Saturday
Saturday was a busy day from many directions, whether being part of the weekend or not. Dicikie and Ken had a demanding time levelling off an old stump that partly blocked off the pathway that led to the new site for the big water tanks that must be relocated – enough drill holes around the sides were very helpful along with enough hacks with a sturdy Haitian hoe. What hard wood ! A chain saw could have been a big help, too. Jim and Don wheelbarrowed the garbage from the week past, that included more than the normal week, due to the larger numbers visiting the Compound due to the two public gatherings here in relation to Serlande’s death ( there was the third gathering, too, at Serlande’s birth town as we’ve mentioned).
A children’s home, that had been used for storage, was damaged due to the Earthquake. It has been decided now that the damage is more severe than first thought, and it is necessary to take down this concrete building and build a new one. A new one will go up in that spot and will be a boy’s dorm. A few hours work saw the stored materials from that building transported temporarily to another site in the compound.
Dickie drove Karen, Carol, Ken, Jim, Ti Luc, and Don out for a break, but a working break in that we were searching for plumbing supplies, and after a few attempts were quite successful. Upon returning, Jim and Ken linked up the new and relocated water pipes, and Dickie fixed up a main outside faucet.
After a few more odd jobs we decided to stop at 4:30 and go for a walk along the canal with Cecile and the children ( ages 2 to 16 ). There is no better way to end off an afternoon.
It was a very tiring day worthy of a nap.
Carol Cole, aka Gramma Carol, is a tremendous asset at HATS right now. She is worth her weight in gold. She is appreciated and loved by all the children, and especially by Ti Fi and Ti Luc. Carol has taken a load off me, Karen, by giving Ti Luc a tremendous amount of tender, love, and care.
I can rush from place to place and from one job to another knowing that my little guy is well looked after. Carol has been, not only playing with the children, but spending valuable time teaching Ti Fi and Ti Luc.
Ti Fi is glowing and blossoming with this kind of attention and care that she needs and deserves.
Sunday
This morning started slowly as the staff has Sunday off and we fended for ourselves for breakfast, which means cold cereal and warm milk as the generator didn’t get started this morning. After church we spent the morning relaxing and enjoyed a “leftover” lunch.
After lunch we picked up Luckner and went to an old fort at Ti Rivye. It was a fort built by the British in the early 1800’s, I think, and is in a state of poor repair. We also saw a “house” built by King Henri Christoph around 1820 which had 365 exits, one for every day of the year.
It also has not been kept in good repair and is in dire need of maintenance. The tour through the Haitian countryside was beautiful and we saw many crops in different stages of life. There was rice, millet, patat (sweet potatoes), beans, corn and bananas throughout this beautiful valley.
We also stopped at a dam on Haiti’s river where the water is split into two canals as well as the river. Both canals and river are full of life with people doing laundry, bathing or playing and swimming. We definitely saw a slice of Haitian life today.
The Market in Ti Rivye
~Karen
