Tragedy versus Serenity

How can one describe Haiti in just a few words? It seems like an impossible task to truly paint a picture of this country and its people.

We landed in Port-Au-Prince on Friday after a very uneventful flight and upon landing had to fight our way through the mob of men waiting to get a few dollars for helping new arrivals with their luggage. Key is to only get one and indicate that very clearly, otherwise everyone thinks they deserve some money for even just touching your bag. But who can blame them? In a country where people have been struggling to find jobs even before the earthquake, what else is left to do?

We took a tour of the city....although the word tour would indicate a nice leisurely sightseeing excursion, which is in no way what we experienced. We got to see the vastness of the devastation: rows of buildings collapsed, 3 story houses flattened like pancakes, rubbel and debris everywhere, mixed with tents set up on the side of the streets, trucks delivering water to lines of thristy people waiting, tent cities where there once were parks..... it is difficult to put into words what we saw, heard and smelled.

It is erie driving passed the collapsed buildings knowing that there are still dead bodies burried in the cement trap that took their lives. The absence of heavy machinery is very evident, as we see men with hammers and chisles slowly chipping away at huge concrete blocks in an attempt to remove what is left.

And at the same time, the Haitians seems so very resilient. They are back to sitting on the side of the street selling their goods: tomatoes, cabbage, handbags, sandals, oranges, bananas... you name it.

Many have left the city and went to the plaine and the country side out of fear of further aftershocks. They set up shelters with sheets and tarps if they had any. So even on our drive to Montrouis about 2 hours away from Port-Au-Prince, we saw other 'tent cities'.

Montrouis is nestled at a mountain and a bay. Dirt roads and little huts along with street vendors are part of the scenery here just like it seems every where else in Haiti. As we pulled into the base where we are staying, we found a much needed refuge of the poverty and tragedy we just had seen..... Looking over the water of the Carribean ocean from the back porch is the ultimate picture of serenity.

This update is long, we know, but we have not had any power the last few days. There is no working generator at the house and the few hours of power we get are from solar panels.... well, it was overcast and rainy the last few days, so there goes the electricity.

We got to go to Saint Marc yesterday to pick up 30 bags of rice and 2 bags of beans from the UN aide shippments and also bought three bikes. The food will be distributed in smaller portions to families in Montrouis and will also be used to feed the 500 children of a local school. The meal they get at school for lunch is likely the only food many of them get on any given day. We were discussing how the norm here for many is to go to bed hungry and to be used the the feeling of hunger whereas we are going to bed oversatisfied and being used to being full.

The ride back from Saint Marc is about 1 hour. We drove back in pouring rain, with those 3 bikes, 30 bags of rice and 2 bags of beans on the back of our pick-up truck and 5 people sitting on top of the rice at the speed of 60 mpH, racing against large dump trucks down a road that would be considered 'hazardous'. We are told that this is the 'Haitian Way' - well, I think we got the full experience!

Today was at a slower pace, yet not less impactful. We got to sit with a handful of earthquake survivors and heard their stories. One of the ladies could not tell us what had happened but only had tears left to tell her story..... her son was killed in the earthquake, hit by a falling wall at work as he was trying to rescue some of his co-workers.

One of the other man told us how he was at his business when he felt the earth move. He and his extended family lost their houses and with that all their belongings along with their businesses. Nothing is left standing!

Some of the goods we brought over were given to them, which was incredibly rewarding for us to see. Other items are deposited at the base to distribute as needed: the rice, beans, medical supplies, etc. The workers at the base know the community and its needs, so we are confident that it goes to the right people.

We will try to get to Port-Au-Prince in the next few days to help with feeding programs that are taking place as well as removing rubbel and debris. We have had a difficult time with the phone system here, but something will definitely work out!

As we have walked the roads of Montrouis and seen the conditions that people are living in, our thoughts are spinning and we are trying to find answers on how to help this nation...well, any nation really, that is in this kind of state. Where does one begin? What are the pieces of the puzzle that need to come together for the full picture? We have yet to come to a conclusion.....

As you hop in the shower and enjoy the running water, the electricity at the flip of a switch and a comfortable bed, maybe you too can spare a few thoughts to find a solution to help the people of Haiti and other developing countries.

Until our next contact, we will say as the Haitians do: Mwen alle, bye bye!

Tomorrow is D-Day

We are now in Miami wrapping up the final preparations aka making sure we have everything packed that we will need in Haiti. The good news is that our flights with Air France are still scheduled to depart tomorrow morning (yeah!).

We did find some awesome duffle bags and ended up repacking everything from the tubs into those bags in a Chevron gas station parking lot. We were quite the site moving bottles of hydrogene peroxide, bottles of shampoo, feminine products, tarps and all the other items. So much so that one gentleman asked us if we were okay :) This gave us the opportunity to share about our trip and give him the blog site (Hi Rich, if you are reading this!).

Our original plans on the ground in Haiti changed some also. We will be picked up by our friend Jason and his contact Roberto who will take us up to Montrouis (2.5 hours north of Port-Au-Prince). We were already informed that our first task will be to divy up big bags of rice into smaller portions to bring to families in Port-Au-Prince. We are super excited to be part of that - what a great opportunity to meet the locals!

