Haiti Blog 11

Hi everyone,   Tonight is my last night in Leogane.  After 15 months in Haiti I will be leaving on 19th July and arriving home on 20th.  Since I last emailed I have had the privilege of spending time with some of our regional church based partners in Port au Prince and it was great to see the work that they've been doing.  These are Haitian organisations that Tearfund is supporting.  They are responding to the earthquake but they also have a lot of other projects from Education to HIV support groups.  It was great to see another side to Tearfund's work in Haiti and to train them on how we can be accountable to the communities we work with.   There has been an outbreak of cholera in our operational area and we have been responding with a lot of training.  We've tried to get things to distribute but it's proving rather difficult which is very frustrating.  There is often so much bureaucracy involved in getting things to distribute such as handwashing buckets, chlorine and soap that it almost doesn't seem worth it.  But I am persevering- even in my last few days!  I was able to see some cholera prevention training a few weeks ago which was great.  I spoke to some people and they said that although they knew cholera had affected people in their area, they weren't afraid becuase the training they had had means they now know how to prevent getting cholera.   Today I was able to visit some of our projects - it was a brilliant way to spend my penultimate day in Leogane.  It enabled me to see how much has been done in Haiti in the last 15 months that I have been here.  I remember visiting projects when I first arrived and writing about things that we were going to do.  It was great to see trees being planted as I remember us discussing the possibility of planting tens of thousands of trees last June, I remember us spending ages identifying springs and today I saw a spring capture that we'd been able to restore.  We did a survey of over 9,000 households last July and I was part of the data entry team and involved in the training of the assessors.  The survey enabled us to choose people to receive houses built by Tearfund and I visited two families today.    I will have very fond memories of my time in Haiti.  I have learned so much and met some amazing people from all over the world who I know I will be friends with for many years to come. I have no plans for when I go back home next week.  I shall be moving back to Ashtead before working out what to do with my life!  Haiti has been an amazing ezperience and I know I have changed a lot.  I need time to rest and to work out how to use my experience in whatever happens next.   For those of you that pray here are a few things: Thanksgiving for all that Tearfund has been able to do since January 2010 Praying for the ongoing work of Tearfund in Haiti.  There are some difficult decisions to make in the next few weeks and I know the team would value your prayers That we will be able to get things to distribute in response to the cholera outbreak Thanksgiving for God’s protection over me during the last 15 months, for all that I have been able to learn and for the opportunity to come to Haiti Pray for my next steps.  That doors will clearly open and close, as they always seem to do That I will do things in God’s time and not mine Protection for me as I travel back to the UK next week Thank you all so much for reading my emails, replying to them and praying for me - I have really appreciated it and I'm sorry if I haven't replied to your email.  I hope that I will be able to catch up with you all before too long - I shall have plenty of time on my hands! Thank you all so much for reading my emails, replying to them and praying for me - I have really appreciated it and I'm sorry if I haven't replied to your email.  I hope that I will be able to catch up with you all before too long - I shall have plenty of time on my hands!   Love to you all,   Janet

