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| The Basilica overlooks the historic center of Quito, Ecuador |
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| Women of Quito interested in Daughters of the King |
June began with a trip to Quito, a city of 2 million, sitting at 9000 feet, near the equator. The visit was linked to my work as Ecuador Country Coordinator for the Order of the Daughters of the King. Ecuadorean Episcopal priest Lourdes Inapanta perceives the order as a way to strengthen parishes as women take vows to pray, serve, and share their faith.
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| Episcopal priest Lourdes Inapanta, Quito |
After Quito, we had a week to prepare for seven weeks away, beginning with another trip to Haiti for me while Bill flew on to Colorado. Some plans changed midcourse, but it all worked out...
Right: cousin Cathy Nissly Long and husband Ron hosted me in Miami en route to Haiti
Below: boarding train to Miami airport with batik supplies for Haiti
Rice fields en route to Gonaives, Haiti
Port-au-Prince market
Left: Women of Gonaives receive batik supplies
Deb Couri-D'Amico teaches women new sewing skills
Fellow hostel guests, taxi drivers, or airplane seat mates often inspire or educate me as I leave Haiti. This exit, earlier than planned due to a stomach bug and a sense of "I can't cope any longer," is no exception. But first a little background...
A mutual acquaintance introduced me and Deborah Couri-D'Amico a few months ago, noting we have "like-minded interests in Haiti." Debbie launched the Women of Milot Entrepreneurial Network following the 2010 earthquake to help women earn income. Her work is housed in Cap Haitien on Haiti's north coast, not far from the town of Milot, home to the ruins of the Sans-Souci (care free) Palace built by Haitian King Henri Christophe in the early 1800s.
The routine Deb keeps is anything but care free. She flies from New York to Haiti monthly, toting heavy bags of fabric, thread, and fasteners....things hard to find in Cap Haitien. In her 4th floor apartment (pictured at right) which often lacks running water but has consistent power for sewing machines, irons, and air conditioning, she and others have trained women in a variety of work skills. Women of Milot products sell well in hotel shops frequented by NGO workers, and the women working with Deb earn income far above the Haitian average of $2-$4 per day.
Debbie has high standards and a soft heart. While rounding a curve on a climb up the narrow mountain road to Cap Haitian, we spotted a stray puppy. "Stop the car," said Deb. Springing from the vehicle, she captured the pup a few yards up the road. In coming days, between coaching and supplying women with bins of materials for making new products, Deb house trained her puppy.
Women of Milot named Deb's rescued pup Toutou
It was Toutou who got us to Port-au-Prince's Oloffson Hotel, with its shabby gentility and tolerance for puppies in the rooms. Made famous as the setting of Graham Greene's 1966 novel The Comedians, the Oloffson was a destination for the rich and famous during the 1960s and 70s. Now it is home to the rock band RAM with its vodou rhythms, and to Daniel Morel, a Haitian photojournalist who recently won a million dollar settlement for copyright infringements on photos he took after the earthquake.
With Deb Couri-D'Amico and Daniel Morel, Oloffson Hotel
Over drinks with Daniel, he shares his philosophy about aid to Haiti: "Don't come here and do for people the things they should do for themselves. It fosters dependency." Debbie counters that many Haitians who want to work can't find jobs.
Next morning, on the way to the airport, I ask my taxi driver if he shares Daniel Morel's thoughts on aid. "Haiti needs outside help," he says, "but a big problem is that our leaders don't follow through on promises made at election time. Things are worse since the earthquake...more people have to beg to survive. I recently saw a former teacher begging outside a grocery store. This wonderful man who taught for 40 years now has nothing. I was so upset I couldn't shop."
My seat mate on the flight to Miami is leaving Haiti after three years as an economic affairs officer with a European embassy. "It's been frustrating...things don't seem to change much in Haiti," he says, "and there is lack of coordination in so many areas. The best projects are the ones in which there is real partnership and planning between Haitians and helpers."
True partnering is challenging...whether in a marriage or the workplace or the world. My mantra is that individuals and cultures all have something to teach and something to learn. The learning I do in Haiti is part of what keeps me going back.
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