Living Haiti

Arriving...

We have a couple teams here this week. I'm usually a team girl. Normally when I am in Haiti I have a bunch of people with me, or I'm with a bunch of people. This time is, of course, different. I'm definately not one of those "longer term" guys who things the "shorter term" guys "just don't get it." I like teams and I think they are an important part of telling the real story of Haiti back home, and hopefully their leaders are helping them begin to see the real stories here. I like short term teams...

But I can't help feeling a little bit like I'm just starting to arrive in Haiti. It's been a little over 2 months since I got here, and I'm starting to feel like I'm part of the workings here. People who work here have started to ask me questions. People in charge here are trusting me to give information to the workers. Kids come to me when something is wrong, or when they need to be soothed. Part of that is due to my slight increase in language knowledge...and part of it is because I am becoming a fixture in the lives of people around me.

A team last night was talking about the work being done here by big aid groups, and I had to keep my emotions in check, because it's hard to drive around here every day and see big aid groups with fancy cars and big budgets, and then see the people unwilling to leave tent communities that are unsafe and unsanitary because they really feel they have nowhere else to go. I can't point fingers...totally. I know that there are no easy answers to Haiti. I know that this is not an either/or situation. It's complex and it's difficult. What I do know is this, it is great to watch the work of people here who love and respect the Haitian people and don't come at it with an Us vs. Them mentality. I'd rather be a We.

Had a great visit with my brother while he was here. It was fun to drag him around to lots of parts of Port Au Prince...next step, getting my parents here!