BonDye Bon

 

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. -Genesis 5:1-2

  

Life is hard for the women of Haiti.  What I have witnessed has kept my wife Barb and my two daughters, Katie and Emma, on my mind every day on this trip.  I see them in the eyes of those I meet.  Woman must survive in a complicated and complex social order.  They are expected to raise children, work, keep the house and support their family. They earn little respect and the inequalities are very hard to understand.  HAPI is trying to change that.

This morning we visited the home of a woman named Allude.  We had to take the motorcycles down to her home (sorry mom, I know my last blog on my cycle experience had you shaking, but now I’m accustomed to gliding down a mountain without power or holding on).  After the cycles could go no further down the trail, we hiked down a long and narrow path to Allude’s simple home.    

She is the recipient of one of HAPI Credi’s micro loans.  Allude was given about $75 to create a “store” for herself.  She used the money to purchase a few products, rice, oil, sugar, flour, bouillon, dried milk and a few other items to sell at market. She piles them into a metal bowl and places it on her head, walking about 2 hours to market.  Taking the cost of product and payment of the low 3% interest loan, she has enough money to feed her 8 children and send 5 of them to school.  She cannot yet afford to send all of her children to school.  Alude is grateful that HAPI will loan her the money.  As she said, “Otherwise, I would have to wait for God to provide.”  During the wait, kids go hungry and school stops. Thankfully, the loan has empowered her to run a small and effective business.

The key to these micro-loans is self-sustainability.  The world has been very generous, particularly following earthquakes and hurricanes.  The problem with charity though, is that it stops when the news stories end.  The money dries up and then those receiving are left without useful skills to figure out where the next meal comes from.  

We followed Allude to HAPI’s training center and co-op. Eddy Joassint, Director of Enterprise, Facilitation and Financial Services helped lead a class on business for the HAPI artisans.  They are training these women to be savvy business operators.  Niche marketing, competitive pricing, inventory management, labor and materials cost and more.   

Our next dusty ride was to HAPIKlinik.  About 20 women, nearly all in their first trimester of pregnancy, sat on the shady front porch.  They were receiving valuable health lessons and then provided a lunch.  Some walked almost 90 minutes to attend.  This is a completely up hill march, over Mizak’s red, “Mars like” volcanic trails.  Oh, have I mentioned at some time that it’s really hot here?  You can not believe how difficult these journeys are, but the care provided makes it all worth it for the women of this community.

Most of you viewing the HAPI clinic would think you had stepped back into the early 20 century.  We are talking very, very basic.  Inside there is a bed, a basin and thankfully a few medications on a shelf.  But here, the fact that HAPI even has this to offer, is considered a major blessing.  In this community of 30,000 people there is not one single doctor.  There are a few midwives, most with very limited knowledge.  The closest hospital is a two-hour walk or 50-minute ride in the back of a truck down unpaved rocky roads. For delivery, you are basically on your own.

Following the clinic visit, we were invited by three of the women to visit their homes.  We were welcomed as honored guests in these modest two room homes and great effort was made to make us comfortable.   The first woman, a 38-year old mother of 6 was expecting her 7^th child.  She was remarkably frank with us.  Giving birth was weighing heavily over her head.  Giving birth is not a time of joy and anticipation, but a time of fear.  Death is always a serious and very real possibility for mother and child.   

It is here where you really have to work hard not put on the American “Something is very wrong here and we have to do something to fix this” viewpoint.  Haitians have experienced hundreds of years of women giving birth free of hospitals and doctors and technology.  It is accepted that this is part of life.  They would gladly welcome any assistance and desire a maternity hospital, but they believe, “BonDye bon!” God is good.  What happens on the day they deliver, they believe, is in God’s hands. 

Standing in the doorway of these women’s homes, I was chilled at the idea that my wife or daughters would ever have to experience childbirth this way.  I was sad that any woman anywhere in the world would have to experience child birth this way.  The mission team  looked at each other. We all felt helpless.  But we could not just walk away and so we asked if they would be willing to accept our prayers.  We surrounded these women, placing our hands upon their shoulders and prayed.  We prayed for their safe delivery, for healthy babies, for freedom from fear and anxiety and for their homes and families.   

Then quietly we left their homes, waving goodbye and quietly saying, "May God be good to you."