A light in the dark

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." - Matthew 5:14

Today, I basically violated every single bit of safety advice I would ever give to my own daughters Katie and Emma.  Our team leader Valerie informed me we would be climbing on motorcycles (3 to a bike) and traveling down the mountain to the river.  One of the long term missionaries heard we were going and remarked, “You’ll love it, there is absolutely no sound going down the mountain on a bike.”  Wait, no sound?   Only later did I figure out that the use of valuable gasoline to go downhill is a waste when gravity will happily pull you down the mountain. Duh.  I climbed and prayed, “please God, be my co-pilot.” 

We were following a lovely woman named Francoise or her way to the river. I filmed as she gathered empty cement sacks from construction sites and then traveled to the river to wash them.  Later, she will bind them into beautiful gratitude journals.  HAPI will help her export them.  Her story, is a great example of how HAPI and The United Methodist Church are transforming lives here in Haiti. 

From the back of the bike you get a real context for Haiti.  The many stories told here are formed against a backdrop of a country that has virtually no infrastructure.  It is so hard for anyone to comprehend the total lack of infrastructure. The majority of the roads, particularly where we are, would be considered rugged two tracks in our country.  There is no electricity, no running water, no sewers.  Need to use the bathroom?  The tree is right over there.  Let’s pretend that the United States as it is would be a perfect 10 for infrastructure. Haiti is a 2. On a rainy day, a 1. Living in Haiti is a lot like living in a very-very rustic campground.

Many of the people of this region live right on the side of the road in shelters built from whatever materials they can find lying around.  Here, they sleep, eat, and run small businesses. From these crude sheds, that many Americans would consider too small, too rundown or too dirty to store a lawnmower, you will find tiny shelves offering a small assortment of wares for sale. Some sell the fruit from their own gardens, others sell hair care products, or shoes, or car batteries.  What ever can be found will be sold. 

Haiti is a country built of entrepreneurs. Survival is a powerful incentive. There is basically no middle class to be found in Haiti.  There is wealth or poverty.  70% of the people live on less than $1 US dollar a day. If you can take some free used cement sacks and create an artistic gratitude journal that earns you $7 or $8 for a days work, that goes a long way towards feeding a family.

The whole idea of charitable work here is a complex and difficult idea.  Here’s one example.  Following the earthquake of January 2010, compassionate people of the world flooded the country with much needed safe bottled drinking water.  So much in fact, that the Nestle bottling plant in Haiti lost significant revenue from sales and was forced to layoff workers who had some of the few jobs spared from the earthquake. 

The world often sends expertise to Haiti but then fail to teach anyone how to do it for themselves.  So when anyone with any knowledge leaves, so does the opportunity for self sustainability and advancement.  When we generously bring young people to our country, care for them and educate them, it’s also understandable why they want to stay put.  Another opportunity to grow Haiti is lost.

The Shalom Center in Mizak is a compound that sits high atop a mountain.  For the people of this area it truly is a place of peace.  On this acre there is a colorful community center, a modern playground, 30,000 gallon cisterns that offers clean drinking water, a clinic, the soon to open Merlet entrepreneur center and much, much, more.  The people of this community have been educated and hired to build these facilities.  The artisans are given business lessons on how to get their products to American markets.  It is ministry WITH* the poor and it is growing.  That is not to say that our gifts are not needed.  When you donate to a place like HAPI, the funds are used to care and educate those living here. The knowledge stays here.  Watching Francoise, beautifully dressed, kneeling at the river, creating a beautiful writing book from a filthy used concrete bag, is a living testament to what God is doing here through the people of The United Methodist Church.

The sun has set and the generator has kicked on.  As we walk back in the pitch dark, after touring the village water source in the valley, we see that the Shalom Center literally becomes a bright beacon on the top of the hill.   The people of Mizak are naturally drawn to it.  So am I.