I’m sitting in Leogane, Haiti on a really good net connection in a huge concrete building sipping on a cold Coke on my day off as a volunteer with Hands On Disaster Response. It’s hard not to feel guilty about having such a sweet setup when directly in front of the building sits a small tent city of homeless Leogane residents, most with buildings made of sticks, bed sheets, and tarps. But with every bad situation there’s always got to be hope. The temporary camps are dire places but singing emanates from within and friendly faces smile back at you.
I’m trying to allay my guilt by working as hard as I can. It seems impossible that one person could make any difference in this mess but when you get a bunch of hard working people together, it’s amazing what can be accomplished.
My first two full days of work were on a home that had collapsed into a pile of rubble and tangled rebar (photo above) and I was pretty overwhelmed at first. But having done several Hands On projects I should have known that it would be cleared impossibly quickly. As usual, I was surrounded by some of the hardest workers I’ve ever met and the high-intensity day in the hot sun was draining and painful but rewarding and it served as an immediate reminder a to why I keep coming back to these things.
I don’t even know if I can fully comprehend how damaging this earthquake has been in Haiti both in terms of life and property, but also economically. Something like 85% of the country’s GDP comes from business in Port-au-Prince and that pretty much been wiped out in less than a minute. In a country like Haiti that was pretty screwed before the quake, it is hard to fathom what this means and what the recovery will actually look like. Haiti’s dire situation blew my mind before this disaster and being here and seeing the devastation first hand has been a very sobering experience.
I love being here and I’m happy to be in a position to help, even if just a little bit. I will try to post as often as I can. Right now I need a nap because the past few days have kicked my ass. If you haven’t donated money to Haiti, please consider making a donation to Hands On, or any charity of your choice.
Please please please.
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