The Send Off

Our group rose early on Sunday to worship at St James Episcopal Church which has a service in English. (There are five of us traveling together including myself (Chris Calia) and Ginger Stapley from Good Shepherd, Pat and Deedee Murphy from North Decatur and Frank Dimmock from PCUSA World Mission Agency.)  The 8:00 service began around 8:15 with about 8 people in attendance.  Over the next 10 minutes or so, more people wandered in until there were around 25 worshippers.  The service was similar to the Catholic mass that I grew up with. Ginger was asked to do a scripture reading. 

One of the worshippers was our old friend, Suzette Goss-Geffrard (pictured), who helped the original group from Atlanta that traveled to Haiti in search of a mission project.  There was a short fellowship time after the service and then a 30 minute van ride back to the hotel to prepare for our trip to the Central Plateau.

The weather for the ride to MPP was wonderful and we got a great view of the countryside.    As we rode up to the Central Plateau, I'm thinking about this passage we read from the Book of Prayer:

And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do.  To love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.  To him, to you and to the Holy Spirit.  Be honor and glory now and forever.  Amen.


Haiti Trip -- What to Expect?

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Several people encouraged me to write about what I expect from my first trip to Haiti so that I might compare my expectations to my perspective when I return.  Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and so that conjures up images of a primitive place with unsanitary conditions.  The news media focuses on stories of dysfunctional and corrupt government, rampant disease and civil unrest.

But my limited international travel experience suggests the it's never what you see in news stories.  They do have modern conveniences such as electricity, bathrooms and internet.  Photos from past trips show people that are cleanly dressed and smiling.  In fact, all my friends that have been to Haiti have loved their experience and most have made return trips.

So, is Haiti a hopeless wasteland or a tropical paradise?  I suspect it's somewhere in between.

My journey is a mission to observe, learn and relate.   The people who have made our travel arrangements will make every effort to see that we have a good experience.  The Haitians in the villages and MPP know that we are about the business of building a school that is for them.  I'm told that they are looking forward to showing off what they've accomplished.  I am anxious to learn of their progress.

What I expect is to make new friends, see new places, learn new things and return with a new perspective on the world in which we live.

 

Haiti Trip -- How to Prepare?

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Monday, November 09, 2015, 5:49 AM

It's with great excitement and trepidation that I anticipate my first trip to Haiti.  This is not only my first time to Haiti, but my first international mission trip of any kind.  After years of supporting others through financial contributions, supplies, and prayers, it's my turn.  Even though I've had much time to contemplate the trip, I still wonder "how do I prepare?"

First, there's all the physical things such as what to pack.  I've got my wide brimmed hat, sunglasses and insect repellent.  I've diligently taken all my medications and read all the safe travel warnings.  I've talked to people who have been to Haiti before and gotten all the good tips.  Don’t drink the water.  Stay with your group.  Keep your money out of sight.

In my heart, I know the real issue I have is being way out of my comfort zone.  I typically avoid third world countries, places where the people don't speak English, and cultures different than the US.  In this case, I've got all those things and more. 

The thing that helps me to face my fears is knowing that the work we're going is so important.  Our purpose on this trip is to check on the status of the school we're helping to build in the Ecovillages, meet the people responsible for implementing the plan for the school, and help shape future phases of the school's development.  That's a tall order but it's critical that all our donors and supporters know that their money and efforts are making an impact. 

So, while the physical preparation is important, it is the easy part.  How best to prepare to meet with people you've never met and who don't speak your language to discuss a project as complex as building a school from the ground up? 


Preparations and Prayers

On Saturday, November 14th, five members of the Atlanta Church Group will travel to Haiti. They are Ginger Stapley and Chris Calia from Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, Scott Grosse from Emory Presbyterian Church, Pat and DeeDee Murphy from North Decatur Presbyterian Church.

The group will meet with MPP leadership, the school staff, the parents and the community. They will visit the classrooms, see the gardens planted for income for the school, watch the goats and learn from the children who are learning in their new school.

Watch for updates and journals from the group as they travel. 

Intergenerational Trip to Haiti: April 2 – 9, 2016

Haiti:  Beyond Just Recovery

Cross Cultural Engagement Interfaith, Intergenerational Trip to Haiti

The Seeds of Hope Atlanta Church Group invites adults and youth 16 and older to participate in a Cross Cultural Engagement Interfaith Trip to Haiti from April 2 – 9, 2016.  We will go under the leadership of the Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice (UUCSJ) and be hosted by our Haitian Partner, (MPP), the Peasant Movement Papaye, near Hinche, Haiti.   On this journey, we will focus on learning from MPP about the critical issues of food sovereignty and climate justice.  We will have the opportunity to engage in hands on work alongside our Haitian partners in the Eco Villages and the school, as well as other “agro ecology” projects.   We will approach our experiences as “pilgrims”, ready to be present, ready to listen and notice where, how, and with whom God is working.  Please join us on this transformative journey!  Registration Deadline for Youth:  November 20, 2015; for Adults:  January 31, 2016.  Questions?  Contact beckyevans@mindspring.com or amanda@ndpc.org. 

