The torrential rainstorm turned the already marginal road into a joke this morning. The potholes really were pits that could have easily swallowed a tire. We forded a couple of rivers, went over numerous rocky creek beds and after 3 hours ended up at Cotes-de-Fer where we met Father Jude who was accompanying us to the village of Platon.
We got back in the truck for another 1/2 hour drive, then met a friend of Father Jude’s who had brought a burro for the 5 gallon water bottle we were bringing to the village. We loaded our backpacks and started our 45 minute hike over a path covered with volcanic rock straight up the mountain in the heat of the blazing sun. You could see the Caribbean when you turned around and looked down. Within 15 minutes we were all covered with sweat and dripping.
Platon is a small village with a thatched roof hut for their school (when it rains, school is closed because the rain pores through and the paths are almost impassable). In these small villages you can see how 66% unemployment (up to 80% depending on the source) finds the poor people. Diets are mostly corn and bananas and rice. So many people, adults and children told us they were hungry today. The people work in the hills growing whatever crops they can but there is little paid work. Some of the people we met were weaving hats. I asked Eliana Etienne (I was surprised she had the same name as my daughter) how many hats she weaves in a month – she told me about 12. She sells them for 5 gourde each (about 12.5 cents). We met with the 'professoras' and did a training for the teachers and then did a vitamin A and deworming distribution for the children. We all ended up talking with the kids and parents and then just playing with the kids. When I asked the kids what they wanted, they immediately all said 'a ball.' The only ball I saw in the entire village today was a little tennis ball some boys were playing soccer with.
Check out the video to the right of Hope for Haiti’s Country Director, Mike talking about their partnership with Vitamin Angels!
Sharon Dressen from Rainbow Light talks about her experiences on a Vitamin Angels distribution. Read it here >>
Program Coordinator, Amy Steets tells us more about her experiences in the remote regions of Haiti. Read it here >>
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