Gwo lidé, ti memwa.

Big idea, tiny memory.

I apologize for the long delay in posting again. It has been a busy month here for me as I wrap up our work at Morne Michel and the Internet has been out for several weeks now. However, things have been going quite well. As mentioned in my last post, the school repairs at Morne Michel are now finished (including the painting which was done this week). We still have to install the solar panel up there but I am waiting for approval from the States. In the meantime, I have been getting our finances in order and trying to fix a water system at a neighboring village.

In addition, I scheduled another meeting with DINEPA (the Haitian water and sanitation department) so we can establish an official partnership. This relationship will be essential to the continued success of our water systems. There are also several more projects coming up, although none quite so large as Morne Michel, including the Aquaculture farm below Cange and a few smaller water systems around the Central Plateau.

While Morne Michel was a great experience, I am happy to be back in my room with running water. The biggest difference though is the attitude of the average person to the visiting white man. The children up in that remote village did not beg for anything, ever. They have so little contact with white people that they had no reason to associate me with free food and money. As a result I was able to truly engage in the community and, at least for a little bit, pretend like I was actually Haitian. It was unforgettable.

After finishing Morne Michel, I took a little vacation last weekend to Jacmel on the southern coast of the island. It is a much artsier town than Port-au-Prince and is the best surfing spot in Haiti. We toured the city, enjoyed the fresh (almost too fresh) seafood, and relaxed on the beach. Now I feel rejuvenated and ready to get back to work. Hopefully I will be able to start posting regularly again.

This is the view from the Hotel Cyvadier where we stayed last weekend. It was a great hotel, with a pool and restaurant, that provided a much needed respite from the stress of always being on-call in Cange.

Jacmel's boardwalk (and several other areas) are decorated with beautiful mosiacs. While I was there with several Partners in Health workers, I actually got to meet the American artist who had helped the Haitians design and create these pieces of artwork. The idea (in part) was that by beautifying the city, regular citizens would take better care of it and thus attract more tourists. I can honestly say that Jacmel is the cleanest Haitian city I have seen to this point.

This is one of our employees repainting the ceiling. The old drainage on the roof was poor and led to severe leaks that damaged the paint.

As we were painting, all the students were playing on the new courtyard. They were running around in circles, dancing, singing, playing tag, and just enjoying themselves. It was really heart-warming, and rewarding, to see them using the new space.