More Information: 

I.               We need to have a minimum of 10 people.  

II.              We plan for at least two Presbyterian clergy to participate in the trip (Amanda Osenga and Rick Neale.)

III.            Youth must be at least 16, and 16 & 17 year olds need to be accompanied either by a parent or a guardian.  A Youth minister may serve as a guardian. 

IV.            Becky Evans, will be the Atlanta Church Group lay leader, assisting the UUCSJ trip leader.  She has been to visit MPP three times.  There will be participants from other Atlanta Church group churches as well as Unitarian Universalists. 

V.              Cost is $2,000 per person.  $1500 to UUCSJ for trip planning, $500 airfare to Port au Prince.

VI.            NDPC will offer a 10 week Haiti Cross Cultural Engagement Learning Circle Sunday School class from February 7 – April 24.  Trip participants will be expected to participate in a minimum of:  two evening or weekend travel group meetings ahead of time; 4 of 7 Sunday School classes before the April 2 trip; 2 of 3 Sunday School Classes after the trip. 

VII.           Participants will be expected to read: A chapter from Haiti:  The Aftershocks of History by Laurent DuBois and Krik?Krak! Short Stories by Edwidge Danticat.   

VIII.         To register and to learn more about the UUCSJ Haiti trips, visit:  http://uucsj.org/journeys/haiti/

IX.            Registration Deadline for Youth:  Friday, November 20, 2015; for Adults, January 31st, 2016.  Requires a $500 deposit.  

 

Make Natural Insecticide, Build a Tire Garden and Meet Mark Hare!

Meet Mark Hare, PCUSA Mission Worker

He speaks 4 languages, has a Master’s Degree in agronomy from Michigan State University and he’s our guy in Haiti.  In his 20 years as a Peace Corps volunteer and PCUSA mission worker, he has acquired a deep understanding of the connections between small farmers, ecology, nutrition and demonstrating Christ’s love for the poor people of the world. He has improved the lives of thousands of poor families by showing them how to grow super-nutritious food in a small place. He has a lot to teach us, too, about how we can improve our lives and the world around us.

Saturday, October 10, 12:00-2:00. 

North Decatur Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall

(611 Medlock Road, at intersection with Scott Bldv.)  

The gathering will feature 

·         Free Haitian meal (beans and rice, plantains, baguette, tropical fruit) that incorporates moringa, the world’s most nutritious plant.  If you don’t know moringa, come learn how it can improve your health.

·         Demonstration of how to build a tire garden, including how to convert waste into rich soil.

·         Hands-on lesson in how to make natural insecticide that keeps the bugs – and the chemicals – away.

·         Chance to meet others from the Atlanta Church Group who are building a school in the Haitian EcoVillages.

For more info, email sowseedsofhope@gmail.com

Enrollment is Up!

The EcoVillage school opened for its second year with 99 students in four elementary grades and preschool.  Completion this summer of the 3rd classroom has allowed expansion of two more grades and hiring of additional teachers for those grades.

Growth of enrollment is an important step toward financial independence for the school.  Still, there are many older students who do not attend school or who walk 2 ½  hours each way to the nearest school.  Additional grades will allow the school to bring in these older children and allow parents to send all of their kids to the same, nearby school.  When this happens, parents will channel all of their tuition and volunteer hours toward the EcoVillage school.

Another critical revenue stream is the development of the school farm lands.  According to our partners at MPP, banana and plantain trees have been planted, and the Parents Committee has harvested beans and peanuts, which were the first planting this summer.  Our partnership has funded the development of the farm, which will raise funds for the school and produce for children’s lunches.  Beginning 2016, the farm will contribute funds toward operation of the school.

Gordon French, co-chair of the Atlanta Church Group, notes the important progress made this year.  “Our goal is for the EcoVillage school to be financially self-sufficient by the time our 5-year commitment is completed at the end of 2018.  To achieve that, three things are happening simultaneously. First, classrooms are being built so that, secondly, enrollment can grow (eventually to cover all 12 grades) and thirdly, the farm lands are being planted so that harvests can go to market to  subsidize the school.  As we develop budgets and plans for 2016, these will be our goals.”

Uniforms for Students!

Q: What weighs 350 pounds, takes up 575 cubic feet in volume, is brown plastic on the outside, and Khaki, light blue, and navy on the inside?

A: A shipment of recycled uniforms, courtesy of the Lovett School and The Uniform Project, for the school children of the EcoVillages School.

Problem: The students of the EcoVillage school had no uniforms their first year. In Haiti, it is customary for school children to wear uniforms. For the upcoming school year, they anticipate growing from 50 students to approximately 150 students. That is a LOT of uniforms!

They would ideally like the uniforms to be made there but they do not yet have the resources.

