Saturday, April 21, 2012

NEWS FROM THE FRONT:  


The Are-You-Kidding-Me Department of Mountain Affairs, Sezyem Seksyon, Leogane, Reports:

The truly disadvantaged include...DIGICEL!! yesterday's email from CEO at Digicel informed our mountain team that because the cost of building ONE school for our zone was equivalent to building TWo schools in low-lying coastal areas - due to the expense of getting materials up the mountains - they regret that, although they personally climbed and visited our mountains last summer, this year they were unable to move with the actual construction...DIGICEL reports a "shortfall" in THEIR budget of about $100,000.00 ! I don't know what to make of this, except, if we need to start passing the hat for DIGICEL, the world's economy is truly in bad shape...BOTTOM LINE:  Education provisions, Sturdy building, safe structures, resources, EQ monies, etc. are reserved for lowlands - once again rural mountain zones (where most Haitians live - at least until they are forced to relocate because of governmental, and NGO, relative neglect) get the short schrift.  This population (as historically) continues to have to move to, or frequent, THE urban area - for education, clinics,  the whole shebang. ? Decentralization?  A myth...In many ways, ONE school in the mountains is worth TWO in the lowlands, in terms of equitable distribution of resources and at least a token effort to decentralize away from coastal towns and the big city.  But, I haven't yet come up with a sufficiently convincing argument - nor the $100,000.00 to help DIGICEL be able to do this work.  Pass the hats, mesye, medam...Tonton Digicel NEEDS YOU!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Can One Live by Kassava Bread Alone?

Kassava bread, a la maison Mon Bouton!

With fresh ground peanut butter on wedges of kassav, our school children in the mountains buy local, eat local.

Goes great with steaming thick coffee in the way early morning by the fire nan kizin. Mmmmm!



Sunday, April 8, 2012

I Lift My Eyes to the Mountains


"I lift my eyes to the mountains, from where does my help come? My help comes from God, maker of heaven and earth. " Psalm 121:1-2