invitations to homes

Last Sunday (March 7th) the entire Carlin family and I walked up the road to meet Madame Jeannette who had agreed to show us her house. I was grateful for an opportunity to get off the compound and see a little more of Haiti, but was also cautious about the potential impact of this venture since we didn't fully know what to expect. We knew Jeannette's kay (house in Kreyol) was standing, but little more about the rest of the homes around her.


On the walk there, I was able to clearly see some damage to the road that had occurred in the earthquake and has continued deteriorating since. The kids were fascinated by the visible upheaval, but for me it was just one more clear reminder of the devastation. I am finding that the little things continue to stick with me more than the mass images of need. Broken and fallen, portions of this road will indefinitely be this way. The image I have is certainly not the worst of the roads in Haiti, it's not even the worst road that we traverse into Leogane (only a half hour way). You can see most of a foot or so into these crevices.

We passed people sitting on the side of the road, on the edges of some camps, which have been established by people seeking aid. Generally people are cordial and say hello as we pass. A week ago was no exceptional. Jeannette met us at one of these locations and showed us one of the ways into her place. We walked up a cement pathway about a foot wide. My guess is that this is actually intended for water drainage, but maybe it is a sidewalk of sorts. It was relatively steep, but we made it to the top and were greeted with a gorgeous view of the countryside and neighboring water (our backyard). Jeannette continued on to her home, where Mike assessed the damage. We were all amazed at how intact her structure was. Jeannette commented that she was doesn't know how it didn't crumble. Literally the cracks in the wall were minor. This wall was the only interior wall, because the house is only two rooms. There is a single, twin-sized bed in each room. Both beds and one table were placed on concrete blocks to raise them off the floor. Under the beds and tables, belongings were neatly stacked out of the way.


The rest of the structure appeared to have survived without any damage. Jeannette's home is built on a stone slab, which reportedly across the country helped minimize damage. Despite the lack of damage, Jeannette and her children have converted their kitchen which is a separate one room wooden structure into a bedroom where they sleep. This picture shows the kitchen from above because we climbed up the hill to the neighbors' house at their request for Mike to look at it. The tarp is used as additional protection from the rain, underneath is are tin pieces fitted together to create a covering (visible slightly in the bottom left corner).

After learning that we were visiting Jeannette's house, one of the other staff members, Luke (pronounced Leek), invited us to come by his house because he lives near Jeannette. So after viewing Jeannette's and her neighbor's homes, Jeannette guided us further up the hill to Luke's home. He has a gate at the front of his property. They must have been waiting for us because he, his wife, and their daughter were immediately there to greet us. This picture is what is left of Luke's house. The walls that are standing have large cracks throughout. The family has another structure erected from wooden poles on a concrete slab where they have created some space for privacy and sleeping. Despite the apparent difficulties, Luke's family is still fairly well off in comparison to other individuals and families we have seen who have nothing more than some sheets, tarps, or coconut leaves woven together for cover.