Once back in Port-Au-Prince we had to make a quick restroom pit stop. Unfortunately, often the only option in the city is to find a good spot on the street. So that's what we did! As 4 of us were doing our business on a wall, a man comes walking up behind us, obviously not Haitian (my guess is he's from Jersey :) ), and in good english starts ranting about how Jesus is in charge of the US and not that "a-hole" Obama, etc.. He was obviously a little out of it. A very strange moment.
Finally we get to the airport in time to say farewell to Jarrett, Franklin, and Dan as they trek back home. Clark, Berry, Cole, and myself head to the domestic terminal for our flight to Cap Haitien.
The view from our tiny prop plane is gorgeous. We see the miles of mountains below before finally emerging at the coastal city of Cap Haitien in the north. It's a much smaller airport, and we don't have as much trouble this time around making our way out to catch our ride. William will be our guide, a young recent college grad who arrives with our driver in a Pathfinder. We find a way to all squeeze in the back as we make our way across town.
Cap Haitien is pretty gorgeous and runs at a much slower pace than Port-Au-Prince. However, poverty is still obvious. The city was also unaffected by the earthquake, however it looks similar, evidence to the power of poverty. Part of our drive goes over a small river, where trash is piled up and houses are backed up against. We stop and grab some grub before touring Meds and Food For Kids, the organization Clark's contact Jamie works with some. Basically, they run a peanut processing plant, making delicious peanut butter in sealed packs that are distributed to malnourished kids. It's a very intense process that employs Haitian workers and produces a lot.
After dropping our stuff off at Jamie's place, we make our way across town to a cookout at a children's' home. Along the way, we pick up Harold, a Haitian man living in the same compound as Jamie who works with an organization teaching farming. Our drive takes us into the countryside, through forests of fruit trees and lots of open, flat space, something we hadn't seen much of yet. The feel is completely different. Eventually we arrive at the children's' home (I forget/cant find the name yet...working on it!). As we enter the large compound, we see kids playing soccer and we are immediately offered hot dogs and snow cones. Clark and Berry run off to play soccer while cole and I sit down to chat with some of the people sitting. I meet the director (whose name I'm also searching for!), a young midwife nurse practitioner with incredible passion. She spoke of her calling to this job after working in hospitals and seeing how kids are often left to die for one reason or another.
We walk around the compound and begin to see how important this home believes it is for these kids to have a happy life. There's a lot of room to run around, a playground, some animals and farming space, a clinic under construction, and lots of space for school and meeting. We discover that the event for the cookout is celebration of being new to this site! Berry and I join in on some basketball with the kids before we have to head out.
Harold and his cook have prepared a wonderful meal for all of us back at the housing compound. We eat delicious soup before calling an end to our long day.
I am beginning to feel very tired at this point in the trip. Even though Cap Haitien is a little more laid back, the poverty is still real, the dust of the dirty roads are still real, the general mood is still real. It's a lot to take in. I begin to admire the energy and passion of those who have committed themselves to being present to so much pain. Part of me had been needing some rest after my work at BSM this year and I had jumped into this trip and moved around every day. This was also probably contributing to my tiredness. However, I knew the next couple of days would leave much time for enjoyment, relaxation, and reflection.
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