Growing Moringa trees in Bondeau

A friend gave me several packs of Moringa seeds to plant here in in Bondeau along with complete directions on planting and caring for the new plants..  The title page of the directions booklet, "Moringa Reader", asks the question, "Moringa-is it really capable of miracles?"  I was so thrilled to receive the seeds and carefully read the Moringa Reader so that I'd be sure and grow healthy trees.  At first, I planted only one packet, then the following week planted another, and then another.  I placed the containers in the garden in an area where the new plants would have both sun and shade.  The garden is fenced in with a "living" fence made of tree branches with bamboo woven throughout for crossbars.  Every day I admire the new plants, checking to see that the gardner had watered them.

The moringa tree is a wonderful gift to people in Bondeau.  The leaves are high in vitamins and can be cooked or eaten raw.  The trees can be kept small and bushy or they can be allowed to grow into tall trees, giving shade, as well as food and medicine.  With such vitamin definciancy in this poor country village, the Moringa surely is an answer to prayer.  I have visions of Moringa trees in every back yard.  I should say, " I HAD visions of Moringa trees in every back yard."  Today on my morning check I saw that a goat had eaten all the small plants in one container and many leaves of the tress in another container.  I am so discouraged! Goats wander into the garden and are quickly chased away by rock-bearing little boys.  I had not seen that the goats were interested in what was growing in the pots.  But now that they have gotten a taste, they are sure to return.  Tonight I will ask the gardener to move the pots up close to the house where I can keep a close watch.  I'll also ask gardener to dig a hole to prepare for planting.  I'll then cover the small trees with a woven "cage" until something more substantial can be made.

In this agricultural community the people are accustomed to having their crops eaten by goats and pigs.  And they just seem to accept it, as they accept so many losses.  It seems so unfair!  People struggle to plant a garden, only to have it destroyed by goats.  Goats and pigs are not restrained and wander freely.  Our area is mostly fenced in but access is gained at the main entrance, which is not gated.

I welcome advice, but please don't write unless you have goats wandering around your back yard!

The New Year in Bondeau, Haiti

Celebration for the New Year continues today.  The children have no school today.  The playground is deserted.  Families are together sharing in the tradition of the New Year.  Festivities began on New Year's Eve with Holy Eucharist service in the church beginning at 10:00PM.  Following the church service was a grand party with music, games, and dancing, which lasted until daybreak.  Many of the children stayed awake all night, as well as the adults.  Not me, I was tucked comfortably in my bed, ear plugs in place.  We at Kay Timoun began New Year's day with the tradional soup joumou.  It's base is pumpkin squash that makes a thick broth.  Add chicken, potatoes, and vegetables and bring in the New Year with a hearty meal, praying that each day in the coming year one will have the sustainence of this meal.  Kay Timoun kids spent the day with their parents, returning at 5:00PM to watch a movie: The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  After chapel, where Christian shared a short history of January 1 in Haiti, Haiti's day of independence, the kids were quick to get in their beds for a good night's sleep.  Tradition continues today with a main meal of chicken and sauce with rice, and salad made with red beets, potatoes, and carrots garnished with watercress.  The adults will enjoy a drink of home made "Cremas", a sweet creamy liquor.  I'll pass on the Cremas. 
My hope for the New Year is that the people of Bondeau, in fact, all the people of Haiti, receive what they need to sustain life: medical care that they can afford, food to feed their families, and education for every child.  My resolution for the New Year is to do whatever I can so that my hope is realized.

Christmas in Bondeau

The small church was full. People sat on benches outside at 8:00PM on Christmas Eve.  Singing was heard all around Bondeau as Ste. Marie Madeleine celebrated another Christmas.  The kids from Kay Timoun were seated in the very front, eager to watch a movie of the birth of Jesus.  I arrived later, at 11:00PM for the Eucharist service.  The church had been decorated with white and red paper chains. Off to the side by the wall was a tree branch decorated with balloons, red paper chains, and twinkle lights.  The music director had rehearsed the choir. They made beautiful music throughout the mass, full voices singing in four part harmony, no piano or organ accompanying them.  The simplicity of this church, yet packed full of worshippers, the efforts of poor peasants to decorate for this special holy day, the people who had walked miles in the dark on dirt mountain trails to worship, shows the strong faith that keeps the community of Bondeau together and surviving.

Stars in the night

 

I love my ministry here at Ste. Marie Madeleine, but I must admit that at times it is extremely challenging. I am so used to my creature comforts and becoming acccustomed to life in rural Haiti is, at times, difficult for me. For instance, last night I was already to take a shower, had prepared myself for the shock of cold water, shampoo and conditioner within reach, turned on the faucet but no water came out of the shower head. Oh, no water again! The lights had already gone off at 7:00PM, leaving us all in darkness illuminated by only a couple of battery lanterns. I had just put new batteries in my lantern so I had plenty of light for my shower...now if I only had water! So, I bathed with the little water I had in a plastic jug, grateful that I had it, took my lantern and went out to sit on the gallery and meditate a while before going to bed. Once outside, I was greeted by the most beautiful sky filled with bright shining stars sparkling on a pitch black background. In the total darkness of the night, and the darkness of my thoughts, there in the sky was a wonderful gift to me: the bright lights against the black sky reminding me that in my darkest night the Light is always with me.

Weekends at Kay Timoun

Weekends are great!  The kids at Kay Timoun have activities that are not much different from kids in the U.S.  They are up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and then off to exercise.  Stretching exercises, running, and then sit-ups and push-ups are all included in the program.  The kids return home invigorated and ready for a big breakfast.  After showers and breakfast the older kids have acolyte training.  There is no coaxing here to get kids off to extracurricular activities.  They value the opportunity and are excited about learning.  All the children have music class in the late morning.  They are now being taught music theory and will soon learn to play music on a simple instrument.

