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Sunday June 24, 2018
The big day has finally arrived! We got up super early to catch our flights. We were all tired but once we arrived in Haiti, we all were so excited that we forgot we were ever tired! The people of Haiti were so welcoming, and we got a great taste of their culture — literally!
The food here is so fresh and delicious. Our dinner was the best! While we understand that this trip is a huge undertaking, we humble accept the challenge. We’re beyond excited to work with our fellow world-changers, ending the day with the “Chain of Empathy” exercise, we were able to feel and express each other’s stories in our own words, which led to a deeper understanding of our housemates. The first day of our 10-Day GLA trip was out of this world!
-Ryan + Taylor
Tuesday June 26, 2018
Today, we went to a community called Blue Hills to build a vocational school out of bottles. Children swarmed the car the minute we pulled up, full of interest and excitement, and, full of energy and excitements, they wanted to hold our hands, know our names, and touch our hair. We said hello, but we had to get to work. We split into three groups: bottling (puting bottles in the walls), cementing (mixing cement to put on the walls and floor), and rocks (shoveling rocks to even the floor).
We had plentiful of our own water bottles and water jugs. We worked diligently until the walls were filled with bottles and floors with cement. As this was our first day of working on the school, we will have more to report in the coming days, updating our progress on the school.
-Oona, Reese, and Chewy
Wednesday June 27, 2018
Today, we woke up and ate some breakfast before heading over to the Plumpy Nut factory. We learned all about the manufacturing of Plumpy Nut, a peanut-based product developed to help combat malnutrition. We took a tour of the entire facility, and even got to taste some! After that, we visited and toured a local hospital, where we talked to the local physician partner, Dr. Dayton. After eating lunch, we played some soccer against the locals. After dinner, we stopped by a gas station to pick up snacks before ending the day with a documentary.
-Written by Mackenzie, Dmitri, and Emma
Everyday that we’ve spent in Haiti has been a new adventure. After breakfast we drove through the city to an area in the mountains of Cap-Haitien, as far as our bus would allow us to go. From there we embarked on a half hour, steep climb up the mountain, beneath the heat of the blazing Haitian sun. Although the climb was difficult, the view of Cap-Haitien and the ocean made it worth every drop of sweat. Once we reached the top we set up our first clinic in the school. We were each assigned a station: medical history, vitals, consultation, pharmacy, and of course served as trusty runners.
With the help of Dr.Dayton, Nurse Guerline, Jacques—our host, school personnel, and our amazing mentors, we were able to provide medical assistance to over 60 patients. Working with the community of Satama, people of all ages who suffered from different diseases, taught us the ins and outs of working in a clinic. After the medical brigade we ate dinner with our guests, the leaders of Blue Hills, and asked them questions about their community. They showed their appreciation for our contributions and were very open to any questions we had for them. And we were able to have a thought provoking and intimate conversation about our two cultures.
Milena, Lily, and Huy
Photos coming soon!
Today we woke up to the honorable roosters and blazing heat. We piled on to the bus and headed back to the Blue Hill community to continue working on the bottle school. On our lunch break we played a pick-up soccer match with many of the Blue Hill community members. Departing with the community members was brutal. We hugged for awhile and made our way back to the bus holding hands. Dinner was exceptional per usual and following dinner was a lecture on social justice that was unlike anything we’d seen. After the lecture we got into mentor groups and went to bed.
Hailey, Rosie and Elliot
