ROBERT'S BLOG- Day 2 April 26, 2016
Today did not go as planned. In fact, it didn’t go
anywhere. Our drivers got caught in a rainstorm this morning, and needed to find
another route around flooded roads. Thankfully, Luc and Wesner are now safe with
us at Wall’s Guest House. During the day, we played cards and engaged in good
conversation. We also took an excursion to the local supermarket, where the
Haitian people were kind and patient with us. Rob did well translating our order
of cold cuts and cheese into French, however as the worker at the store spoke
Creole, they were slightly lost in translation. Thankfully, we got help from a
local who was fluent in English, French and Creole. We are departing tomorrow at
5:00 AM for St. Marc. Bon Voyage!
Day 3 April 27, 2016
This morning we arrived in St. Marc early in the morning. Our first stop was to
our resort called Le Xaragua, where we are currently enjoying a beautiful view
of the Caribbean ocean. We then jumped in a van and our driver, Luc, brought us
to St. Patrick’s High School in St. Marc. At St. Patrick’s we had a stimulating
conversation with the senior class. They were suggesting ways that their
education might improve, they were quite good at advocating for their
needs.
From there, we switched into a flatbed truck, with railings and
benches. We then travelled as far as the road would take us towards Gilbert. We
hiked roughly five kilometres on rough terrain up a Haitian mountain to visit an
elementary school and health clinic. The kids were happy to see us, in a great
mood and welcomed us with songs they had been practicing. We learned that the
school is in the process of expanding their program to include grades seven,
eight and nine.
Next is our adventure back down the mountain by our
truck, expertly driven by Luc. He had to drop off medical supplies at another
small town further up so we hiked a bit further up the mountain to meet him.
What a ride! We definitely appreciate guard rails on roads, as there were none
on this drive. A high point was that we also drove up a steep incline, at least
70 degrees,up a rocky road at one point. We were somewhat nervous, however the
nurse and other staff that came along with us back to St. Marc were calm as
could be. Luc got us back to town safely, where we switched back to our van, a
more comfortable ride.
We then visited an adult literacy program in the
town of Venotte. Here, like our previous experience, we were greeted with songs
and smiles. We learned that one of the most important milestones in their
education was to be able to write their names. So that they could go to the
bank, and complete other important transactions. We met a woman who was 66 years
old, and very proud of her progress in school. Another woman was so grateful for
our visit, and the work of RayJon in supporting the literacy program, and told
us “I cannot pay you back, but God can pay you back”. It was an inspiring
visit.
We had quite a jam-packed day to make up for lost time, so we
visited another adult literacy program in Charette with the same reception. They
showed us the skills that they had learned, including writing their names on the
blackboard, speaking words in Creole and solving mathematical equations. After a
long, warm, adventurous, humbling and inspirational day we returned back to the
resort for dinner and a sharing session.
No comments:
Post a Comment