were the harder things to see. The emaciated men, women washing clothes in the river, babies being bathed in the same water the animals were wading in 100 meters away. The roads on the drive from PaP to Gonaives gradually get worse until it morphs into nothing more than a three-lane wide dust track. It resembles snow at times.

Gonaives is depressing. So much devastation on such a grand scale it almost defies explanation. There is so much garbage on the streets, so much that sometimes the roads are impassable. The streets are in such disrepair, with broken rubble, potholes, construction material dumped everywhere. It resembles the worst-planned construction site you could image.

The women went to an orphanage this morning and had a difficult time with the smell, the disease and the oppressive atmosphere. The pastor who operates it has little, little resources. He often does not have enough for the kids to eat every day. The kids are just a step above living on the streets. Dan may go there tomorrow with his medical bag and help one girl who is extremely sick right now. There are no doctors available.

Pastor Michel is such an inspiration. He truly is a man of God, an anointed man. Last night, a number of the team were in Gonaives and they got caught in Mardi Gras celebrations. The vehicles were surrounded by revelers and they could not get out. The windows were being pounded, there was much drunkenness and all around spookiness. They started praying. Out of nowhere, a man, who did security for Pastor Michel during the uprising, sees the car and Pastor Michel and walks in front of the vehicles, parting the crowds. Pastor Michel did not want to call attention to this man because he did not want to make it look like he was afraid. All made it back safe with a great story to tell.

And let me tell you about our hotel. It is being rented by Eben-Ezer from a voodoo priest who built it as a voodoo temple and a place of prostitution. Pastor Michel wants to show this man that God is more powerful than Satan. We, as a team, dedicated the voodoo temple within the compound as a temple of God and it is under there that we pray and plan.

Till again,
Jeff



1 February 2005
Greetings from Port-au-Prince (PaP), Haiti. Except for the delayed flights, having to sleep (with one eye open) in Montreal airport, and no luggage, the trip went quite well. The weather has been quite pleasant, with temperatures during the day in the 29-30 degree range. At night a sheet and possibly a light blanket is all that's needed. Pastor Morisset from Eben-Ezer Mission in Gonaives (pronounced goh-na-eev)has been at a few extra meetings in Miami so I've been hanging out in PaP, riding on the bumpers of tap-taps (pick up trucks with bench seats and a canopy roof) to go shopping and seeing some acquaintances. Went to church Sunday morning where a lot of missionaries attend. Half way throught the service we hear this "Bap, bap, bap." Gunfire. I really didn't think much about this. Strange how gunfire can sound so familiar. Funny thing is, this Haitian guy in front of me s-l-o-w-l-y moves two steps from his place by the window to beside a stone wall. Wonder if I should have followed his lead? Today I go to Gonaives, bumping from PaP for four hours, but covering a distance the likes of Victoria to Nanaimo. Nice. And the washroom breaks? No Tim Hortons. Just the bush/wall/burned out wreck at the side of the road.

Till then,
Jeff