Farewell to Jacmel

Trip Start Oct 24, 2011

Trip End Nov 01, 2011

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Flag of Haiti Jacmel, Sud-Est, Haiti
Saturday, October 29, 2011

Saturday morning was busy at LST. All of the classrooms were full, with Trinity House boys being tutored and one classroom dedicated to a group of 25 restaveks - child slaves. Saturday morning restavek education is one of the outreach programs of LST. Besides instruction the children are fed breakfast and lunch. Like the LST students a full belly before class begins allows these children to focus. And they leave after lunch with the most food they will receive all day! Tonight's photos begin with the group of 25 children who benefit from this LST initiative. I was surprised at how well turned out these children were. As KC explained, all Haitians take great pride in their appearance, and even the houses (not homes) where these children come from make sure they are clean and well dressed before they venture out. These children's stories are heart wrenching - some were orphaned by the earthquake but many were turned out on the streets long before January 2010. Many bounced around from relative to relative but were never cared for

Restavek children/Saturday morning class

. Eventually, someone, like Festa, takes them into a caring home or they are taken into a house and put to work. Many of the children this morning are artistically talented, like so many Haitians. This morning they were using some of the coloured pencils we found! I was drawn to one little girls' depiction of the trees on the mountain side - she held up her creation for me in the second photo.
Unfortunately, there are no more trees on the mountain slopes. They have been clear cut and used to make charcoal. It is this charcoal that fuels the cooking stoves. One sees the street vendors on every corner.
Many of the street vendors sit under umbrellas provided by Digicel - the local cell phone provider. Everyone in Haiti has a cell phone! They may not have enough money for food but they talk to each other by phone - and Haitians love to talk! The phones are cheap and minutes given away frequently. This company has a significant presence, besides the vendor umbrellas. Their signage is everywhere from the street markers, to T-shirts and backpacks. And the Digicel Foundation supports many community projects and schools.
These were my observations today as we made our way back over the mountains and down into Port-au-Prince. The city, as compared to Jacmel, is dirty and smelly and noisy - Michael's St Joseph's Home for Boys is an oasis and after a quick stop for ice-cream, a real treat after the long drive, we settled into a delicious meal and great conversation! We are pleased that HES is being accepted into the St Joseph Family - our partnership was sealed with a tootsie roll. But that's a story for another day.

Jacmel hotels Slideshow