The First Time

It's been 9 days since I returned to Charlotte from Haiti... an experience unlike any I've ever had. And today I realized that the past few days have been a series of firsts. The first TV show I've watched since the trip. The first movie. The first time back at church. The first time I picked up the book I was reading again. The first time I turned up the music in the car again and sang along.

The days immediately after the trip were unbelievably busy, getting all our video and photos ready for the radiothon. But during that first week back, I spent all of my downtime reflecting on the trip. On my long commute back and forth to work I left the radio/iPod off... it just seemed like a pointless distraction from what was important in life.

I'm writing this tonight because I desperately don't want the experience to fade away. I don't want my eyes to slowly glaze over as I ease back into the comforts and distractions of day-to-day life here (thanks to my friend Josh for that metaphor).

So the question is, how do you stay changed after a life-changing event? How do you keep your inspiration when family, friends, fellow church members and co-workers (except for one) didn't share the experience with you? At what point are they going to tire of me talking about it? It's a strange place to be...

The Central Plateau: Part Two

After breakfast on Saturday, we decided to make a quick detour to see Misléne, a girl we met the day before. Misléne used to live in Port-Au-Prince but had relocated to a camp for IDP or Internally Displaced People. We had some solar-powered flashlights we wanted to give her. The camp is across the street from the hotel we were staying, but she wasn't home due to a death in the family. Our driver asked around and said he knew where she was, so we took an even longer detour.

As if the main roads weren't rough enough, these back roads where unbelievable. We got a tour of rural Haiti that most visitors to the country would never see. We drove through rivers where people were bathing and doing laundry. We squeezed by donkeys, oxen and pedestrians. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived and boy was it worth it. Misléne's face lit up when she saw us and she was very excited to introduce her mother, grandparents and cousins.

The second ADP we visited was really another amazing experience. We had another welcoming ceremony similar to the one the day before and afterwards videotaped Sheri with more kids sponsored by our listeners. Afterwards we interviewed Sagnol about daily life in the ADP. He was very animated and excited about the work happening in the community. You can click over the bobandsheri.com/a/worldvision to see his video.

After the interview I asked Sagnol if we could get the kids to do things they normally do while at the ADP center. After he translated, the kids went wild with excitement and ran to start singing and dancing and playing basketball. There were shrieks of delight when Sheri joined them in the dancing and they loved teaching her the dance moves.

It was bittersweet leaving the ADP that day to head back to Port-Au-Prince, as this was the last stop on our tour. After another long and wild ride back to the hotel in the capital, we packed and started going through days of photos and video for the website. You can see the results now at bobandsheri.com/a/worldvision.

The Central Plateau: Part One

On Friday morning we left Port-Au-Prince and headed out to the Central Plateau. We asked our driver if we could see more earthquake damaged homes. I'm not sure if it was for that reason, or because of the traffic, but shortly after leaving the hotel we veered off onto a side dirt road and spent at least an hour or more winding through neighborhoods with some occupied houses, a lot of tents and a lot of rubble. When we finally came out onto a main road, we were only alongside the airport!

After another 30 minutes or so we finally left the city and were out on the highway. The contrast at first was astounding. The road was recently paved and had shiny new highway signs... you know the ones we take for granted... speed limit, curve ahead, etc. The road was lined with a gutter made of stones and mortar. Winding up into the mountains, it really looked like the Blue Ridge Parkway!

It was not that way the entire trip, however. We were continuously going from paved to dirt roads, sometimes very narrow making the task of passing oncoming traffic very tedious. It was often a game of chicken, with everyone competing for the best piece of the road no matter which side it was. The biggest vehicle always won... in a Toyota Land Cruiser it was often us, unless we were passing an dump truck. Going through villages, the roads were particularly rough. The dirt, heavily rutted roads shared traffic with pedestrians, motorbikes, donkeys, cars and enormous construction vehicles.

Speaking of construction, there was a lot of it on the way: road widening, bridge construction, paving, etc., all in the middle of nowhere. With all the devastation in Port-Au-Prince it really seemed comical that they were putting all this effort into rural highways. It reminded me of the stimulus money in the U.S. with the "shovel ready project" clause. Money was being spent where it was easiest, not most needed.

