Today saw a group of about 10 volunteers, half locals and half international, heading out to a mud-encrusted neighbourhood to deliver sets of tools to 50 families. Oxfam is behind this programme and the idea is that each set of tools (a wheelbarrow, 2 shovels, a rake, three pairs of boots, some gloves, a bucket and a pick) will be shared with five families who are nearby so that 250 total families in the community can work together in cleaning up the mess.We had to wait a couple of hours for the truck with the tools to arrive and, in the meantime, the Oxfam group got the local kids singing songs about hand sanitation. It’s amazing how quick a child will learn a song about hygiene when there are balloons involved as prizes. The children in this neighbourhood are all really fun and smiley but the reality of the situation hits home after witnessing them fight over empty cardboard boxes that the rubber boots came in. People here have so little that even a box is considered worthy of a brawl.
It’s sort of a desperate situation in Haiti and the local volunteers will tell you so. They are the first to say that Haiti is ‘very bad’. Every Saturday we have a meeting for the local guys to voice their concerns, to keep them updated on news about the jobs sites and to award a volunteer of the week. I’m blown away each meeting at how well spoken, thoughtful and bright these young guys are. I’m told that, at first, their volunteering started as a ‘what can I get out of it’ sort of thing. In my first week of being here though, I’ve seen as much dedication and hard work from the locals as the international volunteers, if not more. They really love their role in helping out their own community and are able to see the benefit of volunteering beyond just what it’ll do for them.
I can’t really say enough about the locals we have working beside us and it is sad to think that there might not be much opportunity for them in Haiti, despite their intelligence, leadership skills and work ethic. Haiti is just a screwed up kind of place but I really hope that Hands On will be a stepping stone for some of them. One of the guys, Samson, recently got hired on by Oxfam as a Spanish to Creole translator and this is a perfect example of that. There is an opportunity tomorrow for them to volunteer with the UN and another chance soon to work with Save the Children. I really hope that they can use these sorts of hooks ups to their benefit and turn them into paying jobs.
So, as you can probably tell, I am once again blown away by my Hands On experience. If this sounds like your sort of thing, check them out and keep an eye out for volunteer opportunities in the future. I will post some photos soon!
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