St. James Haiti Outreach

What have we learned about Haiti?

After returning from a trip to Haiti in November 2008, Ruth Anne Olson and Louise Robinson wrote a series of essays to share their observations with us. This is the fourth of eight essays. See complete list here.

4. Life along the River to Bigonet

This installment written by Louise.

One of my fondest memories of Haiti is traveling to and from Bigonet, where the church and school of Bonne Nouvelle are located. The village of Bigonet is nestled into the mountainside about 45 minutes outside the city of Lèogâne. That 45 minutes is measured in three parts. The first 10 minutes is spent driving through busy city streets to the outskirts of Lèogâne. Then you turn off the road and into a riverbed which you follow for about 25 minutes. Sometimes you are driving in the river, sometimes along side of it, and sometimes weaving back and forth to find the best route. Finally, you pull out of the riverbed, park in a soccer field, and hike up the hillside about 10 minutes to arrive at the village. It is about another 10 minutes hike to get to the church and school.

I love rivers. I grew up by the Mississippi River in Winona. In fact, I spent so much time in and on the river, that I often claim that I grew up IN the Mississippi River. So I was immediately drawn to the amount of activity that I saw in and around the river, as we made this trek twice, once on Sunday for the church service, and again on Monday to visit the school.

Driving IN the river to get to Bigonet.

Ruth Anne and Père Delicat walking back from the village.

Civilizations often develop around rivers. They provide avenues of transportation and commerce, a source of water for crops and animals, and address daily needs and recreation for people. We often forget about these fundamental needs that a river addresses when our necessities are met by cars, indoor plumbing, irrigation systems and swimming pools. But in Haiti the river still serves many of these functions. On Sunday morning it was teeming with life as people were bathing, doing laundry, walking along the paths to go to church (even in our four-wheel drive, we were using it to drive to our destination!), as well as simply enjoying a cool swim on a hot day. The river is a center for transportation, commerce, daily chores and recreation. It is a hub of activity and it was exciting to be part of it.

On our way back to Bigonet on Monday, after visiting the school, I asked Père Delicat if I could ride in the back of the truck. (Several of the men attending him at the church service the day before had done this, and I used to ride in the back of my father’s truck when I was growing up). I could tell he had some reservations, but agreed to my request. And I am so glad! I felt more closely connected to the activity around me, and to the river, which was a bit like coming home – in Haiti!

Doing laundry on the river banks

The river is a route from one destination to another.

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