The villages all seemed very crowded. I'm not sure if it was always this way, but I do know a lot of people have moved out of Port-Au-Prince to live with relatives in the rural area after the quake.

In Hinche, where the World Vision Area Development Project (ADP) office is, life seemed pretty normal compared to the capital. There was a town square with a playground and a bandshell where a band was setting up for an evening concert. While Port-Au-Prince was full of vehicles, motor bikes and Tap Tap busses, this rural town had a lot of donkeys and oxen. At one gas station though, there were about 50 or more people with motorbikes waiting to get fuel.

After a quick visit at the ADP office, we left to check-in to the hotel and have lunch. The hotel was in a very surreal setting, which architecture like something out of a banana republic in the 1950s. There was what was left of a very formal garden, and the overgrown lawn in front of the hotel was littered with pink plastic flamingos and plastic Santa Claus decorations!

After lunch we visited a camp for Internally Displaced People, or IDPs (World Vision has an acronym for everything!) These are people from Port-Au-Prince who fled to the Central Plateau after the earthquake. They are all living in tents provided by relief organizations from around the world. The tents are showing their age though, and there is really no plan for what's next for these people. World Vision has been distributing food and supplies to them, and that's why they stay in the IDP camp even though many have relatives in the area.

We met a few people in the IDP camp, including a 17-year-old girl who spoke excellent English. She is a perfect example of many of the Haitians we talked to over the past few days. Her family lost everything, and yet she talks with great enthusiasm about her plans for the future. She wants to go to the university and become a lawyer. She has such incredible hope in an environment where there "should" be none. It really struck me as I tend to easily lose hope in my own life when really trivial things don't go as I expect. She lost EVERYTHING, and still has hope for a brighter future. It really is amazing.

At the first ADP we visited, we were welcomed by a brass band (all ADP kids) and an official welcoming ceremony with singing, dancing, music from the band and drama. These official ceremonies are a part of the culture here, but very similar to a talent show at my daughter's school. Afterwards we recorded video that will be used to solicit child sponsorships, and tried something we haven't had the opportunity to do before. Because listeners to our radio show sponsored almost 600 children (mostly Haitian) last year after the earthquake, the ADP staff were able to gather a handful of kids already sponsored by our listeners. We video taped a series of introductions for the website, and we may be able to get the video to those sponsors as well.

The last stop of the day was at a facility where World Vision was building a computer center so ADP kids can get online for learning and communication. And, as an example of the type of entrepreneurial spirit here, they setup a cell phone charging station. For a small fee, people in the area can charge their cell phones, and the money raised is helping pay for the computers! It makes total sense in an area where almost everyone has cell phones, but almost no one has electricity.

We spent just one night in Hinche... The last day would be another ADP visit and the drive back to Port-Au-Prince.

Jonathan Mauney
Sent from my iPad

Disaster Relief

There are so many emotions and feelings that come over you when seeing the kinds of things we're seeing. And a lot that's not hitting me until later, or won't hit me until I'm editing the video, because in the moment I'm "working". Usually keeping one eye on the viewfinder to get the perfect shot, and another eye on Sheri making sure she hasn't wandered off somewhere on her own!

One thing though, that has been very striking to me... the dedication and passion of the World Vision staff in the field office. And I promise I'm not saying that because we're their guests. These are people from around the world (we've met staffers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Asia and even native Haitians) who have so much compassion for their fellow man, that they've dropped everything to focus on the relief efforts here.

I'll be honest... it's really bad here. REALLY BAD. I don't see how it could ever get back to normal. Working to improve things seems so futile... but they do it anyway... because you have to... and giving up is not an option. It is truly inspiring to see this kind of passion and service and it's contagious.

And the faith of the Haitian people is nothing short of amazing. Even after 2 natural disasters and a Cholera outbreak they talk about how God is going to provide and bring them through this. A director we interviewed the first night here told us of large groups of people in the streets after the sun went down on January 12th singing hymns. There is this feeling of hope emanating from these people where there is no physical reason to be hopeful. I'm jealous of their faith.

