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 eighth of eight essays. See complete list here.

8. Questions from St. James

This installment written by both Louise and Ruth Anne.

Before we left for Haiti in November, we asked parishioners, young and old, to tell us your questions. You gave us some great things to watch for, and now we offer responses, as best as we know. There’s so much to learn; we’re hoping that more St. Jamesians will travel to Haiti to bring new eyes and ears to us all.

What particular giftedness do church members (community) in Haiti have to offer other Christ-followers or people of other countries?

In a nutshell, FAITH, HOPE, TRUST, and OPTIMISM. Many Haitians live their lives always closer to the edge of poverty than we can easily comprehend. They are vulnerable to more destructive weather and economic volatility than we can imagine, and they have very few government or other social service programs to cushion them. Their safety nets are themselves, their families and their sense of FAITH, HOPE, TRUST and OPTIMISM.

Worshippers at Bonne Nouvelle.

How do Haitians deal with hardship and despair? Where comes their hope? What practices help them keep the faith?

Haitian people express a fundamental thankfulness for being alive and a sense that everything else is icing on the cake. There is a commitment to who they are—a determination to make the most of what they have been given, even though their material richness seems meager to us. Like all of us, Haitians grieve deeply over weariness and loss; they yearn for easier lives for themselves and their children. But in the midst of hardship they seem better prepared to rest within a sense of joy and hopefulness than many of us.

What ways do women support one another – everyday, formally and informally?

They gain strength together—through work, dance, laughter, and making fun of men! Some have developed networks to address individual and community needs. Some have formed theater groups to dramatize the unfairness and discrimination within their culture. We have much to learn about the strength of women in Haiti.

How can Haitians teach us to live with grace and joy in the face of great affliction?

Haitians have the confidence to do what must be done and the skills to recover from great adversity. They can repair their homes, grow their food, find and carry water for their families. The tasks are challenging, but there is a sense that they can recover what is truly necessary.

By contrast, we are vulnerable because we are dependent. Other people build our houses, grow our food, provide our water, and build and maintain the machines we use for transportation. On a daily basis we use a myriad of tools that we are totally incapable of making or repairing. If these things are taken from us, how do we recover?

If we’re willing to learn, Haitians may be able to help us redefine what is truly necessary, what is essential.

Neighbors helping neighbors.

What is Haiti?

Haiti is a country. It is part of a large island in the Caribbean, approximately 700 miles from Miami. Because it is near the equator, Haiti is hot. It is a mountainous island that lies in the direct path of many hurricanes that cross the Atlantic Ocean. It is home to more than 8 million people. Because of its warm climate, much of life in Haiti is lived outdoors: cooking, working, shopping, laundry and more. Mango, grapefruit, avocado, oranges and many other sweet fruits grow abundantly in Haiti.

Do the kids eat Kit Kat bars?

No, though they would probably enjoy them! The most common forms of sweets are fruit juices and sugar cane that kids and adults buy from street vendors. We also saw a treat available for sale (to those who could afford it) during recess at school. We didn’t get a close look, so don’t know if it was sweet or not.

We visited the church on their annual Parish Sunday. At the banquet that followed they served soda pop which we’re told is a rare treat!

Do they play baseball in Haiti? Do they like football?

We don’t know for sure. We know that soccer is big —when they don’t have balls, we’ve seen kids playing soccer with grapefruit or even small bottle caps. They also like to jump rope and play circle games. They have a version of jacks that is played with small animal bones.

Where is the nearest water source? Do women have to walk far to collect water? Is the water clean? Is the water reliable (present year round)?

Water sources vary. Some villages have wells, some channel rain water and collect it in cisterns. Some people in cities have indoor plumbing. Bigonet gets its water from a spring which is part way up the mountainside; we don’t know exactly how far it is. Droughts and hurricanes influence the reliability of all water sources—some sources are more reliable than others.

Women fetch water, but getting water is often the work of children. They walk anywhere from 5 minutes to 3 hours from their homes, typically carrying the full containers on their heads.

Water quality varies widely. Often it is clean enough for bathing and laundry, though sometimes it must be left sitting long enough for sediment to settle. Many people have little choice but to cook with or drink water that is not healthy.

Small plastic packets of safe water are sometimes available for people to buy if they have the money. Our hosts always made sure that we had safe water to drink.

Do they celebrate Christ?

As a percentage of the population, Haiti has a larger Christian population than the United States. There is a saying that Haiti is 95% Catholic, 5% Protestant, and 100% VooDoo., though to understand what that means we must set aside all our ideas about VooDoo generated by Hollywood.

Throughout history, Christianity has absorbed elements of local religions as it moves around the world, just as it originally drew on Jewish customs. In a similar spirit, some Haitian celebrations of Christ incorporate forms and objects unfamiliar to us.

What kinds of books and other materials are found in school classrooms?

We think it’s accurate to say that the tuition each child pays (often $10 per month) buys a backpack, small paper-textbooks, a composition book, pencils and a school uniform — in addition of course to paying teacher salaries and maintaining school buidings. Each classroom has a chalkboard, but we noticed very few other supplies. The photos we shared earlier give a pretty complete sense of what was in the classrooms—there is nothing hidden or out of sight. It is barebones.

What is the ethnic make-up of Haiti? I’m wondering about indigenous peoples and which European countries settled the area in history.

In 1492 Columbus shipwrecked off the coast of the island we know as Haiti and was rescued by the indigenous Taino people. Spain established colonies and enslaved the Tainos to extract gold and other resources for Europe. Records show that by 1509 all Tainos had been killed from overwork, disease or despair. France wrested control away from Spain and imported Africans as slaves to work sugar and coffee plantations and to cut the lush mahagony forests for European markets.

Indigenous people of Haiti.

In 1804 the slaves successfully overthrew the French and created a free country. But Haiti struggled to be recognized and to find economic traction in a world that feared its independence. Economic isolation and environmental devastation wrought by Europeans still haunts the country as it continues to face manipulation by other nations as well as internal disputes and corruption among its own leaders.

Could you ask the kids to teach you a favorite song? A church song? A dance?

Students in each classroom sang to us, but time and our tiny knowledge of Creole prevented our creating the relationships in which they would feel comfortable teaching us.

Many tunes sung during the church service were very familiar, and as they sang in Creole we sang in English. After church several women invited us to dance with them—a deeply touching gesture of peace and friendship.

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