Christianville: Your Home in Haiti

Christianville Mission was our home away from home while in Haiti last November and we would venture a guess that it will be our home again this year.

Getting luggage at the entrance to HFH camp

Camp is truly rows upon rows of tents.  Big tents that sleep 16 to small tents that sleep 4 or 6.  The biggest tent, the "mess hall", is actually air conditioned which is really a treat after a long days work...as is The Globe!

Camp

Tents come fully furnished including mosquito netting

Looking forward to more evenings at The Globe

Of course, this is a Habitat camp so you may have to do some minor repairs to your tent like we did last year.  Thank goodness for duct tape!  It can fix anything!

Habitat camp is on Christianville property but only the VIPs actually get to stay at the mission itself, which is a couple of steps up the dirt road.  It is generally off-limits to the rest of us. 

However, last year we arrived a day early and some of us actually were asked to bring stuff up to the mission in preparation for the VIP arrivals.  While executing our assigned tasks, we met Jim who works at the mission and asked him for a small tour.  Needless to say, our secret tour lasted about 2 hours...and the view of the surrounding area from the mission is beautiful!

Looking across from Christianville Mission

We learned that the mission has a school for area children and provides one free meal a day to each of them.  They also raise, and teach the locals how to raise chickens for eggs, goats for meat; they even have a tilapia farm with about 20 different size pools for the fish.  And, since we are from Florida, we were excited to learn that the University of Florida has built a lab at Christianville to research and educate the locals about cholera and malaria!  Go Gators!

During the earthquake, the school at the mission was pretty much destroyed.  As you can see from these photos, the second floor collapsed onto the first floor.  Thankfully, no children were inside the school during the earthquake and no one was hurt.

Christianville Mission School

Peering through the rubble of the school at Christianville

The Habitat camp was a great home away from home, even though the accommodations are, as HFHI says, primitive.  If you ever have been camping before then you will be fine.

Hey!  All you have to do is remember that where you are staying is 5-star compared to what most Haitians have as shelter, which is why we are going there in the first place...to build safe, decent homes for families in need.

It is just the way we do things!

Gina

Haiti 2012: Six Reasons to Go

Words do not best describe the reasons why Eduardo and I go to the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project each year.  But, if a picture is worth 1,000 words then here are our reasons why...

(Remember...you can support Eduardo and I by donating at My Habitat Share Page - we would really appreciate it!)

Faith

Fellowship

Friends (old & new)

Fun

Families

Future

What's Doin'? April in Haiti

The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Project worksite is under way! 

A few weeks ago, Habitat staff and local Haitian workers began prepping the site for November.  Foundations are going in and soon the concrete block walls will be up and waiting for us!

Photo courtesy of Nevil Eastwood, Director, JRCWP

Photo courtesy of Nevil Eastwood, Director, JRCWP

In addition, a Haiti house has been constructed at Habitat for Humanity International's Global Village and Discovery Center in Americus, GA.  If you've never been to the Global Village and Discovery Center, it's really nifty - you can walk through the Center and visit all the different types of homes Habitat for Humanity affiliates build throughout the world.  (If you're ever in Georgia and want to take a trip out to the boonies, HFHI headquarters in Americus is the place to visit!)

Photo courtesy of Nevil Eastwood, Director, JRCWP - Haiti house at Global Village & Discovery Center

Please consider donating to this exciting project in support of Eduardo and I.  You can donate here at  My Habitat Share Page - we would really appreciate it!

People Notice What You Do: George

George was one of my volunteer crew members in Haiti last year.  His week spent building with me, his fellow volunteers and one of our homeowners, Jean Louis (who we referred to as "Johnny") really made an impact on everyone including Habitat for Humanity International.  He is featured, along with Jean Louis, in a Habitat Magazine article.

Thankfully, George is coming back for JRCWP Haiti round two in November 2012!  We must have given him "Habitatitis"...just another thing we do!

