Ke Kontan

Ke Kontan

Tuesday 29 January 2013

One way ticket to Happiness..

This week sure has been an adventure to say the least. From Port Au Prince to Jacmel to Montrouis to Cite Soleil and then to the airport to say goodbye to two great friends who I have definitely enjoyed having here in Haiti with me.

Since returning to Haiti it has seriously just been non-stop go. I have numerous unanswered emails, facebook messages, and even text messages, so I apologize to those who I have still not responded too- I'm working on it !!! I tried to get as much accomplished this week as I possibly could.

Since being away, my babies have grown so much. It makes me sad. Tyson is now pulling himself up, he has a very distinctive laugh, and he is a little bugger now !!! The twins have finally grown hair and are bigger and have wonderful spunky personalities that make you smile non-stop. Norens is still the same old Norens- loves to push buttons and laughs his butt off over the simplest things- his missing two front teeth make the laugh even cuter. Don is still "cool" Don but is also the biggest sweetheart he has told me over and over and over again how much he missed me while I was gone and is constantly giving me kisses. Don always knows how to make my day- he is quite the ladies man and knows how to impress us especially when he just looks at you and grabs your hand and says "You are SOOOOOOOOO beautiful" (yeah he learned that line from the movie "The Little Rascals"). Wendel has been ill and looks even smaller than he did before. He has been to the hospital twice now but still no results- supposed to be getting them tomorrow. Breaks my heart to see him like this as all he wants to do is just lay in bed. Christine - where to begin with her. She is the strangest, silliest, but most adorable little girl. She is quite the comedian without even knowing it. She has a very big heart and loves to help out with the babies. She will make a great mother one day (like in 50 years from now). Jenny is a very independent child- well let me refrain that- teenager. She has attitude but can't complain as I was just as bad or probably even worse. She is a huge help around the house though and is a good big sister to the other kids. I missed them so much and after being away for them for so long you learn to appreciate all the little moments you have with them. I do not know what I would do without my kids. They are the reason I can honestly say that I am happy and that I am where I want to be.

This past weekend I took Justin and Julia up to Jacmel to visit Bassin Bleu and we had the time of our lives together!!!! We sang our hearts out during the whole 4hr drive and danced and stopped on the mountain side to watch the sunset and to take wonderful pictures. We drove up to Bassin Bleu the next day and hiked up the mountain and swam under the waterfall. Julia and I are both terrified of heights but managed to find the courage to climb up the waterfall as the pressure from the water was making our hands slip. When we finally reached the top rock we debated whether to actually jump off and plunge into the water below. We were totally for it- that was until we looked down and saw the rocks and cliff side that we could possibly knock ourselves out from if we happened to slip and loose our footing. Julia decided it just wasn't for her and moved to a rock further down. After watching Justin jump I decided I had better do it since there was no way in hell that I would be able to climb back down the waterfall as that seemed a lot more terrifying and dangerous then actually jumping itself. So.. I took that 20 seconds of insane courage that you need to make a decision.. and jumped. It was a blast, but not going to lie.. it kind of hurt !! I can honestly say that this past weekend was probably my best weekend in Haiti yet.


On Sunday we decided to pack up all the kiddies once they returned from church and head to our old place in Montrouis and spend the rest of our Sunday at the beach. I decided to go and visit tiny and his family at the mountain top and I took Julia with me. This family is my second family. I love them and care for them as if they are my own. I was brought to tears seeing all 6 of his kids clinging off of me saying they thought I forgot about them. Tiny no longer has a cell phone so I was unable to contact them to let them know that I would be out of the country for a month. The love they have for me is so overwhelming and the love I have for them is completely and utterly unconditional. As soon as I stepped off the moto Tiny had lifted me into the air hugging me and kissing me and started yelling out "Manma, Manmna is here !!!". I danced and sang with the kids on the top of the mountain and we also watched the beautiful sunset. Julia took footage of their destroyed house and how 11 people are currently living in a small one room house made of mud and sewed together jeans. As amazing as it was to see them and although we had a blast together- as we always do- I walked away with a broken heart and an unsettled mind. It hurts me to see them struggling. They have all been ill since I left the Montrouis area and have lost a significant amount of weight. I am doing my best to try to support them but with not having a vehicle it makes it hard to check up on them and to bring them the supplies they need. I made them a promise- that I will re-build their house. They are currently taking shelter in my old home but the contract finishes in April, 2013 and then they will once again be homeless. This is a promise I have to keep. However, time is running out and funds are running low. I have sent out a request via facebook and on our website asking people to specifically donate towards this project as right now, it is one of the main priorities in my heart. I wish I could give them the world, I wish I could see them living comfortably and I think my worries and concerns will be more settled knowing that they will at least have a stable roof over their heads that won't fall when the next storm rummages through the country. Every little bit counts, especially in this case. My goal is to provide them with not only a home but also sanitation as they currently do not have toilet other then a small hole in the ground. I think putting in a toilet and teaching them about general hygiene would significantly improve their health and well being. My goal is to have this project started by Feb 20. If anyone is interested in partaking please do not hesitate to contact me.


