Bonjou!!! This is officially Day 3 in Haiti!! We began today learning about MCC and its history and mission. Kurt, the country director of MCC Haiti, talked to us today about different projects and exactly what MCC does in Haiti. We learned that MCC focuses on collaboration with local Haitian NGOs to make a long term and sustainable impact in Haiti. One thing that was really interesting was hearing about the current Reforestation Project. The focus of this project, Kurt said, is planting trees for the livelihoods of the Haitian people, and not necessarily about the environmental aspects. Although reforestation does have many environmental benefits, it was very impressive to see that the overall mission had it's focus on the communities and families living in these areas.
Wawa then took us on a driving/walking tour of Port-Au-Prince with the tour guide Jacqui. Jacqui explained many aspects of Haitian history from the days of Columbus, to slavery, to the revolution and current political state of Haiti. We visited the "Gingerbread Houses" which are houses named after their unique architecture of trim that looks like lace. We walked one of the main parks in the city, and visited the museum where 4 heroes of Haiti are buried. In the museum we were also exposed to the evolution and history of the Haitian flag, the progression of Haitian rulers, and preserved artifacts such as the anchor of the Santa Maria.
For lunch Eclan made a beautiful meal of rice and a meat sauce(stew). This was our first meal of rice and for me (Meghan) it brought back a lot of wonderful memories from the last time I was in Haiti. Later in the afternoon we talked to Nixon, a fellow friend of MCC and also the founder of a youth/student activist group in Haiti. Nixon gave an incredible presentation on the long history of Haiti starting from before 1492 up until the early 1900s. He made a very interesting comment: "It's not poverty but it's an impoverishing system." He was referring to the current situation and view of poverty in Haiti and found many people think of poverty as a status. But in reality it is the history and the effects of this history that have caused an 'impoverishing' impact. This was definitely a different view of poverty, and it was great to talk about in reflection tonight. Another comment that truly resonated with us was about social justice, and looking at what we can do as Americans for the situation in Haiti. Nixon said that "working towards social justice is something with out borders." We thought this could have many different interpretations and meanings. Most notably we felt that this meant that there is always work that can be done no matter how far away we may be from Haiti, but also that social justice issues are universal, and all places face similar issues to some degree. In this way there is more opportunity to stand in solidarity with Haiti. And this is a key point that we will continue to explore and think more about throughout this experience.
Now, it's time to recharge for tomorrow. We have another exciting day. We will leave you with a complex yet beautiful quote (something to think about). "The future of yesterday is today, as it is the past of tomorrow." -Nixon/Abisola
Na'we!!
Meghan & Sharlene
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