Saturday, February 7, 2015

Here

Today I arrived in Haiti. I didn't take any pictures in Port-au-prince because I was too busy remembering to breathe. A driver from Midwives for Haiti (MFH) picked me up and took me on the long drive into the central plateau. Port-Au-prince was overwhelming: people, stray dogs, goats, mopeds, colors, sights & sounds - everywhere! There was a lot of traffic with no lights or stop signs. Our driver blew his horn no less than 100 times by the time we reached Hinche. I knew the poverty here would be beyond what I have seen, but I still feel blind sighted.
 Somewhere along the way, I started to relax and notice the beauty of the lush landscape as we followed the river inland and over the mountains. People in our jeep joked in Creole over loud reggae music. We stopped at a roadside market to pick up a string of fish.  Finally, we arrived in Hinche.
The MFH house is in a very poor area of the central plateau. It's a locked compound, though crime is low. The picture of me at dusk was taken on a hilltop, a short walk from the house. Children ran up to us along the way with bright smiles, "bonsoir!" 
I've taken my first cold shower and tried my first Haitian beer: Prestige (tasted delicious!)
Time to crawl under my mosquito net for a much-needed sleep.
Bonsoir!




3 comments:

  1. So glad we get to follow your journey!

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  2. Happy for safe travels! I completely understand your feeling of being blind-sided by the extreme level of poverty. Even though I grew up in Sierra Leone and called it my home, when I returned for a visit 10 years later, I felt overwhelmed by the same thing. It is a completely different world, but there is so much good there too!

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