André et Réginald ont travaillé à la sueur de leur front. Réginald veut tellement tout apprendre et remarquer bien sur la photo ci-dessous, le doigt blanc qui lui indique ou mettre le clou.
Voici la maison voisine de celle qu'on a construit, la moitié est habité par 9 personnes et l'autre par 6. Voici un genre de situation que nous cherchons à aider. Ils ont refait une partie des murs avec les blocs des murs de leur ancienne maison qui était tombée. Imaginez un autre tremblement de terre, pourraient-ils y survivre s'ils sont à l'intérieur..
On a bien hâte d'aller vous voir au Québec. Nos enfants et nos familles nous manquent beaucoup.
André et Sylvie xxxx
End of March
March has had its ups and downs for us – so how shall I begin, with the good or bad ? Let's get the bad over with ! We are still without that new vehicle. What a story ! We did find one BUT before finalizing the deal and handing the owner the balance of the money, the car acted awkward when we took it for a road test (the owner, before closing the deal, had allowed us to use it for the week-end), making André suspicious. The small garage's name (if one can call it a garage, seeing there is no building on the premises) was “Trusting in God”. With such a name, why have a care ? The owner had the car checked by a mechanic who found nothing wrong with it. We ourselves had it checked at the dealership (costing us $80 US before even purchasing it). Result : they spotted a faulty sensor used for gas distribution (or something resembling that) and probably a transmission problem on top of that, thus an additional $2000 to $4000 US dollar expense. The owner offered to reimburse our deposit, option we accepted. So, for an entire week now, we are without a car. André, on a daily basis, is trying to work something out but every car he does find is as much of a wreck as our old blue car is – and it has given up on us once again ! We would need to take the taptap (public transport) all the way downtown and try to locate a bearing to fix the broken car (or whatever resembles it), an activity that would take an entire day. André had not been able to find the time to do that as of now – he hardly finds the time to shave !
What are André's activities, you ask ? He still regularly meets with Oxfam Québec for washroom installations and drinking water reservoirs all while trying to help sixteen different groups, which represents more than 6000 people. Unfortunately, Oxfam is no longer in the food distribution business. Today, they handed out hot plates (one per family), to be used with coal for cooking purposes. We would call this object an extremely primitive stove. André has grown very close to various group committees, who ask to meet with him almost on a daily basis to make sure they are not forgotten. They truly appreciate every effort André does on their behalf. A picture shows how one of their houses looks like since Oxfam Québec has given them plastic wrappings to cover the sheets they were once using as house walls.
A church has given us a total of 26 pouches of corn seeds to be planted. André found about twenty farmers who have already planted or are in the process of planting these seeds on their small portion of land. The Lord works in various ways. It is wonderful being able to witness these small miracles every day.
Haitian children amaze me with the creativity they display in making their own toys and especially their taste in wardrobe. Awesome what can be done with a simple thread and a small plastic bag. Many children play for hours with such simple homemade toys . They also enjoy making kites with small branches and plastic bags. On our planet called Canada, our children have the latest toys and what is their constant grievance ? “It's boring ! We have nothing to do !”
André is also in the process of building a small house, with Regi, for a Haitian family. The man of the house had started building it but ran out of funds (such scenario is repeated countless times in Haiti). They have a one-month old baby and call primitive installations home. André, after examining the portion of the house already built, could not help but notice how fragile everything was. Due to lack of funds, too much sand is placed in the cement mix; André was able to tear the cement apart with his fingers. The best solution was to undo it all and begin from scratch, using wood and metal sheets as building material this time. It would also be more resistant should an earthquake occur. Someone had forwarded us a monetary gift, instructing us to use it where most needed, so we used it to help this particular family (the picture shows only part of the family). I hope they are not the last family we are able to help like this. André and Reginald worked up a sweat; Reginald is so eager to learn everything. Notice on the next picture – a white finger showing him where to hammer in the next nail. Once the house was up and completed, the farmer, wanting to thank André for his help, came over to our place and planted two banana trees and two papaya trees.
The next picture shows a house next door to the one we built. Half of it is inhabited by nine people while the other half lodges six people. This is the kind of situation we are seeking to help. They rebuilt a portion of their new house with concrete blocks taken from their former home, victim of the earthquake. Do you think they could survive another earthquake should they find themselves indoors at that time ?
As far as I am concerned, I walked a lot over the last few days to go shopping but I enjoy it. I am really discovering this country. I even took a motorcycle-taxi the other day since the sun was blatantly hot and I had to carry several parcels. It went very well. I was only ten minutes from home but since it was my first experience using such transportation, I did not want to take any risks. However, the young man was very careful and did not speed (I had told him beforehand that he would receive a bigger amount if the ride home did not frighten me). The trip cost me $3 US even though he only demanded $2. He asked if he could work for me; I might call him up again some day, who knows ?
At the present time, I have found a way of helping three young boys and their families eat every day. At 10 a.m. every morning, they come up to my gate and I give them a list of vegetables to buy for me, goods they are able to obtain at a far lower price since they are Haitian. To reward them, I give each one a bag of food (rice, peas, canned meat, pasta) lasting them the entire day. They are so happy, having worked to earn it. It is good apprenticeship for them. The oldest boy is twelve and the others are younger. I visited their homes, located about 100 meters from our place, and it is in dire straits. One of the families include seven people and have lost their house. The father was lying on the floor when I visited, playing with a one-year old. They are extremely poor and receive no aid whatsoever since they do not belong to any specific group. We must do everything possible to help as many people as we can. I am praying that God will show us the proper route to follow.
As of this moment, the country is receiving strangers with open arms. The inhabitants are very friendly and happy to see us. We see many strangers (white skin folks) out in the streets. Let us pray that many others from all over the world will come. We receive a few demands from people, even Americans, looking for a place to stay while in Haiti. I believe we will be kept very busy quite soon.
In closing, I am putting out a picture I find very interesting indeed ! The people you see were preparing goat meat out on the street. It really gives me the will to become a vegetarian ! We long to return and see you all in Québec. We dearly miss our children and families ! May God bless and protect you ! André and Sylvie.
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