Jacmel - Remote Village Day

After eating a wonderful Haitian spaghetti breakfast (ham, chicken, hot dogs, and white cheese garnish on top) we headed off to a remote village, Bossier, which is north of Jacmel. On our way, we drove past a funeral procession. They were walking through the streets in their finest attire, while a marching band was playing. The police were escorting the attenders as well as the funeral director. We then continued through some bumpy roads, a beautiful lake, and many spring fed water fill stations. There are many more motorcycles that make the trek up the mountain than 4-wheeled vehicles due to the conditions of the roads. Horses and mules are utilized for transportation.

We ended up at a beautiful village after 45 minutes filled with many welcoming faces. There was a strange absence of teenagers as well as people between the ages of 20-30 years old because a lot of them tend to leave Jacmel and head to Port-Au-Prince or the Dominican Republic for high school and university. Many don't return since there are more opportunities for jobs elsewhere.

We met all of the children in a catholic church and started our time with them by singing some songs. We were also able to perform our "hands" drama, which was followed by a fun, creative activity. The kids loved hanging out with us, and we enjoyed their company.

Some of us then split off to go help the women cook lunch that we had brought up to share with the entire community. We were able to grate coconuts, peel potatoes, and cut up carrots and beets. Helping prepare lunch was a new experience and it was a blast!

While some of us were making lunch, others were playing with the kids. Many fun games were involved such as dancing (a.k.a. Haiti's Got Talent), musical chairs, and heads or tails. The kids enjoyed the heads and tails game, but they cheated on the first round. They did figure the game out and it went much smoother the rest of the time.

We then walked to four different homes to visit some elders. We were able to massage and pray over the elders and their families. The elders were thankful and grateful for our visit. They were so sweet, and a couple of them were filled with a lot of energy. After our hike to the houses, we were able to enjoy lunch with the leadership council of Bossier. The leadership council is made up of a variety of different leaders from the community such as pastors, teachers and a school principal. We were able to have a great conversation with all of the members from the council. We learned that the nearest medical facility is about two hours away. Also the catholic church is currently being used for a school because their school is currently under construction. Getting supplies to a remote area is very challenging due to the rocky paths. Everyone in the community was very welcoming and the day was filled with many shared laughs and smiles. Lots of memories were formed and we are all very excited for the future of Bossier.

Charlie and Brooke (a.k.a. Creek)