(Read the full article here Habitat Magazine - Forging a New Future in Haiti by PhillipJordan)

(This is an excerpt from Forging a New Future in Haiti by Phillip Jordan; it is NOT written by me.)

For many volunteers, the most special part of that beginning was connecting with homeowners while laboring together under the searing Haitian sun. George Stanton helped Jean Louis Merissois build his Santo home. With very few words, the two bonded quickly, exchanging as much information as they could through hand gestures, written drawings and facial expressions. They constantly teamed up to tackle different aspects of the project.

Working in tandem, the two formed an unlikely pair: A stout, bearded, former U.S. Army soldier from Virginia and a slight, bespectacled 48-year-old farmer and carpenter. Nailing roofing sheets together, Stanton worked along the roof’s edge while Merissois navigated the roof’s ridge. When they moved to the house’s front porch, they lifted boards into place together.

George and Johnny working on the roof of a house

Later in the week, the two men sat down on a bench under the dining tent, having secured a translator to learn each other’s stories. Merissois told how he made a living, both as a builder and as a farmer. Before the earthquake, Merissois worked another man’s land and received half of what he cultivated there: corn, beans, rice and sugarcane.

He was in that very field when the earthquake struck, Merissois told Stanton: “I thought the world was ending. I saw the ground shake, and I saw houses fall. I saw my own rental house fall with my own eyes.”

Stanton had his own stories of Haiti. In 1994, as part of a U.S. peacekeeping mission sent to Haiti, Stanton spent most of his time in the country building roads.

“I always remembered how nice the people were and how well they treated us,” he told Merissois, pausing as tears began to descend into his beard. “When I saw the earthquake, my heart broke. I felt very sad. I just wanted to help some way. Coming here was a chance for me to build something else much more permanent.”

Merissois told Stanton he had done that in more ways than he could imagine. “I will move into a new house soon,” Merissois replied, “and I will take your friendship into my new home. You have shown me a lot of true love. You are already my closest brother, my new friend.”

The Way We Volunteer: Heading to JRCWP 2012

You know that Eduardo and I volunteer for Habitat for Humanity here in Broward County, Florida several Saturdays each month.  We help build homes and we teach other volunteers how to help build homes.   It's how we give back to the community and it's fun.

Many of our friends volunteer for Habitat for Humanity; it's where we met them.  Many of them seem more like extended family than just "friends".  Heck!  It's where Eduardo and I met each other...(and maybe I shouldn't tell you that our first kiss was just outside of a Port-o-Let on the construction site, but there...I've said it!).

I know many of you are usually shocked when you learn that once a year Eduardo and I actually pay to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity...and then pay our own travel expenses as well to get to the Habitat build site!  We've paid to volunteer in several states, we've paid to volunteer in Thailand and last year, we paid to volunteer in Haiti.

In Thailand at JRCWP 2009

Hey!  It's just the way we do things.  And guess what? 

We are going to pay to volunteer in Haiti again this year...so we can get up at 5:00 AM every morning to eat breakfast, get on a bus and get to building.  We are going to pay to live in tents (that sometimes leak) on army cots, brush our teeth with bottled water and shower in makeshift, outdoor stalls.  All for the privilege of helping families who do not have a safe and decent place to call home.

In Haiti at JRCWP 2011

In addition to all of that, Eduardo and I have decided to participate in the fundraising program for the project this year.  We are asking you to consider donating to this project and supporting us in our efforts as we lead two 10-man (or woman) teams of volunteers to complete 4 homes in 5 days.  We are actually part of a bigger team of leaders that's going - 9 of our friends are heading to Haiti with us.  Together, we will build an entire block of 22 homes.

To Eduardo and I, any size financial donation that you may make is huge.  The donation goes to Habitat for Humanity International and is allocated specifically to the project in Haiti.  The donation is also tax-deductible.  You can donate by visiting My Habitat Share Page

Please consider supporting us in our volunteer efforts. 

It may just be the way you do things.