Solution: Thanks to a lead by NDPC member Martha Osborne, we discovered The Uniform Project, http://www.theuniformproject.org/, a nonprofit that recycles uniforms. After showing sample uniforms to Verona Val and the School Principal in April, we agreed to donate pants, shorts, and skirts for the bottom of their uniforms, and that the families and MPP would sew unique uniform tops. In addition, the students can wear the recycled uniform knit tops on Fridays. The Lovett School has a Recycled Uniform Shop that donated 80% of the recycled uniforms for our school.

Problem: How do we get these 6 huge, heavy contractor bags filled with uniforms to Haiti in time for school to begin?

Solution: Our friend Wendy Flick, Senior Program Leader for the Unitarian Universalists, spoke with a friend, Shawn Davidson in Sarasota, Florida, who was shipping stoves down to Haiti in July, and agreed to include the uniforms in his shipping container.

Problem: How do we get these uniforms to Sarasota?

Solution: Becky and David Evans were planning a trip to Cape Coral, Florida, and to Cocoa Beach. They offered to drive the uniforms down to Sarasota, a short distance from Cape Coral.

Problem: Shawn is on vacation when Becky and David are in Florida.

Solution: Wendy helps come up with a Plan B, where Shawn shares his garage access code with Becky over e­mail, and the uniforms are successfully dropped off in the garage in Sarasota on June 9!

Praise God for conversations, collaboration, trust, and problem solving! And pray for this uniform shipment to make it safely into MPP's hands, and on to the students and staff! 

Day 7 - Lake Lawob and Guest Blog Appearance

A friendly note from one of our favorite Unitarian Universalists, Melinda Meyerhoff. Of course, we love all our UU traveling companions (doctors Beth and Duane and UU staff persons Wendy and Kristin), but Melinda spent the most time with our ragtag Presbyterian crew, so she’s earned a place of privilege on this here blog. :)

- Jennifer
 

This interfaith group has been blessed with a week in pastoral Haiti.  As we drive to our work sites each day, I am enthralled by the people walking on the road carrying their goods, wood, and fresh produce to town to sell or trade.  Oxen, burros, and horses, all rigged up with saddles, yokes, carts and baskets (made by hand with resources found near their homes or bartered for) make the journey possible.  Others balance items on their heads, using the power of their legs only.  Children follow in crisp, clean clothes, on their way to school. 
 
No fossil fuels are burned. The people are content living a life steeped in tradition, wisdom, and simplicity. 
 
World, take note: Can this way of living help us envision the new paradigm needed to save our earth?

- Melinda

Mango, plantain trees, and cow at Lake Lawob.

Mango, plantain trees, and cow at Lake Lawob.

Baby goats, one week old, held by Alcont, the goat farm veterinarian.

Baby goats, one week old, held by Alcont, the goat farm veterinarian.

Day 6 - A dazzling day

Day 6 – A dazzling day

Melinda read a text that asked us to be open to being dazzled. 

We went to the school and for the first time we were all engaged in the same activity.  Our job was to carry buckets of wet cement from a pile on the ground up a couple of steps, across a space covered with a grid of rebar and lines of string, and dump them in the place designated by the mason responsible for poring the slab as the foundation for the new classroom.  We soon realized it is hard work for one person to carry a bucket all the way, dump it, and take it back.  Therefore, we set up a bucket brigade, which went much faster.  According to a Haitian proverb, "many hands, burden not heavy".  We all found it to be satisfying work, and a joy to see the smoothed cement take form.  Fortunately, all the skilled work was done by Haitians to make sure it was done right!

Bucket brigade

Bucket brigade

In addition to our manual labor, Becky rejoiced to see the well that installed last December providing water for the school.  Beth, Becky, and Melinda had fun blowing up balloons and playing with the children during recess.  Beth and Duane took time out to speak with some villagers about health issues. 

Leaving Moccene's yard

Leaving Moccene's yard

After cleaning up and eating a delicious lunchtime dinner we visited the garden of Moccene, an inspiring 32 year-old MPP volunteer who helps show other peasants like himself how they can grow healthy food in a sustainable way.  He shared with us about the philosophy and methods of agro-ecology that he practices as well as preaches.  It was meaningful to meet his family, including his father, sister, and two young daughters, and to see how they have hope for the future in the progress already made. 

Bassin Zim Waterfalls

Bassin Zim Waterfalls

After walking around Moccene’s garden we got back in the vehicles to visit the waterfalls at Bassin Zim (featured in the Lonely Planet travel guide to Haiti).  Moccene and his younger daughter, Daniella, went with us.  At the base of the falls we each selected one of the young men to guide us up to the caves and the falls.  I enjoyed chatting with my young guide, who identified himself as Steven, and got to practice my limited Haitian Creole.  The accompanying photo, taken by the Atlantan Steve, shows the beautiful falls. 

- Scott

 
100% of your donation is tax-deductible and 100% goes directly to build and support the school. This PayPal link is provided by North Decatur Presbyterian Church, which acts as our banker.