Haiti Blog 10

Hi everyone,   Well it’s a couple of months since I wrote an update and as I have less than 8 weeks left in Haïti I thought it’s about time I send one round.    Fortunately the second round of elections passed relatively peacefully, with Michel Martelly being elected. I was in Port au Prince when the results were announced and immediately we heard celebratory gun shots, screaming and music that continued late into the night. However the local elections were rather more contentious and resulted in demonstrations in Léogâne. Fortunately I was in the UK so I wasn’t affected, other than being rather concerned for my colleagues (who were fine!).    Now that the Haïti has a new president, murals of him are going up all over Port au Prince. Throughout his campaign Michel Martelly had a pink theme and now Port au Prince is being painted pink too! Fences, walls and road barriers all have pink on them. It’s amazing how every time I return to Port au Prince after being away for a while, the streets are decorated differently. Last summer different areas of the city were decorated in green and yellow (Brazil supporters) or blue and white (Argentina supporters). After that the focus was the election with posters of all candidates being plastered on any free wall space, and now Port au Prince is pink. I wonder what’s next!   This time last year I was in Port au Prince and I remember writing about how the storm drains filled with water every night but were bone dry by the morning. Well, I’m now experiencing the rainy season in Léogâne. We don’t have storm drains here – the roads just flood, but then it’s often drier by morning. The heavy rains mean that the river frequently bursts its banks leaving the camps flooded. When I drive around I do notice that a lot of the camps have reduced in size and some have even disappeared. There is definitely a change here and the atmosphere is less intense than a year ago. The Tearfund programme is also very different to this time last year. There are only three of us expats that were here a year ago, the work we’re doing has changed, we’re a much bigger programme and I know that I’ve changed a lot.    I’m covering for the Base Manager role at the moment and it’s not something I could have done a year ago. It involves managing all of the logistics, finance and HR operations in Léogâne. Nothing has fallen apart yet – well only the fridge! I’m writing from our office in Tom Gato where I’m working for a couple of days. I’ve just been dancing with my colleagues, one of our staff members has been teaching some of our staff to dance cha cha cha and salsa so I’ve been joining in whenever I’m staying up here and it’s brilliant. It’s good to have something to do other than work up when we’re up here. Outside there are frogs croaking. It’s not your usual croaking sound but a rather piercing one so I’ll definitely be wearing my earplugs in bed tonight. The other day my colleague found a frog on the outside of her mosquito net!   A couple of weeks ago I celebrated my birthday in Haïti for the second year running. In the evening we went out for a meal and then sat on the roof with a bottle of wine. I was in Port au Prince the day before and went shopping to treat myself to yummy food for my birthday weekend. I had the most amazing salad I’ve had since I’ve been here – two types of lettuce, avocado, brie (expensive as it’s imported but definitely worth it), tomato and sunflower seeds. It was a real treat to have ‘green food’ instead of chicken with rice and beans!    As I mentioned earlier, I only have 8 weeks left of my time in Haïti so I’m pushing a few doors to see what’s next. I am really looking forward to coming home. The other day we put the thermometer on the roof and it hit 50 degrees and then had a bit of a freak out (although it was in the sun at about 11am). We waited with the thermometer for 10 minutes during which time I managed to get burnt! So it’s really hot here and I’m looking forward to escaping the heat.   For those of you that pray, here are a few prayer points: Thanksgiving for everything that has been done in Haiti in the last 17 months Thanksgiving that we managed to get all the proposals and reports done Pray for more funding so that we can do more work in Haïti Pray for wisdom as we work out our strategy for the next phase (we have a meeting next Thursday) For me as I work out what to do next, for doors to clearly open and close.   Do continue to send emails, skype and facebook; it’s always so lovely to hear from you.    Much love to you all   Janet

Haiti Blog 9

Hi everyone   It’s over six weeks since I last wrote an update so I think another one is due. The last time I wrote that things had been relatively peaceful here, well that’s starting to change a bit as you may have heard in the news. The second round of elections are on Sunday and it is likely to result in demonstrations whatever the result is. On Sunday we’ll be on ‘lock down’ in the compound so we should be safe, and I’m glad I’m in Léogâne this time round. To add to the potential chaos which could ensue, former president Aristide has returned to Haiti. There have been demonstrations in support of him in Port au Prince but fortunately Léogâne has remained peaceful – we hope it stays that way. I went to the International NGO forum at the UN today and there’s a sweepstake on which day the violence will start and which day there will be a fuel shortage!  The next few weeks are likely to be interesting to say the least.   On a rather different note, being British I think I should talk about the weather and tell you that summer is here. By summer I mean that the temperature is now in the 30s every day. The highest we’ve had since Christmas is 33 degrees and it’s going to get hotter.  Summer brings mosquitoes and I am currently fighting a losing battle. I’ve been a bit obsessive with spraying them with bug killing spray recently and my colleagues have commented on it. I think I ought to stop doing it before we all breathe in too much and get ill! Summer also brings spiders and baby tarantulas which are not nice. We also now have a resident mouse in the house and a mouse in the office.    Since Christmas I have successfully passed my Tearfund driving test. I took the test in a 13 seater Toyota Landcruiser and was very very surprised that I passed. I never thought I’d ever drive a 13 seater Landcruiser (I hope I never have to drive it with 13 people in it!). I’ve been in Haïti for over ten months now and it has definitely been ten months of doing things that I never thought I would, or could, do – such as drive the aforementioned Landcruiser. I look back at how much I’ve learned and what I’ve done and am amazed. It has been a very challenging year on many levels (for example the fourth person to be dismissed from the programme since I’ve been here left a few weeks ago and the security situation is worsening) but I am grateful for the challenges. I have decided to extend my contract until July. This will mean that I’ll get to see our project almost through to completion before a new one begins on 1st August. The decision wasn’t as difficult to make as I thought it would be. The really difficult decision will be working out what to do next!   I have a lot of reporting to do for donors at the moment (a large part of my job) and as unexciting writing proposals is; when I read about the thousands of people that have been helped it is really inspiring and humbling in a way. On Wednesday I went to see the second transitional shelter that we have built. It is for a elderly disabled lady and her disabled son.  You can see why we chose them as some of the first people to receive a house.   For those of you that pray, here are a few prayer points:  Thank God that Tearfund is able to work in Haïti and that we can openly be a Christian organisation. For a peaceful election process. The election is on 20th March and the results are announced on 31st March. For a wise, honest and strong president to be elected. For our projects here in Haïti and our relationships with the communities we work with For our national staff in Haïti - thank God for them and pray that they continue to remain dedicated to their work and to Tearfund. For Tearfund as we plan our project to begin on 1st August For me as I try to work out what to do next  Love and blessings to you all   Janet

