Seven Months Later

“… that no one should be denied the right to survive and that anyone and everyone can do something to make a difference in the lives of our closest neighbors.” - Paul Farmer, MD

Seven months after January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti, community leaders in Gran Sous strive to continue their long-term initiatives. Since Port au Prince is where most food and fuel is purchased, the initial impact of the disaster caused drastic food shortages and huge increases in the cost of basic supplies. The inflationary effects of the earthquake and the increased number of refugees arriving to the island have caused a serious strain on the local economy in La Gonâve.

Immediately after the earthquake our partners in Gran Sous, APDAG, soared into action, presenting their community with a comprehensive plan to meet their immediate needs. APDAG efficiently navigated a logistical nightmare in Haiti, identifying solutions to supply, ship, and distribute food. APDAG even surveyed nearby villages to assess structural damage to homes, quickly prioritizing a schedule for reconstruction. The decisive post-earthquake action taken by APDAG reinforces Roots of Development’s commitment to a grassroots approach to development. Local community organizers are able to respond to their community’s needs faster and more effectively than we can from a distance. Roots of Development will help provide the necessary funding to support the rebuilding efforts led by Haitians in their own community.

So where are we now?

As news coverage of Haiti has predictably waned, we continue to work on the long road toward recovery in Gran Sous. While fear and anxiety still remain with those who were directly affected by the earthquake, Roots of Development’s presence is a sign of our commitment to improving the quality of life in La Gonâve. The earthquake dealt a temporary setback to our work with APDAG, but together we have already replaced 5 homes of the 21 destroyed by the earthquake. Thanks to a private donor and students at Tolland Middle School in Connecticut, we currently have funding to rebuild two more homes. Work continues on the community building and tool depot (photo above), which we hope will be finished by early October . With your support, we can rebuild homes and give access to clean water, basic healthcare, decent housing, and steady employment, fulfilling many dreams of Gran Sous’ residents.

We need you to continue helping Gran Sous realize their dreams by staying up-to-date with our newsletters and spreading the word about our collaborative work. You can financially assist us by joining our $20.00 monthly donation campaign and by signing up to ride in the September 19, 2010, CT bike-a-thon. There are numerous other ways you can continue to help, whether organizing a fundraiser or fulfilling one of our current needs listed in this newsletter. In the past our supporters have come up with many creative ways to help us raise funds: Dinners, concerts, book readings, coffee house fundraisers, photo sales, walk-a-thons and bike-a-thons, flower and candy sales during the holidays, a “battle of the bands” event, and events in which donations can be made in lieu of presents such as birthdays and anniversaries.

Our experience in Haiti has been both gut-wrenching, but most of all inspiring. The support that poured in immediately after the January 11^th earthquake was extremely important but, to continue our work we will need to mobilize everyone we can to institute long-term changes in Gran Sous and beyond. Please continue to show your support for successful development in Haiti. With Roots, a little support goes a long way.

An Interview with Mirold Edmond

by Brian Averill

Mirold Edmond was born and raised in Gran Sous and served in the Haitian government during the early 1990's. He is campaigning in the November election represent he island of La Gonave in Haiti's Parliament.

How many years did you initially spend living in Gran Sous?

I was born and raised in Gran Sous and left after primary school to go to Port-au-Prince. There was no middle school and no high school in Gran Sous, so I went [to Port-au-Prince] and every vacation I came back to Gran Sous.

After living in Port-au-Prince you became a politician and later lived in Miami. What kind of differences do you see between Haiti and the U.S.?

There are big differences between the life I have in Gran Sous, Port-au-Prince, and the one I have in Miami. There is no opportunity [in Port-au-Prince]. All the chance you have is that your parents can send you to school. In Miami the difference is huge because whatever age you are, you can be successful because there are schools. In that sense there is a huge difference. Not only in Gran Sous, but in all of Haiti.

Beside your personal connection to Gran Sous, do you maintain a working relationship with the community leaders in the village?

I am running for office now and most of the leaders are the ones campaigning for me to become elected. I helped them open a new high school in Gran Sous and for that reason so many children who couldn't go to school in Port-au-Prince, can now go to school right next to their house. That is the reason we have more people educated and going to high school. They are the ones who asked me to run again. I did not know that the work I did could have that impact on people. This community responded very positively to what I did and now they asked me to run for office again.

What are some of your goals and aspirations for both the people of Gran Sous and the surrounding areas?

