Take Two

It has been over five months since I was last in Haiti and it has continued to be on my mind ever since. Observing Haiti from the outside is especially disheartening; the news coming out of the country always seems to be one horrible story after another. Since I was last down there, Haiti has been hit with a cholera epidemic, weathered several storms accompanied by flooding (most notably Tomas), and is in the midst of an election fiasco, which has caused intermittent surges of violent protests. This is all happening while Haiti is trying to pick up the pieces from the January 12 earthquake.

But then there are some positives coming out of Haiti, some steps in the right direction. There are thousands of people, Haitian and non-Haitian alike, working together to bring about a safer, healthier, more-together country. The resilience, wisdom, and kindness of the Haitian people is inspiring and this is what gives me hope for the future of Haiti.

Coming to the decision to return to Haiti this winter involved a lot of internal back-and-forth. On one hand, of course I wanted to go back! The time I had spent down there May-July profoundly changed my life. I made friends, both local and international. I was able to see and do some pretty wild things. On the other hand, I kept asking myself whether coming down for three or so weeks was worth it. I didn't want to be a disaster tourist, I wanted to be an effective volunteer. When I weighed my options, in the end, I decided that I could make my short time there worth it. There are a number of things I'm hoping to accomplish on this trip. I will help with the projects that All Hands (formerly Hands on Disaster Response or HODR) are working on - rubble/demolition, bio-sand filters, disaster risk reduction, school building, etc. Check out http://hands.org/ for more specifics on projects and the organization as a whole. Another goal I have for my trip is to collect some information and get some questions answered for a project my friend and fellow volunteer Brandi and I are hoping to put in motion this summer (more on the composting toilets summer project in the future). I also am looking forward to seeing friends, eating delicious Haitian food (oh, plantains, how I've missed you), and moving from the dreary North Carolina cold to the tropical heat down south (it's currently 50 degrees warmer in PaP than Chapel Hill).

My original ticket had me leaving for Haiti this past Monday, but due to civil unrest caused by the elections (which forced the airport to close) I have a new departure date - tomorrow, Sunday, December 19. I leave in the early morning and should be on base in Leogane (about 18 miles west of the capital) by mid-afternoon.

Though I won't be gone too long, I'll still miss all of you, my friends and family. Please keep in touch! I should have consistent access to the internet, so shoot me emails (danielmatchar@yahoo.com), send me stuff on facebook/twitter, and keep checking in with the blog, which I plan on updating frequently. I'll be back in the States January 6, so until then...

Hoping everybody is staying warm.

Love,

Daniel