Someone once told me, "those who are successful are working when others are playing, they are awake when others are sleeping..." At the time, I was doing work that I couldn't imagine staying up all hours of the night for, I couldn't imagine giving up my social life for. Now, though, as I pound away at my keyboard, fighting a head cold and exhaustion, I've found the work that I don't want to sleep for, the work that makes me feel like I'm not working at all...
Over the winter break, I spent a week in Haiti. Whereas my first trip to Haiti was laden with manual labor, frequent English classes, and the constant accompaniment of children from the primary school, my second trip, shorter in duration, was spent becoming part of the community of Croix-des-Bouquet. On my second trip, I no longer required the aid of a Haitian as I trotted down the street to the store for Ju-mex (juice) and Coke. Rather, I took orders from the local (and volunteer) staff, walked solo to the store, and returned successfully with refreshing drinks for everyone. No longer was I shocked to see garbage littering street. Instead, in the crumpled papers and plastic water bottles, I saw potential. I envisioned rafts made from plastic, bags from paper, something from anything. While weaving through traffic, barely bending by potholes, I no longer held tightly onto the people surrounding me in the car. Instead, I trusted the road and the person at the wheel.
The first time I went to Haiti, I was captivated, infatuated. The second time, I fell madly in love with the country, I felt like I was, dare I say.... home.
Prior to departing to Haiti, I had interviewed for a job in Brooklyn, NY. The interview was positive enough and I assumed I'd be offered the job. Then, as I sat in PAP, waiting for my flight back to the States, I felt so torn. I knew if I was offered a job in NY, I couldn't turn it down. I also knew that my heart wanted to be in Haiti, my passion plays the tune of the sweet Creole songs. The day after my return, I received the unexpected rejection e-mail from New York. Although I was sad, part of me jumped with something far greater than sadness. Perhaps, a door closed in New York was a door opened somewhere else...
Shortly thereafter, I re-connected with an International school located in Haiti. I interviewed via Skype, and was offered a teaching position a mere three weeks after returning from Haiti. Per my upcoming employment in Haiti, I was asked to be on the board of directors of an organization I've been working with since my initial trip to Haiti in June. Transparency for Haiti ( http://transparencyhaiti.co/ ) is a nonprofit organization working in the Croix-des-Bouquet community. Their mission is to empower Haitians through life-sustaining programs. Some of these include: adult English classes, a primary school, art and sports programs for youth, adult literacy courses, animal husbandry programs, and a micro-finance program. Currently, TfH shares a compound with their partner organization, Haitian American Caucus. Recently, however, TfH partnered with an organization that builds sustainable community centers in developing countries. These centers are known as Earthships. Currently, there is a mini Earthship in Haiti. This video details the incredible impact a small sustainable center can have on a community.
Pretty amazing, right? Now, consider the impact a full-sized Earthship (http://transparencyhaiti.co/projects/tfh-earthship-community-center ) would have a community already striving to better itself.
Per TfH's partnership with the Earthship organization, we have been given the opportunity to support the building of Haiti's first ever full-sized Earthship. The effects this Earthship will have on the community of Croix-des-Bouquet, the home of those to many who are dear to my heart, are overwhelming. A community where few houses are finished, where children run shoeless, where cows share the road with men and women, where people smile and offer their "bon jours" despite the conditions they live in... If any community deserves a sustainable center to call their own, it is the community TfH serves in Croix-des-Bouquet.
Of the 130,000 dollars needed to initiate the building of the Earthship, we have yet to raise 40,000 dollars. If the funds are raised by March, the Earthship is expected to be built before Haiti's rainy season commences in May. 40,000 seems like a lot of money. To raise 40,000 dollars by March seems nearly impossible.
But, then again, to execute the first successful slave rebellion seems impossible. The Haitians did it. To overcome corrupt presidents and faulty politics seems impossible. The Haitians did it. To sing songs in the street after your country was devastated by an earthquake seems impossible. The Haitians did it. To work day in and day out as disease seeps through your country seems impossible. The Haitians do it. To smile, to sing, to love, to laugh, to share, to live despite barely having your basic needs met seems impossible.
The Haitians do it.
Every dollar matters. If you have no dollar to give, or even if you do, please share this e-mail, share these resources. This isn't for me, this isn't even for Transparency. This is for Haitians, people who deserve a place of gathering, a place of safety, a place of empowerment.
Please help them by donating here: http://transparencyhaiti.co/donate After you put in your information, there is a line where you can state your purpose for donating. Simply type, "Earthship" and your funds will go directly to the building of the Earthship in Croix-des-Bouquet.
My greatest thanks to you all, My deepest love I share
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