Haiti Blog 8

I hope you all had a good Christmas break and were able to start the New Year feeling refreshed. It seems a long time ago now and I’ve been back in Haïti for nearly four weeks.   I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how things that might seem abnormal in the UK are now normal for me. When someone says ‘how can you survive without a fridge’ my immediate reply is ‘well we have two cool boxes and get ice on Tuesdays and Fridays.’ Last week we were driving along and I suddenly realised we were driving in the same river that flooded in November after Hurricane Tomas. The river has dried up and people are using it as a road instead of driving on the main road! Things like that and seeing people walk their pigs or goats along the road or see a UN helicopter fly over the office are completely normal. I’ve come to a point where nothing surprises me in Haïti any more.   The security situation has remained fairly stable since we’ve been back. There was a lot of uncertainty when we discovered the ‘Baby Doc’ (Jean Claude Duvalier – the former dictator in Haïti) was back in the country, but since he’s left there have only been a few small demonstrations. We’re currently awaiting the results of the recounted election to be announced again but people do not expect there to be much violence following this announcement. Following that there is another round of elections and hopefully by 16th April the new President will be announced, but it is likely there will be protests following the second election.    I spent all of last week at our Uplands site in the mountains which is very remote, and has stunning views from the compound. It was lovely and cool – I was wearing lots of layers and enjoyed being able to sleep in a sleeping bag and wear a fleece. It’s strange the things that you miss. I spent the week supervising distributions of shelter repair kits. There were a few tense moments but it went well in the end and there weren’t any complaints which was a relief.   It is now over a year since the earthquake and you may have seen some of the coverage on the news. It’s amazing to think how much has been done since the earthquake. I remember being in the Tearfund office and hearing about what Tearfund’s response would be, and subsequently organising a big conference call for volunteers and churches to hear about our response and from Tearfund staff in Haïti. At the time I never imagined I’d be here and I now only have 10 weeks left until my contract finishes. It’s quite surreal to think that I’m the next staff member to leave the programme and I’m uncertain about what I’ll do when I finish.   When I look back on this year and think of how much I’ve been able to see and learn I feel really privileged. There is so much fantastic work that has been done, which often isn’t reported and to be able to see it first hand is incredible. Haïti is such a beautiful country and there are many signs of hope, however there are also many frustrations and it will take at least ten years to get the country looking anything like it did before (and before the earthquake it was one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere). We continue to feel tremors (there was one on the day after the anniversary of the earthquake) and that evokes uncertainty amongst our staff and the communities we work with.   For those of you that pray, here are some things that I’d love your prayers for:  The election results are due out and could provoke violence. Please pray for protection for us and our staff, and for a just President to be elected soon For spiritual protection over the teams in Port au Prince and Léogâne For the cholera epidemic that is still growing For wisdom as we think about future plans for Tearfund’s work in Haïti Pray for me as I work out what to do next Once again, thank you for your continued emails, texts, prayers and facebook messages.    Love to you all   Janet

