Fooled and Transitional Housing

Jalousie Slum Painted Psychedelic Colors In Haiti

We were coming back from a half day outing towards the end of last year's trip to Haiti and we passed by a scenic site. It caught everyone's eye and we all thought it was quite lovely to see some color in Haiti. It reminded me of the houses in Capitola, California. We stopped and took some pictures.

Fast forward a year and I was reading an article on the 5th anniversary of the earthquake and it mentioned this same neighborhood outside of Pentionville. Turns out this is one of the largest slums in Port-au-Prince. As part of a plan to move people out of the tent cities the government spent 1.4 million USDs painting the houses. The goals was to beautify the area as to make it more attractive; to incentivize the people to move out of the tents into this existing shanty town. The plan was also to include updates to city services, but it appears that this didn't happen. There are people lining up on both sides of this issue to either critique the project as another example of wasted spending or to support it as evidence that the government is working to better the life of people. I think, from what I have read, I am coming down on the former side and feel a bit of a fool for thinking it beautiful and taking a picture.

Transitional Housing

If you have talked to me in the recent past about Haiti and the orphanages you know that I have grown concerned for those children that are reaching the age where the orphanage can no longer support them. The orphanage with which we work does not seem to have a plan how to deal with these children. Last year while in Haiti we visited several orphanages and the majority have little or no plan for children as they become 15 to 16 years old or older.

My thoughts on transitional housing have ranged from building dormitory style housing to setting aside areas in the orphanage for the older children. For the most part these ideas seem to have high up front costs and are almost impossible to sustain long term.

After doing some soul searching and thinking about what little I know about Haitian culture and how important community is in the culture I have landed on the following thoughts for transitional housing:

Support transitional housing for the orphans through members of the church, such that as a child in the orphanage nears the age where it is no longer appropriate for them to live at the orphanage they are given an opportunity to live with a family that is a member of the orphanage's partner church.

As compensation for housing one of the transitional children the family would be given a stipend to help (or hopefully cover) the additional costs of food, etc. The child and host family would have to agree to a code of conduct and the child would be expected to help out with some house hold chores.

Additionally, as part of the program the transitional child would have to attend a weekly (or maybe twice a week) mentoring session where they are coached and helped to complete high school, find a job, or just given the opportunity to talk with a mentor.

The program would also need at least one individual (maybe more) to help run it. This person would be responsible for interviewing perspective families, doing a home survey before anyone is placed, commit to weekly visits to the home with the possibility of surprise visits. This would have to be a salaried position and be very trusted as there is risk of corruption. This person would be overseen by a board of people likely coming from the orphanage and the church.

The transitional program could be gradual in that before a child moves completely out of the orphanage they would spend lengthening periods at the home and then periods back at the orphanage. A day/night, a week, a month, etc. Each acclimation period at the transitional home would be followed by a significant period back at the orphanage. The hope is this would allow both the family and the child to understand if the placement was a good fit.

The home would also not be permanent. In other words, the transitional child may be in the program only one or two years, or as many as 5. The goal is to prepare the child for an independent life while surrounding them in community. It gets more difficult as some in Haiti don't finish high school until they are in their 20's due to costs and other issues.

There are many open issues I have this with plan, particularly to help insure the children are safe and not turned into indentured servants. Additionally, I have no idea how this would be funded and how the children would be funded to continue school.

I hope to have many conversations this year in Haiti to better understand if this plan is workable or even makes sense. I also have plans to discuss this idea with some people that have more experience in this area and in Haiti. The oldest child in the orphanage right now is about 15 years old. Without a plan in place I worry what will happen to him.

I am continuing to raise funds for my trip this year to Haiti in March. If you are able to help support my trip, you can either send contributions directly to me (contact me and I will give you my address) or to the church with which I will travel. Contributions are tax deductible. The address of the church is:

Union Church
C/O Jonathan Wright-Gray
P.O. Box 7028
Ocean Park, Maine 04063
(Please put "Haiti" and my name in the memo of the check.)

Thank you and God Bless,
/david 

Of Dragons and Sheepdogs

I am returning to Haiti this March and still short on my fundraising. If you are able to contribute please see the end of this entry.

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Sheepdog among the Sheep

My 15-year-old son came home from school on a Thursday, and apparently he and my wife had been talking on the ride home. My wife said that he was lamenting that there were no more dragons to slay and so nothing that a young man could do to earn honor and to become a knight.

We were quick to point out that this wasn't true, but the dragons have changed. I pulled out the book "Love Does" and told him about the author Bob Goff.  Bob was a lawyer that walked away from a lucrative practice and went to Africa help get young kids who were thrown in filthy prisons for petty offenses and had no chance of ever getting out. Bob worked to be able to practice law in Uganda and then went to court for the kids and worked to get them freed. He shut down many prisons and slayed many "dragons."

Two days later, my wife and I went to see the movie, "American Sniper". In the movie, the father of Chris Kyle related a story to Chris when he was very young. The story describes people in three categories: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. The sheep were those people who could not or would not see evil in this world. The wolves where those that embodied evil.  The sheepdogs where those that saw the evil and moved to protect the sheep.

I think my son feels the urge of the sheepdog.

After the movie, I was attempting to explain to my wife that, through my experience, I believe this need to be a sheepdog is a common feeling among men. And in a modern world, it can be hard to find ways to express this desire.

Another scene in the movie, when Chris Kyle was at home between tours in the Middle East, Chris was expressing frustration and confusion to his wife that while there was a war and men dying, people in the US were going about their lives without a care in the world. Chris couldn't understand how it could not be on the news all the time and how they could just take a casual trip to the mall.

I understand and share my son's frustrations, and while I can't begin to even suggest equivalency between Chris' experience and mine, I share his frustration as well.

I long to help the people of Haiti. I have visited there for several years now, and I think beyond going because I am commanded by God to serve, I also go because of an internal desire to try to protect others. I am not saying I am actually doing much good, but I go because I long to contribute in some small way.

I have similar feelings of frustration when I return from Haiti. It is hard to deal with a world that is not constantly talking or thinking about the need and pain in Haiti and other parts of the world and how to help stem the tide of evil. I worry that I may become that guy that is a one-trick pony, that people run away from me because all I talk about is Haiti; I have to make a conscious effort to not be that guy. Is that wrong? Should I not do that?

There are many dragons in this world. This world needs people that will step in front of evil to bring protection. People that will put others before themselves. I believe God puts this need in our hearts and wants us to act; I believe that is one of our roles in this world. Sometimes that role comes in the form of soldiers; sometimes that protection comes in the form of service to others.

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If you are able to help support my trip, you can either send contributions directly to me (contact me and I will give you my address) or to the church with which I will travel. Contributions are tax deductible. The address of the church is:

Union Church
C/O Jonathan Wright-Gray
P.O. Box 7028
Ocean Park, Maine 04063
(Please put "Haiti" and my name in the memo of the check.)

Thank you and God Bless,
David