Haiti 

(1999)

Haiti (1999)

My first experience in ‘involvement’ at Met United was to become a Steward and a new member of the Outreach Committee. In those days we received quite a large budget. One project was to help build a small school in the small village of Lauture high up in the hills of Haiti. I was asked if I would fly to Haiti with a wonderful, retired contractor named Murray Mitchell, from St. Marys, 50 kilometres north of London, Ontario. Murray had been to Haiti many times and had been involved in many projects. By 2023 Murray had completed 41 such trips in a variety of countries.

Murray Mitchell and I travelled to Lauture, Haiti in September 1999. Haiti is a very dangerous country and arriving at Port-au-Prince’s airport was a nerve-racking experience, particularly as we were each carrying between us $10,000 carefully strapped to our bodies for safekeeping!! The purpose of the week-long trip was for us to determine if Met United becomes involved in supporting and purchasing building materials for the soon-to-be new single-room school. This whole project was under the auspices of Hope for Haiti group in St. Marys, Ontario, and Rayjon Share Care in Sarnia, Ontario.

After clearing customs, we were met by a devoted French-Canadian Priest, Brother Gilles, and as quickly as possible, we were driven in a pick-up van to the small village of Lauture. It was a rough, bumpy drive of about 40 miles. Met United decided, and made a commitment, to help purchase materials for the school with $6,000 per year for five years.

At the end of our stay in Lauture, we travelled to Gilbert, Haiti to see the first three rooms built for the Gilbert Clinic with the money sent the year before to honour Grace Mitchell, Murray’s wife, and to leave a plaque commemorated to his wife Grace. In 2000, the Belgium Government built the next three rooms. Following this, the Canadian Government, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), built the next 3 rooms of the Clinic at Gilbert.

I could write a long tale of this adventure in Haiti, but to condense it, we achieved the following:

A long-time member of Metropolitan United Church, Tom has served the church generously with his time and talents. The following is a transcript of Alison Morden-Smith’s handwritten note to Tom, on behalf of Metropolitan United Church, prior to his visit to Haiti.

Tom:
 We’re so pleased you’re willing to go to Haiti. You’re getting a letter from the committee.

You’ll be busy right now with your company but I’m sending you copies of the Rayjon material I have. Murray Mitchell will go to Haiti at the end of September for about 3 days to buy materials for the extension to the school. Good luck!

Alison ...

Tom Slade’s Journal Notes: Haiti Visit, Sept.25,1999 – Oct.1,1999

Saturday, September 25th, 1999

Murray and I got lucky, being the first two individuals to leave the plane with our hockey bags which, by the way, were very heavy with much needed supplies for Haiti. Brother Gilles was quickly spotted by Murray in the mass of black faces that thronged behind the high steel security fences around the airport.

I hadn’t seen anything like this before and I can’t quite put into words my first impression of Haitians. As a very distinct minority, I didn’t feel vulnerable or get a feeling of being stared at while living amongst this sea of black faces in Haiti. It was as though I was totally unaware of my oddity.

We got into Brother Gilles’ pick-up truck that had a 4-seated cabin. I sat in the rear in tight quarters with some personal luggage. For the next little while, we drove through what I can only describe as abject poverty. It was a continuous scene of ‘controlled’ turmoil and confusion. People stood on either side of the road where conditions were the most pathetic I have ever seen. Street vendors were selling their own special items – oils for cars and trucks, piles of shoes in disorganized stacks, ice water in plastic or other cool concoctions being sold by kids, tires and inner tubes, and assorted clothes. There were bike repair groups working to keep bicycles workable and street vendors galore. Most vendors were set up under corrugated tin roof structures, flimsily put together, and most defying gravity. Plastic was also used, but not as much as one would think. Cars, trucks, vans, and motor scooters all took more than their fair share of the roads. Horns were readily blaring at each other’s vehicle. Car wrecks of all kinds littered the ditches and sidewalks.

The old trick of seeing how many people can get on and inside a truck has never been to Haiti, as they would win hands down. The public transportation system was made up of free enterprise individuals who would get a van or a truck, paint it colourfully, with benches and hold bars in the vehicle, and it’s “All on board!” The vehicles were called Totos and they were always jammed full. Don’t ask me how the system works but it does.

During the early part of our long journey to Lauture, I’ve never seen so many flat tires. The people don’t even get off the Toto when a tire goes flat for fear of losing their place. The heavy-duty tire jack comes out, off comes the flat tire to be repaired on the spot and quickly put back on. With the flat tire replaced, off they would go to their destination! Seeing and smelling raw sewage was not fun but it was there to be sure ... all of it destined for the poor old ocean. The scene at Port-au-Prince was not the most pleasant experience or introduction to this rugged landscape of high hills with rolling land.