When I am elected, I will be elected for the whole island, which is two districts united in one. Gran Sous is just a part of the whole you see. As a native of Gran Sous I would like to see more opportunity for access to health care, good roads. For example, now they have clean water. I'd like to see people have water in their house, more ability to work, for them to have good homes, and for them to have more access to education. I would also like to see a park where they can go and spend time with friends.

Although you're not formally a part of APDAG, what do you think motivates them to continue working so hard?

The people in Gran Sous are very concerned about the community and in the past they wanted to do something, but weren't able to. Now that someone has come to help, they want to take advantage of the opportunity. They knew they did not have good lives because they drank dirty water, but that's what they had to do. Now, with the arrival of Roots they know they have an opportunity and they do not want to lose it.

Before, some people didn't want to do things, but because they see Chad and [other] people not from Gran Sous so interested, they think "Why don't I try to do something too?" The impact is wonderful and this is significant.

How have things changed in Gran Sous since APDAG was established?

I can tell you, it brings a lot of hope to the community. Before Roots of Development, they took the water to the lab, but it was not drinking water at all. The results said we should not drink it, while people were drinking it every day. Some people even passed away. They'd get some kind of fever or stomach problem. Now that APDAG is there we have clean water, we took it to the lab and they say it's clean, it's normal for people to drink.

Then some people did not have a house to stay in. Some people, some poor people now have a house to live in. They are so grateful for this. It is a good thing for the community. Now people expect a lot to come with Roots of Development. They expect to have economic development, small loans to do business, improvements in health care. I believe this is wonderful for the community. The work that they are doing there is priceless.

How has Roots of Development supported APDAG in their efforts?

It is not a project built for the community, but with the community. It is not as if someone comes from outside and says "I want to do this for you". Because Roots sits down and says "What is the problem, what do you want to achieve?" that is the main strength of the project. Financially they help and they share experiences with the people.

This interview will be read by a lot of Roots supporters; do you have anything you'd like to say to them specifically?

Actually, I would take this opportunity to thank all of the supporters of Roots because I know some of them do not know Gran Sous. They are doing things because they want to help somebody, a human being, a community, so that is good, something wonderful.

I want to invite them to come. They can come and see for themselves the opportunities people have in the community and see how people can live in a community without access to health care and work. Not even a quarter of the community is working and they will ask "How can people live?"

It is a very joyful community. They like foreigners and when you come they will want to talk to you.

An Interview with Carline Etienne

By: Mara-Hiley Chery

1. What is the name of the Women's Group?

Groupment Fanm Development Advancement Gran Sous (Women's Group for the Development and Advancement for Gran Sous)

2. Whose idea was it to start the group?

An elder woman (70 years old) in our prayer group said "It would be good for the women of Gran Sous to meet, to have a place where they can move, we can't remain in the corner, we have a voice." We chose a date to meet and proposed the idea of forming a women's group, and everyone thought it was a great idea. So we decided on a day (Monday) when we would regularly meet and every woman can give her opinions, speak about the things she would like, and what we as a group can improve for her.

3. Why is it important that there is a group for women?

It's important, i don't know what things are like for women of other nationalities, but Haitian women suffer a lot of injustices. We suffer them at home, sometimes at the hands of our husbands and in the workplace. A group like this lets a woman know that she has an opinion and should voice her desires. Men often decide that they are in charge and are chiefs, but it's important that every woman knows that she has the same rights as men and that she isn't worthless. I want women to open their eyes and see that they cannot stay where they are.

4. How did you become President?

I and another woman were chosen as possible presidents, and so we were asked to leave the room while everyone else votes, and when we returned I found out that I received a majority of the votes.

5. Did you offer to become President or were you and this other women chosen by the group?

We were chosen. I didn't offer myself for the position. I did think about being President and wanted it. But I think it's better when you're chosen.

6. What do you like about being President?

I like this position because when I'm with the other women I feel good. We all look forward to our meetings and we enjoy what we're doing. We always pray for our meetings. When we get together we clean the roads or do household chores for neighbors that can't. For example, we'll go out and buy detergents and do laundry for those who can't afford to buy the soap or can't physically do the work. When we're all together we also have a good time together, we may sing a song, share stories or tell jokes. As President I don't make decisions on my own. I believe that leadership involves bringing everyone together to make decisions together. We discuss the ideas that I and others present because sometimes the people around us have more insight, they can see things farther ahead than others.

7. What are the current projects you are working on?

Women. I would like to lift their spirits, wake them up, get them alive, and give them hope. Some wake up in the morning with nothing to give their children. I hope to change their lives. I hope we can create some sort of work, maybe a market, something that would give them hope for the future. I want this for all women in Haiti.