Haiti Blog 7

Hi everyone   It feels rather fraudulent writing a ‘Haiti Update’ from the UK!   The last few weeks have been interesting to say the least. As I’m sure you’ll have seen on the news, the elections in Haiti caused violent protests throughout the country. Although we expected them, it was still rather unnerving to see tyres burning outside our house and 1000 or so people running down our road with tree branches and planks of wood. There were 15 minutes when we had a slight panic as it looked like people were going to stage a sit in outside our house to block the road. Thankfully they got bored and went home. Our house is quite near the electoral commission office so we could hear the protests, shouting and gunshots. I comforted myself by thinking that gunshots actually sound a bit like fireworks! I was rather surprised when one of the guards came to the front door and asked for citron to soothe his eyes that had been stung by tear gas. I was due to leave Cash for Work   Haiti on 21st December but due to security concerns and uncertainty if we were going to be able to leave when we hoped, we were sent home early. It’s been good to come back as it looks like snow would have prevented me from returning next week.    A couple of weeks ago I was able to visit some of Tearfund’s projects. We started off by visiting ‘Ecole Sous Kafour.’ Tearfund selected this school to rebuild as it was destroyed in the earthquake. The school is so remote in the mountains that there was no road to get to it. The community took the initiative to build a road to reach the school so that materials could be taken to the site. Contracted truck drivers refused to drive to the school as they said it was too remote and the road too difficult. With the community’s dedication and hard work, the road was built to enable Tearfund trucks to drive close to the school. However, the car could only go so far so the community had to carry the materials the remainder of the way.  Tearfund is now running Cash for Work on the road so that the road can continue to be built. The headmaster said to us “We don’t have words to thank you; we praise God and ask that He will bless you.”   We then visited antoher cash for work project and I met Marius Paulemerd. Marius lost his house in the earthquake and with it a safe place for his children to keep their school things. Thanks to Tearfund’s Cash for Work programme he has been able to begin rebuilding his home. The school his children attend was destroyed in the earthquake, along with the church next door. Tearfund has now rebuilt the school and Marius said ‘I would like to thank Tearfund because before you built the school I couldn’t afford to send all my children to school. Now Children from Sous Kafour   Sous Kafour School that you have built the school the fees are lower and I can send all my children to school.’ The church meets under a tarpaulin and Marius is on the committee of the church. He has been trained in tree planting and so has helped people to make nurseries so that they can grow trees and crops. The trees help to protect the land from landslides which are so common in the mountains of Haiti and people can grow food for their families or to sell at the market.  I've attached a few photos so you can see.   Cash for work         Sometimes I can find living and working in Haiti so frustrating and think ‘what is the point in us being here.’ But when I go and visit the projects in the mountains where Tearfund is often the only NGO working, it makes me realise that there is a point to us being here, that we are reaching out to the most vulnerable and that their lives are being transformed. Haiti has now turned into a much more complex disaster with not only an earthquake to respond to but cholera and political instability as well. It’s good to have a break, be able to take a step back from the situation and ‘recharge my batteries’ but I’m looking forward to going back.         For those of you that pray here are some prayer points: For peace in Haiti and peace in the hearts of the Haitian people For a restful Christmas for all of the Tearfund staff in Haiti – expat and national Continued prayer for spiritual protection For the people still grieving nearly one year on from the earthquake (12th January) For wisdom for those in leadership making decisions about our projects in Haiti Thanksgiving for all that we have been able to do in the last year I am back until 3rd January so I hope I can see some of you during the Christmas break. Thank you for all your prayers and emails in the last 7 months, I really appreciate it. I’m afraid I haven’t got round to doing Christmas cards this year so ‘Happy Christmas!’ I hope you are all able to relax over Christmas and wish you all the best for 2011.   Lots of love   Janet x

