I neglected to mention that the flight attendants on our flight down to Haiti had stuffed animals to hand out to the children. We had a little fun with those that were able to take naps while on the short three and a half hour flight down to Haiti. One of the members of our group, Rick, took one and kept a stuffed monkey in his vest while we worked. It was amazing to see how it would bring smiles to all of the people, no matter their age.
On to Day 2. The plan was loaded with cargo. It was crazy arriving in Haiti we walked out of the plane and didn’t even have to go through customs. Two vehicles pulled up to the plane, one was a pick-up truck that would carry all of our cases and backpacks and the other was a “tap-tap” (a converted pick-up with a topper and two boards that run over the wheels for people to sit on) that would carry all of us.
This was the first of many trips on the tap-tap. One must be very skilled to ride in a tap-tap. You must ride loose enough so that you don’t feel the bumps in the road, but not so loose that you get thrown into the wall or ceiling of the truck.
We drove out of Port-au-Prince and it was shocking to see the devastation. People had moved out of their homes and into make-shift tents formed from anything they could find. Most consist of tin, wood, rope and blankets. These small tents house the very little that is left of peoples’ belongings – in most cases a mattress, clothing and some minor furniture. The size of most tents is about 8×8 and it holds an entire family.
Beyond the devastation the next thing we noticed was the overwhelming military presence. There was military from all over the world.
These were water purification systems that we had in our cases.
I immediately went out with Rick and Donnie to look at some pumps and perform some water tests nearby our camp.
I noticed this young guy with his very striking eyes and form. I knew that I wanted a portrait of him right away.
There were many goats roaming through our campsite and the countryside was so beautiful.
Once I returned to camp, Bill, Mike, and I went to Leogane. Leogane is believed to be the epicenter of the earthquake. It was best described to me as being reminiscent of an Eastern European town in World War II. Buildings were brought down to rumble. Very few were left standing. It was a hard site to see. Many people have built their tents in the road because there is no where else for them to live.
I saw a team of about 7 who, despite the recent devastation, was carrying a five gallon bucket of water and five brooms made of palm leaves in an attempt to control the dust in the air. They made their way through the town throwing water on the dusty dirt streets and sweeping up the trash. This woman’s face was so descriptive…
We waited in Leogane to meet up with a pastor of a small village outside of Leogane. The village was about 20 minutes away and as we traveled therewe passed through a dry creek bed and what felt like a jungle of sugar cane. Many of the children chewed on the sweet treat of sugar cane while others flew some of the best kites I have ever seen. The kites were made from plastic bag and sticks. Some flew well over a 100 feet in the air. We stopped at a bridge on our way into the village to perform more tests and see if the community would be a good fit for the water purification system.
When we arrived in the village people came out in droves.
On our way back to camp that night we stopped at a tent city and filled and purified a tank of water. This young boy watched us as we filled the tank with water from the well.
by tyler
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