After leaving this urban scene, we got into the rural scene where the road conditions improved for awhile. We now travelled for a few miles on a brand-new asphalt highway that was a treat on which to travel. The curves, hills with ‘S bends,’ now began as we headed up into and over them, then down the mountain passes. We saw spectacular vistas, spoilt by heavy rains with fog which made driving quite hazardous. Brother Gilles was in the back of the truck with the luggage. As a smoker, he thought it polite to enjoy a smoke in the back. Without a doubt, we drove the last 25 kilometres to Lauture on the worst cross-country road to drive on. We, in Ontario, have nothing to complain about. A 4-wheel drive here is a necessity. One never gets past second gear and the speed never exceeds 15-20 kilometres per hour. We made it to Lauture by 5:30 p.m.

I was introduced to the compound which Brother Gilles runs and administers for the Brothers. Three hundred and fifty kids attend school at this 8-room school with 7 full-time teachers who get paid $175.00 U.S. each month. The school compound is well constructed with one concrete building that has 4 bedrooms, a bathroom, and an eating area. It’s clean and very tidy. Hope For Haiti workers will also use these facilities when their construction starts. Another building has a kitchen area where meals were prepared for us. When school starts on October 4, 1999, this kitchen will also be used to prepare a daily meal for each child.

Hope For Haiti will be helping to build a new school a short distance from where Brother Gilles’ school is located. The school will be run by a Baptist Church group. It will be a small one-room school that has no real funding yet. However, Hope For Haiti will supply the funds for the building of the school, and materials supplied would be paid for by Metropolitan United Church over the course of the next six years. When I returned home, Met United would approve my recommendations for financial support.

Murray and Brother Gilles will measure and calculate all the required materials for the new school that will be used by approximately 100-150 children. The material list will include concrete blocks, lumber for roof trusses, etc. Brother Gilles will then order all materials and have them delivered to the building site. It was hoped that all the walls would be built by Haitian workers by November 1999 when Hope For Haiti workers would then arrive to begin to build trusses and put a corrugated roof on top of the trusses. It was critical that this pre-planning of the concrete work would be done on time.

At 7:30 p.m. on this Saturday evening, we sat down for an excellent supper which included a great soup. Murray and I talked for a long time about this incredible man (Brother Gilles) who is a former Canadian from Montreal. He has dedicated his life to working with the Haitian people in the Lauture area and remains active to this day (July 2023).

Sunday, September 26th, 1999

We arose at 5:30 a.m. on this hot and humid Sunday morning. After breakfast, we went for a long walk over rugged ground while we looked at work Murray’s group had done in Haiti over the years beginning in 1986. Such little shanties not much larger than garden sheds. Mud or concrete floors. The kitchen is usually a separate little open area with a thatch roof and an open fire in the middle of the area. There are no roads like we know road layout; just well- worn tracks extending in a confused pattern. There are no street numbers or names to guide you to your journey’s end. However, this is considered an organized way of life with daily activities going on in Haiti. How word gets around is a mystery to visitors, but Haitians surely have a system of communication. For example, when work started with the digging on the new school footings, it didn’t take long for additional help to arrive. At least 10 strong young men with picks and shovels showed up and began helping with the digging. It’s hard work in 30C temperatures and with a hot sun overhead. It affects us a lot more than the natives of Haiti, but they sure sweat like us.

The children are the loveliest kids one could hope to meet. So friendly and smiles all around. Some are more fortunate than others. The children play and make their own fun. They amuse themselves in such simple ways. They grow on you, and you wish you could help them all in some way or another. When they attend Sunday worship services, they are all beautifully dressed in their white suits and dresses.

Monday, September 27th, 1999

I was hoping to find the time to write a daily log, but it was almost impossible. As we had quite a lot to organize for Murray’s November trip, it was hard to find the time to write more, but I wrote whenever I could ... like at 9 p.m. while the mosquitoes were doing a number on my legs!

Tuesday, September 28th, 1999

We drove to town and got supplies. We visited the site and found the digging was well on its way. We checked the work and talked to Samson who was the Baptist minister for the new school. We then had a meeting with Brother Gilles. We talked with Samson regarding his wish list. I told him I would do my best to help him cost out his proposed list of items.

We visited the Sisters at their hospital and visited other schools. We enjoyed non-alcoholic beer (so nice) with the Brothers at their school where one Brother had been murdered recently.

We had chicken and rabbit for dinner in the van. We delivered oats. Prices were high. We also saw a cow get slaughtered.

