Konbit Pou Ayiti

Two days after Mardi Gras and I am feeling pretty normal. I haven’t had to accompany our delegates to any late night street fun or any ceremonies, so my state is not altered by sleep deprivation, drumming and rum.

Two things that I most enjoy doing are extra special in Haiti: sitting still and sleeping. Sitting still to listen to the sun and wind and trees, and sleeping because here in Haiti my sleep is fathoms deep.

Saturday mornings are the time to find the kids of JDS (Youth for the Development of Cyvadier) hard at work in their tree nursery, which - lucky for me - is currently located in my front yard. Last night the older kids who mentor the small ones came to begin cooking today's meal - rice, beans and vegetables with chicken. Dooby, Betrand and Joassaint are some of the most reliable in the group, along with Cyblie (pictured below).

Another beautiful day in Haiti. We woke early with the baby, when the sun began to shine into the house. For a few hours we gathered our things together for the day, made a plan, organized the funds we have in-hand and drank akason, a drink made from very fine cornmeal with milk and sugar, with bread and peanut butter.

Haiti is melting into the sea.

Quite literally, each heavy rain washes more of Haiti’s land into the ocean. Rocks are stripped bare of soil, and mountainsides are turned into waterfalls in a heartbeat. As the land melts, people are left clutching at pieces of their lives as their homes are washed away in the muddy waters of the flood.