Thursday we spent the entire day in Port-Au-Prince seeing the relief work being done by World Vision. The relief work isn't our primary reason for being here; our primary focus for the radiothon is child sponsorship. But World Vision has been working in Haiti for something like 30 years, so they had an advantage in getting things moving quickly.

Our first stop was to what can only be described as a refugee camp. I've never seen one in real life before, much less walked through one. Imagine a sea of tents packed together on a hillside. We parked at the top of the hill behind a relatively new looking school that had totally collapsed, and walked down through the tents. Some of these tents look like something we'd take camping. Others were obviously designed for this type of situation. Some where just fashioned together with tarps emblazoned with UN or U.S. Aid logos. Relief agencies from literally around the world have stepped in to provide everything from the tents themselves, drinking water, food and medical assistance.

In this camp, World Vision staff showed us an Early Childhood Development (ECD) program and a Child Friendly Space (CFS). The ECD reminded me of my son Zach's preschool room, except that it was in a tent. There were posters on the walls, little tables and chairs, art supplies and toys. Some of the teachers were making chains out of construction paper to decorate the "classroom."

The kids were all seated at the tables working on drawings, but stopped to interact with Sheri. They loved having their picture taken and squealed with glee when they got to see it on the camera preview screen. The director of the program told us in our interview with her that the parents in these camps are so appreciative of this program. It's really a chance for the kids to just be kids, and many of them are laughing and smiling again for the first time since the earthquake.

The CFS was another tent that had kids of all ages. It's open all day long. Kids who can't go to school for financial reasons (or the public school was destroyed) will spend most of the day here. Kids in school will come by afterwards. They sang a few songs for us and we talked to the director of the program about their activities and educational programs (when I get the video edited you can see what they all were, but I've had a lot to take in this week and don't remember!)

It took FOREVER to get to the next camp... traffic in Port-Au-Prince is unlike anything I've ever experienced. We probably only drove about 40 or so miles yesterday, but spent hours in the car!

This camp was much more organized... The residents had been camping in a more dangerous area and had been relocated here. The tents where lined up in rows, but were slowly being replaced by "transitional housing." These are small, 1 room buildings are on concrete foundations, are wood-framed with a metal roof and siding. They also have a covered front porch for additional space in the shade.

The coolest thing about these buildings were that World Vision was soliciting feedback from the residents about the construction of these buildings. They modified the design based on this feedback like adding a second window for a cross breeze and adding a back door since many Haitians survived the quake by running out the back door when the front was blocked. They've even modified the layout of the camp to add some recreational space.

We interviewed a new resident of one of these homes... he spoke English, and had a heartbreaking story about how his kids where at different schools on January 12. His 7-year-old daughter's school was fine, but his 9-year-old son's school collapsed, killing him. I'll post links to this and other videos once they're all edited.

Then it was back in the car again for our last stop of the day. I have to tell you that even though the U.S. State Department has some pretty scary warnings on why you should stay away from Haiti, I have not felt unsafe here once. But visiting the Cholera treatment center at the final camp we visited was a bit unnerving.

First, the guy we were supposed to meet there was an hour late, so we just had to wait outside the tent as people came and went. Then we got to go in to the treatment tent! You have to wash your hands with chorine water and soap from a bucket outside, then a guy at the entrance in disposable scrubs sprayed down the soles of our shoes with something. Inside were about 8 people of all ages on cots, most with IV drips.

The head of the program has a heartbreaking story. His wife, who had a pre-exiting medical problem was trapped in the rubble of their home, but still alive. He first tried digging her out on his own, then raced around Port-Au-Prince trying to find medical supplies to stabilize her. Not able to get the supplies he needed, he even tried making them himself, but was unable to save her. He's now dedicated his life to helping disabled people in Haiti, and also running the Cholera treatment program for World Vision.

He told us there is a huge stigma in the culture associated with Cholera, and so a lot of people don't get treatment. So a lot of effort is put on education, and encouraging people to seek treatment right away. He likes to say "Cholera can kill you in four hours, but I can cure you in one." Hope no one is eating while reading this blog, but Cholera is basically severe diarrhea and vomiting. So treatment for mild and moderate cases simply involves getting the patient clean water and often times IV fluids. They also teach the patients hand washing techniques and a team even goes to the patient's home and disinfects everything.