Haiti Blog 6

Hi everyone, I hope you're all well. I just thought I'd send you all a quick email as it would be great if you could be praying for Haiti. I am currently in Port au Prince and last night the election results were announced and almost immediately we heard gunshots:   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11945059   Mirlande Manigat (former first lady who a lot of people want to wine) and Jude Celestin (supported by President) go to a second round of voting on 16th Jan. Violence has broken out throughout Port au Prince and as I write this email I can hear gunshots and there is a steady stream of protesters (nearing 1000 people) running down our street carrying bats, planks of wood, election posters and branches. Last night a tyre was set alight outside our house and there was looting of shops in the square near our house. The police had to call for reinforcements as they tried to calm the troubles. The streets throughout Port au Prince have all been blocked and most people have stayed at home today. I think that there have been some small protests in Leogane but nothing like here. There is no sign of any violence at our Tom Gato site. Please be praying for us in Haiti, for our team, our staff and most of all the people of Haiti. Everyone thinks the result was fraudulent and it seems that the corruption is never ending in everything that we come accross. We need God's peace in this nation and as an expat team we need to draw on his strength. Thanks and blessings to you all Janet x

Haiti Blog 5

Hi everyone,   This last month has been a rather eventful one with a hurricane, presidential elections and the continuation of the cholera epidemic. Each one of them is the last thing needed by a country recovering from an earthquake, so it hasn’t been easy coping with three of them coming along within the space of less than 6 weeks.  I experienced a small tremor in Port au Prince when I was there three weeks ago so that is obviously still a fear for people.  That being said, Haitians are incredibly resilient people.  I am constantly amazed at how people are coping, especially our national staff.   Although the last few weeks have been challenging, I’m still ‘enjoying’ it here. I returned to Port au Prince a couple of weeks ago and was once again struck by how different it is to where I live now. It is much noisier and busier; the atmosphere is far more intense. As I write this email all I can hear is my iPod and the faint hum of the generator on the roof. If I were writing this in Port au Prince there would be fumes from the generator coming into the house and trucks that make the room shake as they shoot up the road outside the house tooting their horns loudly. I now wake up to cockerels crowing and cows mooing! I have started to have French lessons twice a week so I’m really hoping that it will help my French will improve. Some of our national staff have started English lessons and their English is much better than my French.   As you’ll probably have heard, elections for Haiti’s next President and senators took place on Sunday. Most people will happily tell you who they think should win however hardly anyone I spoke to last week said they were going to vote. Despite most of the candidates calling for the election to be discounted on account of suspected fraud, the election has been acknowledged as valid. It is expected that election results will start to come in from 5th December with the final announcement made on 7th December. The political situation is now increasingly unstable and there continue to be a lot of protests.  We were grounded from Friday to Monday and I think we were all rather frustrated. One of my colleagues said he felt like an inmate in his cell! By Monday evening we resorted to Rummikub, a bottle of wine and listening to Christmas songs (I know it’s not December but Advent has started after all).   I haven’t visited many projects recently but I hope to visit some later this week. Our teams have been preparing for World Aids Day and will be doing a lot of events in the communities, so I have been asked to go with some of our staff. I’m really looking forward to it as I am always so inspired when I meet people that we’re working with. One of our national staff got married a couple of weeks ago and we were invited to the wedding service. Many of the staff from Léogâne and Tom Gato came and it was good to experience a Haitian wedding. The main difference to British weddings was that there were three different groups of bridesmaids that all entered in matching dresses dancing down the aisle. The three maids of honour wore wedding dresses as well and each entered separately. Each time one of them entered we kept thinking it was the bride!     Fortunately I was able to have a break a few weeks ago and went to the Dominican Republic for 5 days. I was surprised at how different the country is from Haiti; despite sharing the same land mass. Spanish is the official language and the country has a very Hispanic influence. I’ve never been to South America, but I’m pretty sure that if you didn’t know you were in the Caribbean you would think you were in South America. The snorkeling was incredible and I made the most of fresh fruit and salad being available. I went with four other people that I work with and looking back it didn’t really feel like I got a break from work, so I’m looking forward to going home for Christmas. I think I’ll avoid eating chicken and rice though for my whole time in the UK! I arrive back on 22nd December and leave again on 3rd January. It would be lovely to see people but I imagine that most of you are very busy. If you are around then do let me know.   For those of you that pray, here are some prayer points:  Thanksgiving that the hurricane didn’t have the devastating effect we expected. For peace in the aftermath of the election and lead up to and subsequent announcement of the result. For the cholera epidemic that is continuing to plague Haiti.  Particularly for the medical teams as they cope, humanitarian agencies as they distribute resources and train people and for those coordinating the response. Also for those suffering and grieving and protection for us and our staff from cholera. For our national staff and their families as they face the cholera epidemic and civil unrest. Continue to pray for more institutional funding for us to be able to meet more of the need in the communities. For energy for the expat team. Many of us are feeling run down and are all counting down the days until we go home for Christmas.  I hope you all survive the snow, it’s cooler here but I’m still wearing my flip-flops and we’re planning a trip to the beach on Saturday!   Lots of love   Janet