On Monday I took Justin and Julia down to Cite Soleil to visit the school that Bridge2Hatii is supporting to take some footage and get some background on the history of the school. Julia is filming a documentary on our journey and our projects here in Haiti however, we decided that it needs to be a collective effort- I do not want the film to be focused on solely what we (Hime For Help) have done but what others are also doing in Haiti that are making positive changes and affecting peoples lives. Sarah and Christian are doing fabulous work in this school that currently has over 550 children. These kids are seriously amazing !!! I was chased around all day by tons of little feet and they all wanted to be picked up or to touch my straight hair. Finally after being tackled to the ground and covered in dirt and sweat I decided to take the kids into one of the classrooms and we took Tampico bottles (plastic Juice bottles) and I made music out of them and had the kids dance. We ended up singing "Baby" by Justin Bieber at least ten times and "Dekole" by J.perry at least 20 times. I had an absolute blast with these kids. These children have grown up in the slums of Haiti and most of them are literally living in a dump. Sarah has given these children an opportunity to get an education, to eat at least one good meal per day, and has also provided them with clean drinking water. I got to know some of the children and had the opportunity to speak one on one with them. I can't wait to visit these kids again !!!!!


Justin Parkinson and Julia Monk left today. Justin had been here since the end of November and has done such great work and I am truly impressed by him. There is not many people who get you- like completely- but he was one of those people for me. To be honest.. I did not think that him and I would hit it off as well as we did in the beginning but boy did he prove me wrong. From our long chats about life, dreams, frustrations, corruption, poverty, and just the world in general we were able to form a friendship that will not be broken. I want to take the time to thank him for keeping me sane, for making me laugh, and for assisting in changing, bathing, feeding, burping, and playing with all of my babies. His extra pair of hands sure were a huge help. Also thank you for staying with the kids for a whole month while I had to be in Canada. I know what you must have experienced and how stressful it must have been to take on the role as "boss" but you did a great job and I felt confident having you there with my kids. I want to wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours and I know that you will do, and accomplish many great things. I hope to see you back in Haiti soon. & that goes for you as well Julia !!! Thank you for taking this week to film some of the "behind the scenes" things we do here at Ke Kontan and for allowing us to voice our joys and frustrations about Haiti. I cannot wait to see the finished product.

I am currently sitting in Rebo Cafe (they have free Wifi) catching up on emails and messages with my friend Maeve who said to me this morning as we were lying on my bed chatting about our lives:

Maeve: "do you think things will always be this way?"
Emily: "what way?"
Maeve: "Us.. Growing old.. Laying in bed together .. Without husbands.. And you getting up when the babies cry and me laying in bed cause I'm lazy"
Emily: "uhm yeah.. Sounds like our futures"

Ten minutes later

Maeve: " Do you think we will always be this poor?"

I laughed so hard. But then thought to myself... I would be completely content with being lonely, poor, and stuck with a friend that likes to constantly remind me of both of those things.. because even though I may not have materialistic things, I truly believe I am one of the richest people in the world- I have all I could ever need. And a husband.. nahhh.. I got 5 little boys that already own my heart & their love is as unconditional as it comes ... :)

As I spend more and more time in this country I begin to think more and more of how impossible it is going to be for me to ever leave. After many years of searching, I have finally found my home.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing and updating us as to what is happening your part of the world...my Grandmother used to always say we were rich with family and culture that no money could buy! Keep up the good work Emily!!

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