New Steps Forward for Gran Sous

By: Jennifer Applegate

Our U.S team of volunteers is constantly striving for progress, reassessing our operations, and trying to evolve as an organization and our Haitian counterparts are no different. Fervidly working to improve the lives of those in Gran Sous, the KODAG committee now has a new name and new initiatives to tackle.

As many of our supporters recently learned, the Haitian committee formerly known as KODAG has elected to change its name to APDAG. President Justin Stevenson said, "...we wanted to change the organization's system. Since we were working on larger projects we decided to make it more inclusive so that more people can get involved."

Another major development within Gran Sous, there has been an entirely new committee formed by female pioneers of the community. The unique quality of this committee is that it consists solely of women and has a large alliance of 55 members. The women of GFDAG exhibit a commitment and devotion to bettering the community they call home. To put this commitment into perspective consider maintaining a family household without access to grocery stores, frozen meals, running water or electricity. The amount of time that it takes for the women of Gran Sous to complete their daily household rituals is hours longer than we experience in the average US home. "These women are swimming against the current of poverty on a daily basis to meet the needs of their family for survival," added Lindsey Walker, Roots' Co-Founder. It is with incredible drive and enthusiasm that these women contribute their time to establishing this new organization. According to Carline Stevenson, the leader of GFDAG, the group was started to honor all Haitian women, "A group like this lets a woman know that she has an opinion and should voice her desires. Men often decide that they are in charge and are chiefs, but it's important that every woman knows that she has the same rights as men and that she isn't worthless. I want women to open their eyes and see that they cannot stay where they are. "

The members of GFDAG have their own list of projects that they would like to bring to Gran Sous. When speaking of their short-term goals Carline said, "Right now we're working on a way to get the women in our community more involved in community life and leadership. We've thought about starting a store or open air market where women can come and sell food, clothes or anything else" Looking to the future, some of GFDAG's long-term goals involve providing education and resources for orphans and underprivileged children, and creating micro-finance options for their fellow citizens of Gran Sous.

With the combined forces of APDAG and GFDAG it is clear that Gran Sous has a strong foundation for the progression of their community's development. Carline added, "Our relationship with APDAG is like a marriage. We put together our resources to help each group reach their goals. It's a collaboration. We're both striving to help our community." The collaboration of these two entities will strengthen Gran Sous, providing all of its members, men and women alike, with a voice in the community.

A trip to Haiti (April 2010)

By Kathy Chartier

Saturday night, April 25th, I returned home from Gran Sous and slept in my own bed with my down pillow. In Gran Sous I slept in a bed, but in a mosquito tent with my coat for a pillow. A tarantula over my head the first night! Mosquitoes, 3 inch cockroaches and geckos in our room every night. A symphony of animal sounds all night long – dogs barking, roosters crowing (it’s a myth that they only crow at daybreak!), goats bleating, cats meowing, I have never appreciated my bed so much!

Sunday morning I got up, turned on the faucet, and scooped coffee into the maker with tears in my eyes. In Gran Sous, a child takes the donkey or carries the bucket on their head down the steep, rocky path to the water project. Mama goes to the Friday market by foot or on a moto-taxi to buy the coffee beans. The elderly aunt grinds them by hand on the dusty ground with a big pan in her lap. Then it is cooked over a charcoal fire. The simple things we take so for granted,..

Now it is a week later, and I still think of the people of Gran Sous every day and dream about them every night. They have so little and need so much.

On a cold night in February Joanne Todd and I had dinner with Chad in Washington DC. Joanne had already committed to going to Gran Sous with Roots of Development and I wanted to hear more about it. We spoke for hours about Gran Sous; the people and their way of living, their struggles and their needs. Chad told us about the clean water project, the houses rebuilt after the hurricane, the clinic, the food that Roots supplied after the earthquake. Then we talked about the upcoming trip, the midwife project and the women’s group and their need for microenterprise loans. Helping people, especially women, to help themselves make their lives better has long been a passion of mine. I’ve seen microenterprise successes through the World Council of Credit Unions in Philippines, Mexico, Peru and Ecuador,
How could I not go to Haiti with Roots of Development?

Lucky for me, Chad was not able to find an engineer and I was able to take that spot. Even luckier for Roots, Chad found Geoffrey, our engineer just days before the trip.