Haiti Blog 4

Hi everyone,   I thought I should write as you’re probably all aware of the cholera outbreak in Haiti (and some have asked if I’ve got it) and there are also some specific things that we need prayer for.    Firstly, no, I don’t have cholera and nor do any of my colleagues. I have been vaccinated against it so theoretically I should be okay. Cholera has not reached where we live so we’re fine. Tearfund is responding by delivering health promotion messages at children’s health clubs and is training teachers and community leaders so that they can disseminate information at schools and in their communities. We are not working or living in the affected areas so at the moment we’re safe. Posters about cholera are going up everywhere and it’s good that it arrived after global hand washing day when thousands of children learned when and how to wash hands properly. People are working round the clock and the efforts seem to be paying off as the spread of the disease seems to be slowing down.   After nearly 6 months in Port au Prince I have finally been allowed to move to Leogane where our field site is. I love living here and even though life is a lot simpler (e.g. we don’t have a fridge) and it’s hotter; it’s great to live nearer to the communities we’re working with and hear stories every day of the schools we’re building and people we’re training and giving grants to (among many other things).   I have met some amazing people in the last month who we have helped in many different ways; children who attend our health clubs, a woman who’s house we’ve built, children from a school we have built and a group of women we’ve given a grant to as they lost all the equipment for their jam making business in the earthquake. There are more people and more stories that I could share in much greater detail but I’d be writing for a very long time if I did!   We have heard that hurricane Tomas is coming our way. The eye of the storm is due to hit on Tuesday but strong winds and heavy rain are likely to start from tomorrow (Sunday). Resources are already stretched as people respond to the cholera outbreak so the thought of a hurricane and the damage it could cause doesn’t bear thinking about. Many people are still living in camps or tents in the rubble that was once their house so the impact of a hurricane could be devastating.   Monday and Tuesday are public holidays in Haiti as the voodoo festival celebrating the dead takes place. Although many people in Haiti are Christian, it is the norm for people (whatever their faith) to also practice voodoo. From what I understand people will visit the graves of their relatives that have died in the last year and carry out ceremonies. Usually this would mean going to their graves in the cemetery, however since thousands of people were killed in the earthquake and some are still beneath the rubble, many of the houses in Haiti could be graves in themselves. Apparently it can get violent as people start drinking early in the day, and animal sacrifices and rape are not uncommon.    For those that pray, here are some urgent prayer needs: As hurricane Tomas approaches, please pray for protection for us, our Haitian colleagues, the communities we work with and the people who are in tents. Thank God that the cholera outbreak is slowing but pray for those who are affected, for the families that are grieving and for aid agencies and the government as they respond. Pray for massive spiritual protection for us all this weekend and Monday and Tuesday next week.  As a team overall we feel we need prayer for spiritual protection every day so please keep praying We still have goods in customs We are seeking funding from large donors and not being very successful. Please pray that we get funding as there is so much more we could do and so many more houses and schools we could build if we only had more money. The need is still great – and if the hurricane is bad the need will be even greater. I’ve been a bit ill this past week with a fever, sore throat and a cold so I was sent for a malaria test. Fortunately it was negative but please do pray that I will get better soon. Once again, thank you if you’ve read as far as this! Now that I’m in Léogâne the internet is not as good, however I still love receiving emails and I’m so sorry if I haven’t replied to your email yet – I will try to soon! I’m coming home at Christmas from 22nd Dec – 3rd Jan so I hope to be able to catch up with some of you then.   Love   Janet x