Wednesday, September 29th, 1999

Seven of us left Lauture at 6:30 a.m. The mother of two boys driving with us was dying of AIDs. I was car sick. It was market day in villages and bananas were available for pick-up. We enjoyed great views from the mountain, and saw many buses, trucks, vans, and people.

At 11:30 a.m., we arrived at Port-au-Prince at the Brothers’ main headquarters. There was indescribable and absolute confusion with the kids in attendance at the school. It must have been play time.

We signed into Wall’s International Guest House where we had lunch. Then we went for a scary walk to Mother Teresa House. Cast-iron sewer covers had been lifted from the manholes, and were sold for scrap metal, leaving the manholes now dangerously open. People were illegally hooking their welding cables to the city electrical cables. Awful smells came from the smoke emitted by the trucks. Vendors were begging for sales. People did not look well with many standing in line to get food. We were picked up and taken to a church orphanage. It was a sad scene where babies and children up to 16 years of age were clearly in need of being loved. We felt so sad to witness this pitiful scene. Babies were begging for attention, and young children were pining for love.

Thursday, September 30th, 1999

At 10:30 a.m. we were picked up and driven to St. Marc. This was a scary trip. At times, we were speeding on uneven pot-holed roads to crowded villages. Navigating our way out of Port-au-Prince was a dreadful experience with flooded roads and total car, van, and truck confusion. An absolute bedlam.

We visited Rayjon House for battered women, 40 of whom were engaged in educational programs. Great work was being done to improve their lives. We were very impressed. We also visited the Rayjon headquarters at St. Marc. I was very impressed. There were about 26 paid workers, 2 administrators, and an office where plans for construction, medical programs and women’s programs were organized.

We had a nice meal in St. Marc. We also noticed how the curiosity of kids varies for those who see a ‘white man.’ Some showed hesitancy; others, toddlers 2-4 years of age, seemed petrified. Some children ran away. It took a long time and some sway with lots of candy to win the children over.

Murray gave a great speech to the ladies who then sang for him, which was a very moving moment. The women were slowly gaining strength as an organization of women. They would regularly walk long distances and travel by ToTo (taxi services). Some of the women wouldn’t get home until dark.

De’Adone, who runs the program for the women, has spent 4 years getting it to this point. De’Adone advises and bureaucratizes. The women are in complete charge of organizing the program. If the women don’t function, then the program would fail. I don’t think for a moment it will fail. This is a Rayjon House project.

On this Thursday night, I stayed at Hotel Xaragua, about 20 kilometres from St. Marc. Dinner and breakfast cost $40.00 U.S. per person.

Friday, October 1st, 1999

We were up at 5:30 a.m. and had breakfast at 6:30 a.m. We were picked up at 6:50 a.m. and driven to St. Marc where we picked up a nurse and a Haitian doctor, a young, devoted man. We drove for another hour up a ‘mountain’ to a small hospital with a dispensary that serves a large area. Murray Mitchell and his sons donated $6,000 towards the dispensary in memory of his deceased wife who passed away 11⁄2 years ago (1997).

We drove up and over the roughest terrain I’ve ever been over. Only a 4-wheel-drive vehicle could do this. It’s hard to imagine how in the world the Haitian natives got all the materials to the dispensary; concrete blocks, sand, gravel, cement, and water that had to be carried long distances. Many women were involved in the initial work -- assisting with the laying of the blocks, etc.

The dispensary is a wonderful facility. I asked the doctor during a lunch break how many patients he’d seen so far. “Twenty plus,” he said. The clinic is open 7 days a week, with a doctor coming there 2 days each week. Three nurses are always on duty. They live and sleep at the dispensary.

A contractor was presently constructing a new extension to the existing building. About 6 workers lived there 5 days/week. The dispensary is truly a great project that serves a much-needed service.

We saw – on our walk and many other times as well – women with kids washing their clothes along the riverbanks. This river was clean ... very clean. But down at the sea level the rivers looked suspiciously dirty and, at times, were smelly. Women carry everything on their heads, anything from large laundry baskets to 5-gallon plastic pails of water. Women do this almost exclusively and so do young girls and boys. Not many men do this, with many men doing absolutely nothing. Murray left a small plaque to be placed on the building, honouring his deceased wife, Grace.

After lunch, we then drove for 3 hours from the top of the ‘mountain’ back to Port-au-Prince which was shrouded in a blanket of horrible smog when we arrived at 3 p.m.

Murray went back to Mother Teresa house. It was a very sad situation as typhoid fever may have been there. Three sisters were quite nice when Murray visited the babies’ wards. One little child died in front of him.

The next day I called my wife Inga and got ready for the flight home to Canada. I was glad I came to Haiti, but I was really thankful to go back home where we are very richly blessed in so many ways.

Tom Slade

July 2023