So, if you look at your watches tomorrow at 10:30am, please know that we have landed in Port-Au-Prince and are ready to tackle the next part of this adventure. We will try to keep you posted!

Truly An Adventure

It is 12:20pm on Tuesday February 23. We should have been in Haiti by now but we are still sitting in Fort Lauderdale. You ask why? Well, let us share with you our adventure up to this point :)

Yesterday, we drove from Charlotte to Fort Lauderdale, mostly through pouring rain, at times torrential down-pours with no visibility. It was a great time to reflect about what we might find in Haiti. Did they have a down-pour like this today as well? How did they possibly stay dry since they only have shelters created from cotton sheets? How awesome it is to bring tarps to them to give a few families a better protection against the weather influences. We realized there are many things we take for granted: just imagine the city of Charlotte not having a sewer system. That has been the reality in Haiti even before the earth quake - there is no sewer system in the whole country.

Anyway, back to our adventurous story..... Arriving in Fort Lauderdale we find an email in our inbox stating that our flight to Port-Au-Prince was cancelled. Trying to call the airline to get rescheduled turned out to be a battle against the phone system. Come to find out, there were no available seats with that particular airline until March 2. Almost comedic since that was our scheduled return date :)

Many hours and phone calls later, at 3am we finally found a flight with Air France (hip hip hooray!). Since it is a last minute booking, it was certainly more expensive than our original tickets, yet it is worth it to us to be able to deliver the goods and personally be on the grounds to help. We know that our time there will be life impacting and we will be able to hear and share many stories with you all on the blog and face to face!



Now we will tackle our next tasks, one is buying duffle bags for all of our goods as plastic tubs are no longer allowed by the airlines. Plus, we are trying to rearrange our airport pick up and lodging - did we mention that cell phone and internet service in Haiti is limited so getting a hold of anyone is going to be another adventure!

Overall we are in good spirits and have planned a brief vacation to the Keys before our trip to Haiti. Why not make use of the time we have, right? We will keep you posted - next blog might be from one of the beaches, listening to the ocean waves. Life is good!

A special thanks to Bill, our host in Fort Lauderdale. He did not only open his home to us but also helped us with finding new airline tickets. If you ever get a chance, check out Couchsurfing.com. You will be able to find amazing people to connect and stay with anywhere in the USA and the world.

"So..... everything changed! Our flight got canceled for Tuesday February 23 so after scrambling for several hours we have booked new tickets flying to Haiti on Friday 26th and returning on March 4 to bring the 4 tubs of supplies and be of help on the ground.

It Is Getting Closer

Only a few more days until we head to Haiti. The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind of last minute organizing. At the same time it was absolutely awesome to be able to walk through the stores and grab all sorts of basic medical items off the shelf.

Neosporin - check. Low strength aspirin - check. Hydroperoxide - check..... and on and on it went. And all thanks to YOUR contribution to this trip! We wish we could attach your name and picture to each item so the people of Haiti would see the amazing team that is supporting us!

Outside of finances, we have also received food contributions such as rice and beans by the bags. And we have had a couple of hotels give us boxes of their small soaps and shampoos - very cool! If any of you would like to contribute hygiene items such as soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. please contact us. We will be finalizing our packing on Sunday and can make sure to take these items along.

Next on the list is to buy tarps as well. The rainy season is upon Haiti and due to the earthquake many have no shelter at all. Tarps will be hugely important in keeping them protected from the rain as much as possible. So, if you have any old tarps laying around, we will take those too :)

We are truly excited about this trip.... We do not just see this as an isolated event but as a link in the chain of further relief efforts and a stepping stone to assist Haiti to become a self-sustained nation. So again, a HUGE THANK YOU to you for making this possible!!!

My Dream is Possible is Going to Haiti......

Throughout our lives we are all called to do something of great importance...Our trip to Haiti is part of an initiative of two individuals who have made it their personal mission to inspire others and to help people in need.

Due to the recent devastation, we will focus all current efforts on providing medical supplies and food contribution for the people in Haiti. We are personally bringing the supplies to Port-au-Prince at the end of February and will physically assist with medical attention and labor on the ground.



“Be The Change You Want To See in The World” Ghandi

Join us now: Use paypal on the right side of the Blog for any contributions...
Literally every dollar counts

My Dream is Possible: We Are Going to Haiti and All Size Donations Matter

Throughout our lives we are all called to do something good for others. There are people all over this world that need help, inspiration, hope, and/or a reason to DREAM!

Our team has decided to travel to Haiti and personally bring some much needed supplies, some new energy on the ground, and some fresh smiling faces!

Our team is leaving at the end of February with personal suitcases full of essential items (medical, hygiene, other supplies, etc...) and delivering them straight to the ground efforts of those who need it most.

We welcome all size donations(literally every penny & every dollar will go towards these efforts - minus the paypal fees)

Thanks for all of your support....The People of Haiti thank you as well.

A video to help us all understand the importance of our global world!