This morning we had to say
goodbye to our wonderful hosts Mike and Nancy at Deep River Mission house. We
graciously thanked them for the hospitality shown to our group!
We boarded the Tap Tap and let
our luggage ride in another truck. Our first stop was the Sacred Heart Centre
where we were greeted by Andre and his team of volunteers (centre staff who
volunteered on the weekend for us). From here we split into three groups and
were led by an interpreter and a few of the Haitians. Volunteers took us on a
walking tour through town. We had the opportunity to visit the local
hospital, the main public square, the Basilica where mass was underway and the
market area. I am sure this walk about will be a highlight for all of our
group members when they look back on their trip to Haiti. This was another
great opportunity for us to be introduced to part of Haitian society. After our
walking tours we reconvened and headed out for lunch at a Haitian restaurant.
Our volunteers and translators joined us. The food was great and all seemed to
have a good time.
Our time came to leave Cap
Haitian so we boarded a very small plane for a quick flight to Port Au Prince.
We were met at the airport by representatives from St. Joseph's Boys home. We
took a very scenic and cozy bus ride to the Boy's Home which will be our
accommodations for the next few days. This space is beautiful and we are
thankful to Bill and his staff for having us here.
As part of tonight's reflection
we heard from Walnes, one of the gentlemen who had been raised by the Boy's
home from a young age and now works here. He shared with us a bit about his
life and the trials and tribulations he faced. We are thankful that he had the
courage to share with us.
Each night on our trip we have
met for group reflection at the end of the day. Each member has been assigned a
different virtue to present/discuss one night. Tonight's was courage and at
trip leader Joanna's request here is part of what was presented tonight:
"Courage is an important
thing and it's available to seeing many places for those who look and listen
for it.
Courage is an openness and
response to vulnerability. Courage is a choice to risk and accept potential
discomfort and to face fear and uncertainty.
Courage happens on many
levels whether it's asking a question, turning out a night light or trying
something new. Courage is accepting the call to go an awareness trip, meeting and
agreeing to travel with strangers, getting on a bus in Haiti, hiking mountains,
trying to speak Creole, offering stickers in a crowd (see "mob") of
school children, communicating through a translator and admitting that you don't
know what you don't know.
Courage is speaking an
unpopular point of view, questioning the status quo, working for equality,
accepting foreigners who don't speak the language into your learning
environment, asking for and accepting help, singing songs acapella and
working to better yourself and your situation at any age.
Courage is a big theme in
our trip to Haiti but courage will be with us when we return to Canada."
Tomorrow we will attend mass
then hike to a waterfall that is commonly used as a voodoo site.
Day 6
Today was our first full day in Port au Prince. We were greeted
by a wonderful breakfast and broke out our Sunday best to venture to the
Sisters of Charity home for Sunday mass. We celebrated mass with a many
children from the school there as they led the worship service for us. A
highlight was the music and singing the children provided. Despite mass being
in French many of us felt the significance of the service.
After mass we made a pitstop at a grocery story, which our host
Bill explained to us would be a store utilized by foreign delegates and some of
the more wealthy Haitians. We noticed many familiar items that we would
typically find in our stores back home. Honourable mention goes to the Kirkland
brand Maple Syrup that was "Made in Canada".
From there we took a road trip to Saut D'Eau Falls. We were
greeted by many Haitian young men who happily assisted us during our time at
the Falls. After enjoying a picnic lunch, many of us took the opportunity
to climb up the Falls. Our Haitian helpers fulfilled their role by ensuring our
safety and level footing through this adventure. Their balance impressed all of
us and we extended our thanks to them. Our bus ride back was full of
Haitian-bus Karaoke, and to clarify these weren't Haitian songs, just
"interesting selections" sang by Canadians IN Haiti.
As part of our evening reflection we had the opportunity to hear
from our host Bill, another gentleman who was involved with St Joseph's Family
Home as a young boy and has gone on to give back to his community in many ways.
After hearing a bit of his life story and how he became a part of St Joseph's
house he and another gentleman of the community, Woodward, shared their musical
talent with us through song and drumming. For many of us, this by far was the
highlight of our day!
Tomorrow we will be visiting the Apparent project and doing
some shopping at Croix des Bouquets.
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