Haiti Blog 3

Hi everyone   It has now been quite a while since my last update so another one is long overdue.  Since I last wrote I have spent 12 days back in England.  It was so lovely to see many of you – thanks for making the time to see me.  It was great to catch up with people, find out how people are doing and enjoy being in a cooler climate for a bit!  Tunstall was great, especially as I really miss singing.  Jo’s wedding went really well and she looked amazing.  I’m sure my mum won’t take much persuading to show you some photos!  Almost every person I spoke to asked me ‘how’s Haiti?’  Those two words are difficult to answer briefly so I hope this email will help you to see how Haïti is at the moment.   I left the UK for Haïti  5 months ago today! I was saying to someone the other day that being in Haïti feels normal now.  I’m used to the bustle of Port au Prince, the mosquitoes, the pigs and goats wandering the streets and the constant hum of the generator.  Haïti is beginning to feel like my home and I’m settled.  There are currently 12 expats working for Tearfund in Haïti and I have been here the third longest - one person arrived a month before me and another two weeks before me. There are still a lot of changes in personnel in our team and this week was no exception with one person going on holiday on Monday, two coming back, two leaving the programme and returning home and one arriving for three months, all in the space of a day.   Despite being very busy with writing proposals, going to meetings and running workshops, I have managed to have a bit of relaxation. We’ve been to the beach and it was amazing to be swimming in the beautiful clear Caribbean sea (sorry if I’m making you jealous!). It’s still strange living in this expat world, it’s as if we’re not really living in Haïti but in an international NGO and UN world where we actually have a lot of luxuries, however far we are from home.   I’ve been in Léogâne for four days so far this week and will be here until Friday next week.  Life in Leogane is very different to Port au Prince as it's much quieter, more rural and a simpler way of living, for example we don't have a fridge. Being in Leogane is a great opportunity for me to get to know the staff better and do some work that I can’t do from Port au Prince, plus I really get to see how what I'm doing affects Tearfund's relief effort.   I’m hoping that at the end of it I’ll have some good stories of Tearfund’s work.  We’re doing some incredible things here and it is a real privilege to be part of it.  We have over 5,100 children attending our children’s health clubs every week, are supporting 92 schools and building transitional shelters amongst many other things.  Today I met a lady who we’ve built a transitional shelter for. I managed to communicate with her in my limited bad French and Creole and I plan to go back next week to find out her story. She seemed really pleased to see us.    I’m sure that many of you have heard that Wycliffe Jean was told he was uneligible to stand for President in the forthcoming elections.  It was the hot topic of conversation for a while and we were warned that there would be violence when the presidential candidates were announced.  Sure enough the demonstrations have increased, and although they are rarely violent they remain a constant threat.  The amount of politically motivated graffiti around Port au Prince has greatly increased and the walls of the church in the square near our house have all been targeted.  It’s a sorry sight since the country had so much devastation already and the graffiti only makes it worse.   The elections are on 28th November and we continue to pray for a good and wise president to be elected who will stamp out the corruption that plagues Haïti.   Although the hurricane season has now started, Haïti has been really fortunate so far and has not had any hurricanes affect it ,but we have had some spectacular storms. One of the advantages of these storms is that it brings down the branches of the avocado tree in our yard so we have lush avocados all over our balcony, and so much better than you’d find in Sainsbury’s.  Unfortunately the avocados on our tree didn’t last very long but we made the most of it and ate avocados constantly for about 10 days!  The fruit and veg here that hasn’t been imported is great and organic, however that does mean that it goes off quickly so we often have very ripe bananas.  That is where my love of baking comes in and I bake banana bread.  So far I’ve made 5 (3 one weekend and 2 last weekend).  People seem to enjoy it so that’s good, plus we’re not wasting bananas.   Families living in the camps also seem to find an advantage with the storms as it provides them with free water.  As soon as it starts raining, parents send their children outside and give them a bar of soap.  Off come the clothes and everyone gets a free shower (in the street!).  I can’t quite imagine that happening anywhere in England!                                                                                                 For those of you that pray we have seen some amazing answers to prayer, the main one is that we have managed to get four of our vehicles out of customs; however I think there are at least another three in there along with two generators, mosquito nets and household repair kits.  Pray for funding so that Tearfund can do even more in Haïti.  There are so many things that we could do and so many more lives we could transform if we had more resources. Pray for safety as security becomes more of an issue especially towards election time, announced for November 28th. Pray for protection for Tearfund staff (national and international) as some of the local communities are beginning to protest against NGOs saying they have not received help.  We need to remember that NGOs only have limited resources and have to work within strict criteria.  Pray that will be able to effectively communicate this to communities and that they will understand. Please pray that the already vulnerable population will be protected from any extreme weather. Praise the Lord for the staff appointments that have been made in the last month and pray that the ongoing staff gaps (both expat and national) will be filled as soon as possible. Please pray for energy for me to keep going and remember why I’m here. Pray for the ongoing issues with customs Thank you so much for your prayers, do let me know if there’s anything I can pray for you.  Thank you once again for taking the time to read to the end!  Please continue to keep in touch, I love hearing from you all.   Much love   Janet xxx

