A LITTLE HISTORY ON HAITI

I will be doing a series of a little history on Haiti over the next while.. read and enjoy.. they are a resilient people .....


HAITI IS A DRAMATIC COUNTRY in its terrain, history, and culture. In comparison with other countries in the Caribbean, Haiti is described in superlatives: it is the most rural in its settlement pattern, the poorest, and the most densely populated. It is also the only country in the region that was born of a successful slave rebellion, and it is the first modern black republic.



Many observers have described Haitian society as stagnant, but in recent years, changes have begun. By the 1980s, the population of Haiti surpassed 5 million. Although the country continued to be overwhelmingly rural, urbanization was accelerating as the impact of soil erosion and land fragmentation on agricultural productivity forced increasing numbers of peasants to migrate to Port-au-Prince and even overseas. The population of Port-au-Prince was expected to reach 1 million by the end of the 1980s. Haiti's peasants had traditionally relied on the extended family and cooperative labor as a means for taking care of each other, but by the late 1980s, this aspect of the culture had disintegrated. Deteriorating economic conditions were forcing the poor to find new ways to eke out a living from the land, or to survive in urban slums. An unstable, but politically significant, black middle class had emerged between the traditional, mainly mulatto, elite and the peasantry. Migration and the penetration of foreign missions and nongovernmental organizations to the more remote parts of Haiti created new kinds of relationships with the outside world. The transportation and the communications systems had been greatly improved, and Creole-language radio brought news of domestic and international affairs to the country's isolated villages.

The weight of the past bore heavily on the daily lives of all Haitians in the 1980s. The country's legacy of slavery and French colonization had left a lasting imprint on the culture. In the past, members of the upper class cherished Franco-Haitian culture because the French language and manners separated them from the masses whom they wished to rule. At the same time, former slaves created a peasant culture, but always in the shadow of their urban superiors. Haiti's dual cultural heritage resulted in negative attitudes toward Haitian peasant life, particularly toward the Creole language, traditional marriages, and voodoo, the folk religion. The recent emergence of a middle class has only exacerbated the debate over what should be considered "true" Haiti.

SCHOOL IN BAIE D'ORANGE

On this trip into our mission in Haiti.. a 3 hrs. rough ride from Jacmel to the region called Baie d'Orange... if you remember from one of my earlier postings I had explained how we were in such need at this school in Baie d'Orange.. only one book per class, no desks, tarp for a roof, unable to pay the teachers, etc... since that posting we have since had funds donated to cover the cost to operate this school for the next year... most of the uniforms have been made, the tarp has been replaced with tents... they have desks and books and are getting a hot meal each day... teachers are being paid... the food was donated to us from EVERYONE at Prairie Gleaners from Medicine Hat, Ab. and their supporters .. .... thank you to everyone for making a difference.. one child at a time......
Bob & Linda

Water system for Jacmel

Cam along with Nature Zone..www.naturezone.ca
will be raising the funds for a water system for our Jacmel location... water is a huge need for the country of Haiti... they will be bringing in a system that will do a reverse osmosis purifying the water... we will have a location along the main street in Jacmel where we will sell this water.. funds raised will help with our costs of running our orphanage, and schools in Jacmel and surrounding area... Cam collected water at the pumping station where we purchase the water and haul with our water trucks to various locations throughout Jacmel and area... this water was then taken to a Lab in North America to check to see what is needed for the equipment in the purification process... Cam brought many soccer balls and soccer equipment for the children...thank you to all that helped with the soccer balls and equipment... thanks also to Nature Zone and all your supporters for making a difference... one child at a time... more information will follow as the system is brought into the country and hooked up...
Bob & Linda

Water System for Savanette

 Savanette is a location where we started our second school... the water system is a vision of Donny Mowatt, from Camberland Bay, New Brunswick... here is a short version of how it came together... Don was the one who started it then during the year he brought others into it namely his grandson Donnie Ferris & Sheldon Spencer who did all the GPS work, surveying, laying the pipe line and hooking it up to the reservoir (Sheldon doing the GPS work) these two have went three years getting all the information needed, this year Jody Graham (Renew Canada.com) where the solar system was purchased by Don, and he went to Haiti this year and installed it, Armand Cormier (Armlin@rogers.com) operates a Geo Thermal business he was interested in the project and wanted to go with Don this year, he was a valuable asset with getting water hooked up to the pump and helped with the solar panels, these four men were very professional and helpful to Don. Three years ago Don began this on his own and met many barriers also a great expense. Brad Howland from Easyclean in Sussex donated all the pipe and the pump which was a great help.
Thank you Don and team for making such a huge difference in the lives of the people in the Savanette region...