We arrived in Gran Sous on April 17. The first couple of days were full of surprises. First was learning that our driver was shot in Port of Prince an hour before we landed. He is still in the hospital. Second was that the bay was so rough when we crossed by ferry that I thought we were going to sink. Third was that 13 people and all of their luggage could fit in the back of a pickup truck and travel over dirt and rock paths not fit to call roads for two hours without killing anyone! Fourth was the tarantula over my bed in the middle of the night. I wanted adventure and a little fear and I sure got it! If I could have gone home that second day, I still wonder if I would have.

As the week progressed, the spirit of the people with how little they have and how much Roots of Development has been able to do to help them were the greatest surprises of all.

Simple things we take so for granted; clean, safe drinking water, a health clinic, a roof over our head, sanitary bathroom facilities, tools to complete a job, food in our bellies – wouldn’t be possible for so many without Roots of Development.

Visiting Louis and his family, in his house funded by Roots and built by the committee, hearing about the food he received after the earthquake, seeing his new born son presented to Chad to name, then holding that child, will be burned in my heart and memory forever.

Meeting with the women, hearing their problems, achievements and hopes and dreams; seeing young adults practicing their English aspiring to come to the US and wondering what opportunities the future holds for them; seeing young children and teens learning on benches in churches and classrooms with few books or school supplies. Living with the people is so much different than watching a news segment on tv or reading an article in the paper. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

I will be forever grateful for a young man with a dream to improve the lives of the people in a community, in a country that he has grown to love. Thank you Chad, the world needs more young people like you.

And thank you to every one associated with Roots of Development for all your efforts for Haiti and the opportunity to share in your good works. Joanne and I believe that we will be able to help the people of Gran Sous with financial education and microenterprise loans. We have already started to make connections.

I look forward to a long relationship with Roots of Development.

April 2010 Trip to Haiti

By Jennifer Demma

My name is Jennifer M. Demma and I am a Certified Nurse-Midwife living in Minneapolis and I recently had the opportunity to travel to Gran Sous, Haiti with a group of eleven people from the US as a part of a Roots of Development trip. There were four of us (myself, Lynn Stanley-Haney – a Nurse Practitioner, Vida Kent – a Certified Nurse-Midwife, and Jennifer Applegate -- a public health researcher and intern at Roots of Development) who were part of a midwifery initiative trying to work with the local midwives and the members of the community to learn about the maternal-child health needs in Gran Sous and on the island as a whole. The intention of the trip was that by better understanding the current situation and learning about available resources and current challenges then we will be able to work with the midwives and the community to help improve the health status of women and children on the island.

In making this trip I didn't know what to expect, since I had never traveled to a third world country before. Traveling to Gran Sous was not a simple journey for the team: flying to Port-au-Prince, traveling on a harrowing truck ride for a couple hours to a hotel on the coast to stay for the night, then riding a ferry for two and a half hours and then landing on the island and taking another even more harrowing truck ride on rocky "roads" for a couple of hours to finally arrive in Gran Sous. It was exhausting and exciting and yet it is a trip that people on the island often have to make just to try to acquire food and supplies.

Upon arriving in Gran Sous, we were greeted by a warm and enthusiastic welcome and met our host families. I stayed with an incredibly generous and kind family: a man named Stevenson, and his wife Jolene and their four children. One of the highlights of the trip was sharing time with my host family swapping stories and teaching them to play games. I discovered that connections and relationships can be formed through the simplest of interactions.

Despite being incredibly hot and dehydrated most of the time, we had the opportunity to build relationships with a group of 24 local midwives. I was surprised to learn that the majority of midwives on the island are men, which is different than many other places where midwives are predominantly women. Like many other countries, most of the babies on the island are born at home. For many reasons, women often do not receive prenatal care, proper nutrition, or treatment for medical problems and the midwives may or may not have the training or resources to deal with complications of pregnancy or birth. I was also surprised to discover that the midwives we met with usually do not get paid for their services and, despite this, they described how dedicated they are to caring for women and babies and how eager they are to receive training and access to supplies (like birth kits). Women do have some access to birth control but they often have to walk for hours just to get to a dispensary where they can receive contraception.

Even though we communicated to the village when we were planning the trip that we were not coming to the island to provide direct patient care, people would still approach us and show us various medical problems and ailments just to have us look at them to see if we could do anything. It was extremely difficult to not be able to help them and to know that they probably would not be able to access any help. We did, however, have the opportunity to bring a nine-year-old girl to the hospital for medical care that she would not have gotten otherwise. We also had the chance to help transport a woman who was eight months pregnant and bleeding to Port-au-Prince to find a hospital where she safely delivered a healthy baby boy by c-section.

