New school in Deslandes

February 23, 2011
Verrettes, Haiti

We left Deslandes this morning to come to town (Verrettes) to do internet work. We were supposed to leave first thing this morning, and originally, Saint Geste was going to come with us…but first, he had to set up a make-shift classroom since our construction crew will be working on an unfinished classroom that has already been occupied by a class (they are so cramped for space, they are in the rubble floor classroom, with construction workers all around them). In order to make the temporary classroom, I came upon him and Anslo, who were chopping down a tree with an axe and a machete, for the post to hold the tarp. They don’t have that many trees, even, but he saw that tree as a solution to the immediate problem, so presto, bye bye tree, hello classroom! (Let's remember that it wasn't the Haitians who obliterated the forests of Haiti- it was Europeans and Americans. Apparently once upon a time there was Haiti has a wonderful native species, heartwood, that was termite resistant and rot resistant- thus, a suitable building material in Haiti. There are no longer heartwood forests- you can find the odd tree that has been spared being chopped, but it's a rarity. There are some reforestation projects underway, but it's here & there....not really organised. Sigh. But this is an aside!) So, I began my period of waiting. I’m getting better at just sitting and patiently waiting. Often I don’t even know why I’m waiting, but I’m okay with that.

Anslo chopping the tree for the imminent classroom.

Students in the new outdoor classroom. They didn't seem too phased; the site supervisor was a bit ticked that they had moved into the unfinished classroom in the first place without consulting him. 

The first building of the new school is pictured here- 3 classrooms, and our crew are planning to be finished at the end of next week. We still have one more room to plaster, the posts & columns on the exterior, floors to be poured, and foundation parging. Oh, and the front steps. Oh, and tiling on the floors, and paint on the walls. Ambitious to think it can be done in 2 weeks? Perhaps, but it is nice to see Brandt setting goals, and coming pretty close to achieving them.



The new school buildings (of which 3 are planned) will replace the current open air/tarp building that is currently housing most of the students. The new buildings will be built by participants of the Natural Building School of CIJ. They will continue with earth block building, as they now have two machines to create the blocks. We may play around with some straw bale and light clay straw as well, to expose students to other alternatives.

This is the current school. 350+ students. Blackboards with holes in them, and of course, very few resources.

So, after quite a long wait, I found out that Saint Geste wasn’t coming with us after all- he had found another ride, so we gathered our belongings and left late morning. We arrived here in Verrettes somewhere near noon- oh, what a beautiful ride! I hate to complain about comfort, but the ride on the wee motorcycle was a bit tiring for me. I say I hate to complain, because the entire ride on the backroads and footpaths, all around me I saw people carrying loads, as they do every day, and doing it without complaining, as they are tasks that need doing. But my body isn't used to sitting on a motorcycle for 1.5 hours over quite rough trails. I'm sure I'll get used to it. Again, I felt privileged riding on a motorcycle...

The scenery as you leave Deslandes is quite beautiful- surrounded by mountains, lush growth, and the Artibonite River. It looks so inviting- kind of an aqua green colour, but with the livestock that frequent it, sewage that no doubt is constantly in it, and the fact that cholera was first located from a spot close to Deslandes in the river, I think I’ll hold out on going for a swim, but there are people bathing everywhere! Actually, on our ride here, in a small town, a woman was bathing right at the public fountain. There isn’t the same sense of privacy here as we have at home- we are downright repressed in comparison. When you live in houses that are so close to one another, and share compounds and quarters with so many people, you can hardly expect to have a quiet moment by yourself.

I love the teeny tiny houses on this hill. Imagine the trek these folks have to make to get down to the river for water!

I love this shot- the Artinonite kind of circles around these sand dunes. Wherever you go, people are bathing in and likely taking drinking water from this river- keep in mind that this is where the cholera outbreak originated. 

As we travelled through small communities I have never seen before, I heard ‘Blanc Blanc! incessantly, and just smiled and waved when the ride would allow taking a hand off the bike. Once again, it’s a rather strange phenomenon to be the only white person in the area. I don’t feel unsafe, and I’m not offended by the constant yelling of blanc, blanc! Rather, it doesn’t even feel racist- just matter of fact. White people are a rarity in the area, so they’re just announcing to the community that I’m there. In my own community, I am becoming more of a familiar face, and I hear my name more and more, which feels so nice.

You see so much walking here, and so much sitting around, as you drive through communities. Unemployment is extremely high here- and so, indeed, you see whole villages of people sitting in the shade, sitting in the middle of the road, gathering by fountains, or just standing chatting. It feels very African here- much more so than I had envisioned. In between the market scenes, people carrying loads on their heads, colourful clothing, and beautiful toned skin, it definitely feels African.

I’m a bit frustrated by my slow growth in Creole- I’m still leaning on my French, as the director, and Jean Baptiste, and the supervisor of the construction crew, all speak French. As I hang out with groups of kids at night, I am obliged to speak creole, so hopefully that will help. I am making progress, but it seems so slow. It’s frustrating, because I can understand lots of words, but haven’t quite got an ear for it yet. Patience! Things don’t happen overnight, especially not in a country like Haiti!


Later the same day…

OK, I’m practicing my patience. We came to the Hotel TIFA earlier today to access the internet, and the generator was being repaired, thus no electricity. So, we went all across town to investigate potential sites for the composting toilet facility we want to build (and there are politics involved, bien entendue!)…including Ospri’s brothers, who have both dug deep traditional pits for outhouses and wonder if we can build them a personal toilet, if the group ones don’t work out. So, here we are, back at Hotel Tifa, which is incredibly beautiful, with an amazing view of the river, but the internet access is sporadic. It comes and goes…so here I wait, trying to send e-mail, receive email, and upload blog entries. Wish me luck! And patience!

Side note: It is now March 7th, and this is the first opportunity I have had to upload these posts from Feb. I let go of feeling that need to post, post post, and voila! Here I am, posting. I did learn some patience!