Bourik swe pou chwal dekore ak dentel

The donkey sweats so the horse can be decorated with lace.

The past week has been quite the experience to say the least while working and living at Morne Michel, a (very) remote village. Despite our less than sanitary conditions, which included bathing in a dubiously clean ravine and sleeping on the floor of the school, I remained healthy and productive. We made some real progress, as seen in the photos below, and I am actually looking forward to returning next week.

Our masons working on strengthening the church foundations and pouring a concrete floor.

Yours truly overseeing the sand excavation. Sand proved to be our biggest obstacle there. Hopefully we will build up enough of a resource this off-week so we can work the whole time next week. And yes, I wore that shirt and jeans combination everyday. 

A typical view of our job site. The church is the wooden structure. 

We finished the church last week. It looks so much nicer with a sturdy concrete floor and foundation. Hopefully a future project will be to construct a more stable church building itself.

We cooked our own food up there in a huge pot for both meals a day. Our days start around 5:30am or 6:00am and we work until breakfast, usually some sort of pasta, around 9:30am. We then work again until 2:00pm or so when we eat again, rice and beans with canned fish. The day usually wraps up by 5:00pm when we go clean up and relax. I would read or play cards with the Haitian workers until going to bed around 8:00pm. With no electricity, you can’t do much once the sun goes down.

This week I am resting and taking care of some office things. Next Monday I embark once again up the mountain to start fixing the school and building their courtyard.

The biggest difference between living in the village and living in the compound has been my relationship with the local Haitians. Cange has had a significant international presence for a few decades now; Morne Michel has only been exposed to a handful of Americans myself included. As such, I was never once approached by a Haitian child asking for food or for gifts while up there. It was such a relief; I felt so much more comfortable.