Leaving the treatment center was the reverse of going in... they treated our shoes again, then we washed our hands in chlorine water again. (And pulled out the Purell hand sanitizer just in case!)

The last part of our day can only be described as "disaster tourism." That sounds terrible, but in order to tell the story (which is framed in the context of the earthquake), we really need the images to go along with it. So we headed to downtown Port-Au-Prince looking for leveled buildings.

Standing in front of the presidential palace is breathtaking... and not in a good way. Can you imagine what the moral of the American people would be if the White House and capital building had collapsed on itself? The government here can't help it's people because they're in the same boat as everyone else. We also stopped at what used to be a school.

It's once again getting late, and even though I'm about 24 hours behind on blogging, I'm going to wait to write about today's trip to the Central Plateau. Good night!

Jonathan Mauney
Sent from my iPad

First Night

We're here!

When we boarded the plane in Miami, the flight attendant welcomed us on board the "767 Luxury Liner," which seemed a bit out of place considering where we were headed. There were A LOT of church and non-profit groups on the flight.

The deforestation could be seen from the air as we flew over. Years ago, I visited the other side of this island and Haiti not lush and green like the Dominican Republic. It's almost desert-like.

The 45 minute ride from the airport was unreal. The first thing we saw was a huge tent neighborhood by the airport, alongside the runway. There were portable showers and restrooms that look like they were installed by the UN.

There were street vendors everywhere, selling everything imaginable. One lady's setup looked like she had cleaned out the health and beauty section of Costco... made me wonder if her merchandise had been sent as relief donations. Our host would later explain in our initial briefing that the street vendors, technically illegal, are some of the reasons it's so hard to start legitimate businesses here. Legit retailers are taxed, so it's difficult to compete.

There were a ton of "busses"... They look like pickup trucks with oversized, multi-colored camper shells on the back... with Haitians stuffed in like sardines. The traffic is crazy too.

There are flattened buildings and rubble everywhere, as if the earthquake just happened yesterday.

When we finally pulled up to the hotel, the entrance was a large metal gate in a huge wall... it was almost very sinister. The guard opened the gate to reveal a dark driveway alongside a huge pile of rubble. What was obviously the main building and lobby was completely deserted. We learned from the woman at the front desk that they lost about half of their rooms, and only about a third of the remaining are available right now. The hotel is o generator and it's only running from 6pm to 7am.

I have a nice room though, and despite the construction, the atmosphere is pretty neat. It feels like a 5 star resort compared to the tents we saw earlier.

There's so much more I've taken in, but I have to be up in 5 hours and I got a late start after getting all my gear ready for tomorrow.

Thoughts from 36,000 feet

On the surface this morning didn't seem much different than any other. I got up at 5:15am... well, ok, the alarm went off at 5:15 and I got up 10 minutes later! I grabbed a cup of coffee, some b'fast and a bottle of water from the Starbucks drive-thru on the way to the office. To me, however, it was all a bit surreal.

It's interesting though that things that seem routine are hitting me a little differently the past few weeks. It's been something like 21 years since I was in the Dominican Republic with my church youth group doing construction at an orphanage. And almost 15 years since I walked through the slums of Recife, Brazil while shooting a video for a school there. The images of both places are faint, painted over by years of being worlds away from that kind of poverty. But I still have a small inkling of what I might face tonight and over the next several days in Haiti.

It struck me this morning, as I drove in to the office to meet my ride to the airport, how sparkling clean Charlotte is. I always notice this after returning from other cities like Chicago, Toronto or Buffalo (no disrespect meant to friends and family who live in those cities). I have access and the means to anything I could possibly need and more to excess. I'm bracing myself for seeing unimaginable living conditions... with people who probably can't imagine our excessive wealth and comfort. Here, I walk with friends through terrible hardships and heartbreak on a regular basis. That's tough, but again I'm bracing myself for even worse.

I'm nervous about all this, but excited at the same time. It's cool to be able to do something this meaningful at a job that most of the time is for the purpose of entertaining others. The next five days are going to be very interesting indeed.