Picture success...finally

Members of IDDH and VT-Haiti project meet at the office in Terrier Rouge


The hike up to the Citadel


Home sweet home, this is the entrace to our house here

Peter and I on top on the Citadel

Happy Thanksgiving

We went from a slow quiet week of healing for Peter to a busy week filled with gardening, teaching, clinic work and yes cheese! This week seemed like everyday was full and active with lots going on. We are happy to report Peter is feeling 100% better and back to his normal self, lots of energy and eating two servings at lunch.

The first week here Peter was introduced to a cooperative Vegetable farm, Raboure. He has been visiting the farm every Tuesday, the day the cooperative works together on their collective land. Last week they offered him his own parcel to work while he’s here, giving him a fantastic opportunity to learn how to grow vegetables in Haiti, experiment with some new techniques and varieties, and they’ll sell any vegetables to benefit the cooperative. Raboure also has a large flock of laying hens and two large ponds for fish farming.

The real excitement of the week was our visit with the Vermont Haiti Project group. It was so wonderful to see some familiar faces and meet some new friends as well. We had a total of 11 visitors, 3 Haitians, 7 Vermonters and 1 Californian. They arrived Thursday evening in time for a good meal, and some showers after an 8 hour ride in the back of a truck from Port au Prince. Thank you for making the long journey, Peter and I really appreciated you coming all this way! Friday we visited three schools in T.R. that have school gardens, we met with the IDDH folks to talk about their organization and then headed to Milot (about 1 hour away) to check out S.O.I.L, another NGO that makes composting toilets. It was fascinating to see the compost they are creating. We are hoping to keep working with S.O.I.L and maybe do some research using humanure compost or urine on gardens here in T.R.

Saturday morning we delivered a treadle pump, brought here by VT-Haiti Project, from Seeds of Self Reliance (John Hayden), to IDDH (complicated, huh). The pump traveled from Vermont to Port au Prince in a shipping container filled by Vermonters who have too much stuff. We then headed back to Milot to see the Citadel. An old fortress built to guard Northern Haiti against ill-willed foreign powers after the revolution. We headed part way up the mountain in the truck and then walked the rest of the way. It was amazing to think about the actual process of building the citadel, a massive stone fort at the very top of a steep mountain. Every piece of the Citadel was carried up the mountain on foot, and our “guide” said around 20,000 people died in the process. On our way home we stopped by Raboure to see where Peter’s plot is and the different projects they have going at the cooperative.

The real fun started that night though when Peter and I got to have our first cheddar cheese in almost 2 months… pure heaven thank you Ali and Bob. Kimball, Donna and co. were nice enough to carry some provisions sent to us by our parents back home and it really was like being 8 years old on Christmas morning. We got cheese and chocolate. Yesterday for breakfast and dinner we had fresh grapefruit followed by Shelburne Farms Cheddar with bread and crackers. We really felt like we were on our honeymoon!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we are sad not to be with family but at the same time we are feeling more thankful here in Haiti than we ever have. Normally at my house we try to say one thing we are thankful for at the dinner table while we eat our turkey. This year I feel like I could write a whole essay about what I am thankful for. Right now I am thankful for my and Peter’s health, having healthy food to eat everyday, and the access and ability to drink clean water. I am thankful that I do not have to use a pit latrine for the rest of my life. Most of all I am thankful for Peter and my whole family. We have truly realized that these things are all we need to be happy, the rest are just luxuries, but we am still thankful for chocolate and cheese.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, enjoy the stuffing for us, my favorite part, and the mashed potatoes too, and the pumpkin pie!

Love,

Meredith and Peter

p.s. A couple of you have asked us about an address here for us. The best way to send anything to us is to give it to Kathryn, who is coming to visit the end of December.

Tetris and Typhiod

If our first week in Terrier Rouge was about settling in and figuring out our basic needs (housing, food, water), our second week has been learning how to enjoy our free time... not counting the day Peter spent in the latrine with typhoid. As we took the end of this week easy for Peter to get better we have had lots of time to sit on the shady corner of our roof, play cards, cell phone tetris, read, and most of all talk. We are finding that living in Haiti is giving us the perfect vantage point to reflect on our lives in Vermont, and what we want them to be like when we return.

Meredith has had success at starting to work at one of the clinics in town. It is called Esperance et Vie (hope and life). There is one general medical doctor, an eye doctor, and a dentist. The support staff runs the lab and pharmacy. Meredith's primary role will be as a triage nurse, helping the medical assistant who is currently filling that role. She is also continuing to meet some of the many midwives in Terrier Rouge in hopes of starting to work with them soon.
We have been busy with some projects at home. We started a garden in the backyard, and set up a worm composting bin on the roof that we smuggled here from the DR.

Despite what challenges we face as newcomers and outsiders here, we can't but feel incredibly blessed for the lives we have been given. Although it sucks being sick, our ability to see a doctor, pay for medication, drink clean water, or eat well enough to get better does not hinge on whether or not the rains fall this month, or how many shoes our mother or aunt can sell in the Dominican Republic. And while we have enjoyed our forced time to relax and reflect, it is not burdened by thoughts of missing a day of work, or like many here, not being able to find work at all.

We hope you are all well at home. keep the comments coming, we love hearing from you all! Lots of love,

Meredith and Peter

ps Peter really is feeling well now so please dont worry! sorry we tried to get pictures up tonight without success, we will try again next week.

First Week in Haiti

We have been in Haiti now for a little over a week and everything is well! We are sorry for the lack of communication, internet is a real challenge here and we probably will only be checking it weekly, so bare with us!

We have settled into our new home, a great room that we are renting in a large unfinished house. The owner lives in a smaller house in the backyard, which is nice for us to always have someone around. The best part is the access to the roof, great views of the mountains and the stars at night.

This week has really been all about getting settled and getting to know our community and surroundings, this will be an ongoing process. We have been visiting lots of school gardens and community farms. Meredith has been starting to talk with midwives and community health workers, as well as make some clinic contacts, all of this takes time though.

Our second night here our friend wanted to show us around Terrrier Rouge so he pulled out a motorcyle and a bike, he told Peter to jump on the moto with him and for me to start pedaling. Peter was laughing the whole time at me, looking back as I pedal to keep up! But it was a beautiful little tour and it was a nice treat to see the full moon rise out in the bush of Haiti. Next post we will get some pictures up so you all can see what it is like here. Pretty dry and hot still, but we think the rains will soon be falling. Until yesterday this area had not gotten a good rain for months! The farmers are really waiting on the rain to start planting, water is everything here.

So in conclusion we are well and we are sorry this is so short we will try to write more soon!

We love and miss you all
love pete and meredith

ps HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCY PAPPAS!! I was thinking of you on your special day!!