So Long and Farewell, for Now...

There is something that I said at my little goodbye speech at tonight’s meeting that I would like to reiterate. Being in the United States, and elsewhere I’d imagine, nearly everything you hear in the news about Haiti is disheartening, bad news. But being here in Leogane with All Hands, you feel that there is hope.

Working with the young Haitian volunteers, I’ve seen the future leaders of the country, the men and women who are going to bring real and lasting change to the Haiti. Working with the international volunteers is an honor and a pleasure every single day. I have met some of the most amazing people here.

I spent my last workday doing a couple of different things. In the morning I worked on bio-sand filters, tediously sifting wet sand (which, if you couldn’t guess, is a real pain in the ass). In the afternoon I worked with one of the staff members, Chris, a translator, Berlyne, and two local volunteers to help put together a radio show that will air one or two days before the one year anniversary of the January 12 earthquake. The local guys running the show want a portion of the show to be devoted to earthquake safety and preparedness information, which is something I was pretty involved with last time I was here. I was really happy to have that as my last afternoon of work; it really brought things full circle. After work I sat around with Berlyne and we chatted for a while. For the first time since I’ve known her, she told me stories about her experiences during and after the earthquake. The stories she told me about her family and friends death and suffering were a strong reminder about why I came to Haiti in the first place. It was really emotional but I’m glad she opened up and talked to me about the things she did. All Hands is doing a lot of really wonderful projects involving the anniversary and memorial of the quake (including a major clean up of the cemetery/mass grave site in the city – oddly enough, during yesterday’s meeting, the team reported that during the work day Jared Leto randomly showed up to see what they were up to). And tomorrow a PBS film crew is stopping by our base. Interesting.

As I’m sitting here, typing up this blog post, it’s hitting me more and more that I don’t want to leave. My head tells me that I have to go home because my new semester starts on Monday. But my heart is reminding me how content and right I feel being here. As much as I want to stay, I know I can’t. The pragmatic part of me has to outweigh the idealistic part of me. Alas.

But to end on a happy note, I did have an amazing second trip to Haiti. I definitely foresee a third trip in the not-too-distant future.

See you Stateside.

Love,

Daniel

P.S. Today I learned a little Haitian proverb that has really stuck with me: ranje kabann ou avan domi nan je w’. The rough translation is, make your bed before you get sleepy. Just something I liked that I thought was worth a second thought.