Rainy year

This, my third year in Cap-Haitian will probably be remembered as the year we had a lot of rain.  March in Haiti at least in my mind is associated with beautiful Caribbean breezes often carrying children's handmade kites.  While we are experiencing those pleasant winds we are also at times already experiencing rain and the mud and mosquitoes that come with it.  Compared to the flooding last fall, the rainfalls have been reasonable.  

The cement that was added in recent months in front of the building that contains the room I use for play therapy, allowed a dry path to remain during the recent rains.  The screens that were installed, however helpful, did not prevent a large tarantula from entering and being discovered by a child during a therapy session.    

Play therapy room and puddle

Orphanage field

 
The days continue to be filled with both gifts and challenges, joyful moments and heavy ones, the smiles and tears of others as well as my own.  The season of Lent and the hope of Easter echo the themes I encounter each day.  Let us pray for one another and especially for those for whom the heavy rains cause suffering and hardship.  Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Many blessings!        

Ten American Gourdes

The other day a child was engaged in imaginative play and showed me a piece of paper which she was pretending was money. She announced in Creole that it was "10 American gourdes."  I smiled to myself and thought, "well, if there are Haitian dollars then, why not have  goud Ameriken?"

Haitian dollars are not an actual paper currency.  One Haitian dollar refers to five Haitian gourdes.  Prices are sometimes given in Haitian dollars; the sisters of Holy Cross keep track of their finances in Haitian dollars.  If someone tells me the prices in Haitian dollars, I usually ask "how many goud?"  There was a time in the history of Haiti when five gourdes was the equivalent to one American dollar.  When I was in PortauPrince in 2010 after the earthquake, and for a long time after that it was the rate was just under 50 gourde to an Amercian dollar.  Today the current exchange rate according to a currency website is  $69.0971 gourdes for one American dollar.  Escalating prices is a challenge for many people here whose wages have not kept up with inflation.

Recently I was speaking to someone just a little older than me, who is employed full-time at an organization where she cares for children and has worked for a number of years. She told me what she makes a month in Haitian gourdes.  Later I put the numbers into the computer to see what that would be in American dollars and how much that would be a day.  The number surprised me.  I tried to put it into perspective.  Nearly 30  years ago, as a teenager, when I first started babysitting for neighbors' children on weekend evenings I was paid per hour more than what she lives on each day and my job was a lot easier than hers and a couple of dollars were worth more then than they are now.

Sometimes I feel helpless when constantly encountering such injustice and inequality, which exists everywhere.  I am not sure how to best respond, and sometimes even small attempts at suggesting simple changes on a very small scale seem unwelcome.  Writing about it helps a bit and maybe raises awareness at least a little, among the few people who actually read this; although most of you who read this probably already have a pretty good awareness of the extreme inequality that exists in our world.  


On a lighter note, I took some pictures today and want to share with you a glimpse of the great beauty that can be found even in just one yard in Haiti even on an overcast, damp day.

Most of the time when I have my camera, the peacock's feathers are down; I felt lucky today.  

Just in case "raindrops on roses" are among your "favorite things."   

I am very grateful that the internet is working well enough to allow me to upload several pictures!  (Haiti helps me to learn to appreciate the little things.)

Hope you are doing well.  Have a great week.  Many blessings!

                   

What time is it?

Last year Haiti did not participate in daylight savings time.  The year before last we did participate.   When I was here after the earthquake Haiti did not change the hour.  This year we are participating in daylight saving's time.  This seems to create confusion for people.  To make it more complicated, the press release communicating that Haiti would be changing the hour this year came out on Thursday, March 9th, stating that the time change would take place on Sunday.  I had recalled that the first year I was in Cap-Haitian when Haiti did change clocks that there had been some confusion about what time to change them.  Two years ago, I recall that a full week after the time change a priest started the Sunday liturgy late and attributed his tardiness to the time change the week before.  Last year when we did not change someone I live with claimed the local television news had indicated that we would change.  I had read on Facebook last year that we were not changing, so I was not so sure.  I was only certain last year that we were not changing the time when on Sunday morning, I turned my phone off and back on and the time still matched the time on my watch.   I saw the announcement this year on a facebook page for "ex-pats" living in Haiti on Thursday and a text from my cell phone carrier convinced me that it was true on Saturday. 

When I arrived at the school where 6:30 am mass is held (our new local parish does not have a church) the school gate was closed but someone was opening it with a key.  The parish priest was just pulling up in his truck and through the window told me I was early.  I told him, we changed the hour. He said he knows but that most people won't know that.  I was not the only one arriving a good hour before mass would actually begin, but the vast majority of people, if they knew that the time had actually changed correctly assumed that we would start as though we were still on the old time.  There was no possibility of the church announcing the time change a week in advance because it seems the government had not announced the time change until a few days before. The orphanage decided to change their clocks on Sunday night, so according to my watch, I worked until a little after 6:00 that evening so that I could do my 4:00 group with older children.    

Why does Haiti participate in daylight savings time some years and not others?  I don't know.  It might be that the president decides and each person who is president does what he prefers, or hopefully what he believes is in the best interest of the people.  Personally, I am not convinced of the benefits especially when traveling to mass for 6:00 am during the week and seeing many young people on their way to school already and now it is dark that time of the morning.  

  So, I am still on the same time as My family, friends and community members who live in eastern time zone.  I am still an hour ahead of all of my community members and friends living in New Orleans.  

I hope that you are well no matter what time zone you are in.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.  Take care.  Many blessings!                  

What a Week!

What a week!
Since my last up-date I traveleved to the US, ate dinner with my dad during my long lay over in Miami, went to New Orleans, ran errands, visited friends and community members, attended a funeral in Oppalusus Louisiana, attended a couple of meetings, chatted with friends and family  on my American cell phone, purchased personal items and things for the children, and returned to Haiti.  It was great to see so many of my Marianite Sisters and to catch up with a few friends and relatives.  I am very grateful that I have so many supportive people in my life.  
 
I'll do my best to write a more thougtful post next week.  In the mean time I hope that you are all well.  Thanks for taking the time to read my updates.  Take care.  Many blessings!