Overall, what I was struck by the most was the tremendous resilience of the people: their strength and determination in the face of incredible odds against them, along with limited resources and isolation, was a true inspiration. I was also inspired and amazed by the hopefulness, vision and aspirations of the people. I discovered that no matter where you live, there are universal aspirations that all people share like the ability to have a home, shelter, food, jobs, education for your children, health, safety and opportunities.

Equally striking was bearing witness to malnourished children and families who struggle just to have food to eat on a regular basis. On our first day on the island, we saw a crucial food delivery that some of the people of Gran Sous had obtained and I marveled at the simplicity of how precious a bag of rice could be.

As I have settled back into the routine of my life here in Minnesota I find myself thinking about the trip on a daily basis. I wonder how an island only about 700 miles off the coast of Florida could be home to such hope and faith and strength and yet face such isolation, poverty, hunger, and struggle. I find myself unbelievably grateful for people and things I have often taken for granted. Most importantly, I remember how it felt to receive such kindness and appreciation for something as simple as sharing time with people, listening to the them, paying attention to their needs and promising never to forget them or their stories.

Musings on Haiti

By Lynn Haney (April 2010 Trip to Gran Sous, Haiti)

I awoke the first morning after our return from Gran Sous to the gentle sound of rain on the roof, classical music on the radio, and the security of my Connecticut life. I found it hard to believe that only 24 hours before, I had wakened to the sounds of roosters crowing, donkeys braying and dogs barking; the sounds of early morning in a remote mountain village in earthquake ravaged Haiti.

Thanks to Roots of Development, this is the second time I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit and be part of this remarkable community. Last year when I visited, I was moved and inspired as I watched the members of APDAG working to help the people of their village in developing plans to improve their lives. On returning this year, I was stunned by the work that had been accomplished and progress they had made in their understanding of group process.

The people of Gran Sous are quite simply, amazing! They open their homes, their hearts to us with warmth, generosity and a trust that is unique in my experience. They have so little, they live with none of the modern conveniences that we as Americans find “essential”, and yet are willing to share what they have without hesitation.

From early morning until darkness falls, they labor to achieve the basics of life. Women and children carry the water necessary for cooking and bathing long distance from the water source to their homes, in basins and plastic jugs, balanced on their heads. They cook their meals over charcoal fires, wash their clothes in the streams and then carry this heavy wet clothing back (again on their heads) to their homes. They walk countless miles over a rocky road to market for food and necessities, and then carry their purchases back. On market day, we joined them on their walk to market, carried nothing back and speaking for myself, were sweaty, thirsty and exhausted! These are the conditions in the main village area of the town. Relatively speaking they are luxurious compared the conditions in the more remote mountainous areas. The conditions in those areas defy description.

Within this community, I have found friendship, affection and acceptance from people of all ages. They gently tease me about my foibles, reach out to steady me when I clumsily trip over the ever-present rocks, hug me and most importantly, laugh with me.

I came to Gran Sous to assist them in working out a plan for improving health care. I continue to work with them to achieve these goals. In my case, I was part of a team assessing the potential for providing additional education for the lay midwives practicing in Gran Sous and the surrounding area.

However, what I can give to them seems small in comparison to what they have given to me. I have learned so much more than I have given. My life and my perspective have been forever changed.

Don’t misunderstand me; this is a physically arduous, emotionally draining trip. I found conditions that broke my heart, situations that appalled and frustrated me from a medical perspective, conditions that I simply cannot understand and find difficult if not impossible to accept. The day-to-day life is hard, adapting to such a deprived and rigorous lifestyle is not easy and it is often a struggle to keep up with the daily demands. I would be less than honest if I said that I wasn’t discomforted or at times miserable, but all in all the good parts far outweighed the difficulties.

Before the January earthquake the country was mired in poverty: confounded by the unjust distribution of wealth and power, working within a fragmented government structure, lacking natural resources, with poor to non existent health care, to name only a few of their problems. Now this natural disaster has compounded all the issues and problems and left in its wake a situation that seems hopeless.

However, despite all of this, I continue to maintain that there can be hope. Through organizations like Roots of Development, there burns a flicker of optimism. Employing Roots of Development’s philosophy of working with the intelligent and resourceful people of Haiti, we can help to show them that they are not powerless, they can work to achieve goals and they can achieve success. Small steps within small communities (such as Gran Sous) to be sure, but steps definitely worth taking if Haiti is to endure.