By Sara Dessieux
For the last nine months, the construction team in Oregon has been making plans, purchasing equipment and supplies, acquiring donations, recruiting volunteers, and packing containers. Everyone new to Haiti was warned that things can move a lot slower in Haiti and numerous unexpected obstacles will present themselves. All those preparations culminated in a crew of six volunteers from Oregon arriving in Haiti on Monday, March 9 to begin work again on the Project Living Hope Land in Camp Marie. Bob Thatcher, Dwight Hardin, Ron Randall, Tom Doran, Josh Smith, and Mike Younk were joined by dozens of Haitian men throughout their week of work.
The team had two main goals: lay drainage pipe throughout the soccer fields to divert rain water and pour concrete foundations for the shop and garage. We are thrilled to report that they were able to do both of those things. They also hoped to grade the soccer fields and get the backhoe we had purchased out of the container and put it to use, but those jobs will have to wait for another day. It only seems appropriate. Around the world, plans are falling through. No cases of coronavirus are being reported in Haiti yet, but this country does have its own mountain of problems these days.
Still the week was an exciting success! The highlight of the week for me was seeing the shop floor being poured. Picture six construction volunteers from Oregon, Guesly, several members of our Haiti staff, four Haitian guys we sent to a masonry course last year, a couple other hard working men from the community, and a crew of almost 30 guys from St. Marc that came to actually mix and pour the concrete (which included carrying and dumping in all the cement, sand, rocks and water)! All the nonstop activity and brute strength required was incredible.
As is the protocol here in Haiti, all 70+ of the workers were fed a hot lunch at the worksite. Two of our employees, plus another we hire on a daily basis, began work in their makeshift kitchen around 7am having lunch ready around 12:30pm. Every day, they made a huge pot of rice and beans and, in another pot, some variety of tasty cooked vegetables flavored with a little meat. They dished it all up into piles of styrofoam boxes. That was followed up with cleaning the pots and then washing and prepping food for the next day. Later in the week one of the guys bought thirty metal bowls which is enough for normal work days so that we can cut back on the styrofoam.
Two of the volunteers from Oregon stayed on in Haiti for a second week and will keep working through tomorrow before heading home on Saturday. There is much left to be done on the PLH land but our crew here in Haiti will keep plugging away and warmly welcome our next team of volunteers whenever they are able to come. The coronavirus has put the brakes on travel for now. But we are grateful that this past week was able to happen. We appreciate the sacrifice our visitors and their families made, and we feel so blessed with the team of Haitian people God has brought together for us.
The weeks and months ahead are full of uncertainties for all of us and so we draw comfort from Bible passages like this:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Josh Smith sent daily reports to keep the construction team informed and entertained. For those of you who enjoy knowing all the details, here is a summary of their days:
Pictured above: Bob, left. Mike, center. Josh, right.
Monday - The team walked the land with many members of the PLH staff. We know just having them show up ready to get to work was so encouraging to our staff after our family’s 8-month absence and the Haiti-wide protests and lockdown. The team went through the pipes and parts that had been delivered in Container #1 and then a carload of men went to nearby St Marc to retrieve tools from Container #2 that was still being held at customs.
Tuesday - A rented bulldozer that was supposed to be delivered Monday arrived at 2pm. Everyone soon discovered it could only drive slowly so for the whole week dirt moving did not happen very fast. Men went back to St. Marc on Tuesday to get forms and lots of other concrete supplies out of Container #2. Some of the pieces were very big and everything had to be carried over the backhoe which was still in the doorway of the container. Lots of sweating happened. An expected excavator never arrived, but drainage pipe was laid out and joined into 80-foot sections. A crew began digging the shop foundation by hand.
Wednesday - The excavator arrived and shipping container #1, which was now empty, was lifted off the trailer chassis using the excavator, bulldozer and chains. Yet again, men had to go into St. Marc to get more supplies. This time no box truck was available so everything was loaded into a dump truck. Most of the forms for the shop foundation were put in place, the excavator dug a trench between the two soccer fields, and gabions were placed where the pipe will drain.
Josh wrote, “The heat was in full GO MODE today. The group drank tons of water. The Haitian people are very giving, loving and humble. Willing to jump into any situation, regardless of whether they know how to do the work or not. I personally continue to learn from the culture, the pace of life, the impactful people. America has very little in common. Starting at breakfast...Americans may say, what’s up? Hello. Etc... But Haitian folks actually ask, How are you this morning? How did you sleep? Genuine questions, expressing care.”
Thursday - The team installed 300 feet of pipe and all went well until the excavator blew a hydraulic hose at 3pm. The Haitian operator headed to Port-au-Prince to retrieve a new one. The forming was finished for the shop foundation and a portable cement mixer was delivered. The rented roller showed up late Wednesday, but then the bulldozer and roller began working on rebuilding the slope around the soccer fields.
Friday - The shop foundation was divided into three sections and two sections were poured today. A crew of about 30 Haitian men came to pour the cement. Josh wrote, “Never have I thought in all my years of doing concrete could something be completed with that massive amount of labor. We poured approximately 30 cubic yards in the burning hot sun. Every one of us Americans, at times, had to take a break, feeling on the edge of heat stroke, but all persevered. Every bucket of sand, rock, cement, and water was packed with 5-gallon buckets. The two mixers used were those that would have been removed from a US rental fleet years ago, but they worked. Got it done. It was fun to teach and watch the Haitians continue to "catch on" to finishing techniques. Part of the joy of doing this trip has been teaching folks how to do something new. Something they may only do once in their life, but you can tell by facial expressions it’s impactful.”
The excavator was fixed around noon and more trench was dug and more pipe was laid. The team was able to leave the land early around 4:00 and went to the beach to swim.
Saturday - The remaining section of the shop foundation was poured while part of the crew finished setting up the forms for the garage. Then three-fourths of that foundation was poured. The rest of the crew finished digging all the trenches for the pipe.
Sunday - The team worked for several hours before attending church at 10:30. They finished up all the remaining pipework in the soccer fields and removed and cleaned the forms from the garage. Four out of the six guys headed to Port-au-Prince to fly out in the morning.
+++ If you’re among the people who have read this far, you may be wondering about the current status on the containers. Container #1 is sitting next to the shop pad ready to be moved into place to become part of the shop. Container #2 containing the backhoe is still in St. Marc being held by customs. Container #3 was loaded with the two metal buildings yesterday in Oregon. A team of volunteers there worked for hours to maneuver everything into place. We hope to see it in Haiti sometime in April.