After lunch everybody chips in to tackle the mountain of laundry.  They scrub and wash by hand, and then dry on a clothes line.  The boys are responsible only for washing socks and underwear because they have other yard duties in the afternoon.

Weekends are also for relaxing and watching a favorite movie.  We show both Haitian and American movies on a laptop computer.  A favorite is “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” 

Sunday mornings are special for the kids at Kay Timoun.  They dress up in their finest, carry their bibles and prayer books and are off to church, usually the first to arrive.  They sit in the front seats, sing all the hymns and fully participate.  This Sunday I found it amazing that four year old Odiana, sitting in the front row, stayed focused on the entire service, which I might add is two hours long including announcements.

Sunday afternoons are for visiting family.  I walk Benjamy, Ange, Jean Marie and Odiana to their parents’ homes.  Wonel goes with Zachary and Sundreen.  The older kids are on their own.  They know that they are to return at 5:00 but most of the kids are here at 3:00 for the Sunday afternoon movie.

After chapel prayer and singing at 7:00, the kids prepare for bed, last minute touch ups to school uniforms, and another exciting week at Ste. Marie Madeleine School.

 

Home again, home again!

I’m back in Bondeau after being in Boca for two weeks.  It was great to have all of my "creature comforts", a big comfortable bed and air conditioning, but I’m delighted to be back with my kids at Kay Timoun.  Arriving in Port au Prince at 3:00PM put us right in the rush hour traffic and it took over three hours to travel the 65 miles to Bondeau.  On the way, we slowly passed by miles and miles of tent cities that have become tent slums.  Residents have added on to their tents to have some semblance of a home, but it’s still a tent and it’s still slum.  Banks of bright blue portable toilets stand out among all the earth colored tents.  Little children play ball on a small patch of concrete, no larger than six feet square, surrounded by tent homes.  Stagnant green water flowed along the curb of the street.  Abandoned trucks had been stripped of anything valuable or useful and remain on the side of the road…no towing service here!

Creeping along the route toward Leogane, I was able to see much that I don’t see while driving at a faster speed.  One thing that stood out on this drive was the number of canals and rivers running down from the mountains toward the ocean.  They were all filled with plastic trash!  Plastic bottles, plastic bags, plastic jars, Styrofoam containers, plastic, plastic, plastic clogging up the flow of water.  Plastic piled high on the river banks.  Plastic is a huge problem in Bondeau, as well, because there is no trash pick-up here, and no recycling program.  People simply have no place to dispose of their plastic bottles or plastic packaging, so most of it just gets tossed on the ground, an eye sore for visitors and for me, too.  Thankfully, most food is bought in large quantities in bags that can be reused, and Coke, Pepsi, and beer drinks are in glass bottles to be returned.  Bondeau does not have the resources to deal with plastic trash.

On Saturday I went to a food depot in Miragoane to purchase the large quantity of food consumed here at Kay Timoun.  Among other food items, I bought 110 lbs. of rice and 100 lbs. of pinto beans, 6 gallons of cooking oil, and 50 lbs. of corn meal.  The cost was much less than I had anticipated, thinking that it had gone up again in the two weeks I was gone.  But, actually, the rice was a little less, and the beans about $1.00 lb. US.

I have quickly returned to my everyday routine here at Kay Timoun.  The children were happy to see me.  I am thrilled to be back caring for them.  Every child was able to receive a new pair of shoes because of generous donations.  Also, new dresses , new shorts, shirts, and jeans.  We are able to make a distribution of clothing to the community, as well.  I am overwhelmed with the generosity of people and I give thanks every day.  You are all helping the poorest of the poor!  I hope to post more photos on Facebook.

Reflection on "Sandy"

I think of how hurricane Sandy came through Bondeau, Haiti...lots of rain lasting several days, on and off showers, not constant downpour.  Our house flooded, as it does in any heavy rain, due to poor construction.  The kids all chipped in to clear the house of water; some kids swept water out the doors, others mopped, and the little ones scooped water with their hands into small buckets.  We were rather safe despite the severeness of the storm.  People in the community were much worse off than we.  This would include parents of the children living at Kay Timoun.  Many people lost animals that they depend on for income; goats drowned, chickens were washed away.  Others lost crops that they had nurtured along in hopes of harvesting.  Corn and sugar cane plants were broken and bent over from the high winds.  Water washed through houses built of woven sticks.  Mud surrounded the houses when I visited two days after the storm.  Food is scarce and expensive, so many families had no food, waiting for the school to open so children would at least have rice and beans provided by the school feeding program.  And yet, there were no complaints.  People began to help one another, making repairs as needed, as soon as the storm was over.  Haitians are the most resiliant people in the world!  They deal with one disaster after another!

And I see on the news all the suffering in the northeast: people stranded without electricity in bitter cold temperatures, gas stations closed, no gasoline available, flooded streets.  Government relief isn't there to help the sick, the elderly, and simply the general population.  People are helping their neighbors, people are helping people, just like in Bondeau!  So, does it take disaster to bring out the best in all of us?  I don't know, but I do know that people, both Americans and Haitians, step up to help their neighbors when help is needed the most.  People have compassion for one another and that is God working in us and among us.

I'm writing from my home in Boca Raton and will return to Bondeau this coming week.  I miss all my kids and the simple, although challenging life in Bondeau.























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