Haiti Blog 2

Monday 28th June   I still have to pinch myself to believe that I’ve been in Haiti for over 9 weeks working for Tearfund’s Disaster Management Team.  I have the privilege of working and living with some amazing people from all over the world who are so passionately dedicated to serving others.    Tearfund is doing amazing work with the rural communities as many of the INGOs are just focusing on the camps. Although I’m based in Port au Prince I’ve spent a lot of time in the Léogâne in the last month helping out where there have been gaps in staff and writing reports which have been easier to do here.  It has also given me the chance to visit some children’s clubs which we’re running in areas where there are no schools, talk with communities and supervise a seed distribution - not something I ever expected I’d do!  As well as distributing seeds we gave out tools so that people would be able to plant and harvest their crops.    Due to the loss of houses and the impending hurricane season, Tearfund is building transitional shelters for schools and households.  We went to discuss our plans with a Casec (Government official) and some Asecs.  They said they were really grateful for Tearfund helping them as we were the only organisation that had worked in their area where there was 70% destruction. Government statistics state that 188,383 houses have been partially damaged or destroyed and that 1.5 million displaced people are living in settlement sites.  In addition to this, many people are still sleeping in tents because they are too scared to go inside.  The rainy season has started now which causes all sorts of difficulties from increases in malaria, further damage to houses and restricted access to the most vulnerable.   It is nearly 6 months since the earthquake and the people of Haiti are still rebuilding their lives, whilst at the same time are facing more potential struggles due to the hurricane season.  Thank you for your prayers but as the media moves on to other things, please do continue to pray. Every blessing,   Janet

Haiti Blog 1

Thursday 6th May   After working for 4 years at Tearfund’s headquarters in Teddington, I went to on 23rd April 2010 to work for a year as a Project Support Officer (PSO) with Tearfund’s Disaster Management Team in response to the earthquake.  I’m really excited as I never thought the day would come when I’d be going to do anything like this and I feel so privileged to be able to so.  I expect to be writing reports for donors, setting up a beneficiary accountability system, working on a schedule for an evaluation of the projects, compiling the monthly report for Tearfund in the UK and a report to the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee), going to meetings with other INGOs (International Non-Government Organisations) and much more.   Tearfund has three offices in Haiti, one in the capital Port au Prince (PAP) (where I’m based) and two offices in the area of Leogane which is about a 3 hour drive from PAP.  The areas are known as the ‘Uplands’ and the ‘ Lowlands ’, the uplands being further up the mountain.  After two days of induction in PAP, I went to visit the Leogane offices and some of the programmes Tearfund are focussing on – education, livelihoods, shelter and watsan.   Already I have seen how amazing it is to hear how God provides things just at the right time and be reminded about how His time is completely outside of ours.    For the last  two and a half years I’ve been worshipping at St Marks Church, Battersea Rise, and they have recently agreed to make me one of their Mission Partners which I’m thrilled about.    With thanks and love,    Janet