Observation at market

Shopping at the market in Miragoane has become a weekly or sometimes twice a week adventure for me.  I enjoy seeing all the fresh vegetables so carefully displayed, some on tables but mostly on the ground.  The women take pride in their business and I’m sure that many women have worked very hard, and continue to work hard to sustain their business.  I don’t see any men selling vegetables or in fact, any product at the market.  The people are getting to know me now and call me by name.  We ran out of money and had not bought bananas.  The   “marchand” said we could pay her next week.  I was surprised at the “marchand’s” offer.  Cawol, she said, is a “klienn”, a client, a regular customer.

We gather all the items in one place, and then hire a man with a wheelbarrow to haul it out to the street.  While waiting with the groceries for the wheelbarrow man, I looked across to a vendor’s business place that sells grains of every kind: flour, corn meal, petimi.  The grains are sold from 100 lb. bags that are placed on the ground, the opening at the top rolled down.  One bag in particular caught my eye.  Clearly printed on the bag: Soy fortified bulgar not to be sold or exchanged.  US AID from the American people.  My mind drifted off in thought…I wonder how this bag of donated bulgar became a product that is sold in the Miragoane market.  It clearly states that it is not to be sold.  I visualized bags of US AID being stolen from a shipping container.  I visualized bags of grain being handed from one person to another away from the port.  From that thought, I went to all the money donated to earthquake relief.  Nobody is sure that the money was used for the intended purpose.  We have read articles telling about the expensive cars that were bought by the NGOs (non government organizations) receiving the donations.  We know that little progress has been made in getting people out of the tent camps where they have been living for two years.  We have read about NGO (non government organization) workers staying in expensive hotels, restaurants every night…all on donations!  Knowing this makes it very difficult for organizations that use money only for the intended purpose.  People become very wary of giving their money to charity.

I assure you that South Florida Haiti Project uses donations only for Ste. Marie Madeleine Parish in Bondeau, Haiti.  The bulk of donations is used for education of children living in the community of Bondeau, Haiti and feeding those children a nutritious meal each school day.  There is no administrative fee as all the people who work for South Florida Haiti Project volunteer their time.  100% of money donated goes directly to the project.  Your donation makes a huge difference in the life of a child…the difference between illiteracy and educated.  We know that education is the key that unlocks the chains of severe poverty.  In addition, your gift is tax deductible because South Florida Haiti Project is a 501c3 organization.