Blogs

Six months later and sometimes it feels like we will be stuck in January 2010 forever. It as if we are frozen in time, looking out on the hillsides covered with tents.  Every once in a while we will notice a change, like the empty space where the church used to be on Delmas 53.  For years I would stay in the hotel across the street and be awakened by singing from that church. In January, when I returned to the hotel, the church was a mound of cement and twisted iron with a cross that dangled precariously into the street. Now there is just a hole, an empty space that still echoes with the voices of the choir.

Dear friends,
Tomorrow marks 6 months since the devastating earthquake. I wanted to take this evening to reflect on the past 6 months and to share with you some of our activities and challenges. It has been months since my last letter and I apologize for the lack of communication.  Since my last update in March our team has been working 50-60 hours per week on sanitation projects in both Port au Prince and Cap Haitien and it has been hard to find space for reflection and communication. It is late Sunday night and the moon is shining down on the capital, reflecting on the storm washed streets and plastic tarps as the city sleeps, reminding me of how many moons have passed since January 12.  I know that all of you have been holding Haiti in your thoughts and I am so grateful that you have shared this struggle with us through your support from afar.

Following the earthquake, SOIL has extended operations to Port-au-Prince and begun a new project with OXFAM GB to pilot ecological sanitation in emergency settings. This project will accomplish the construction and installation of 150 toilets in small IDP (internally displaced persons) camps throughout the city, the establishment of a compost facility in Port-au-Prince, and the training of 100 masons to build urine diversion (UD) toilets.

We have been hard at work setting up operations in PAP and have been so proud of the reactions, adoption, and results thus far!

Today we share the news with you that SOIL co-founder Sarah Brownell and husband Kevin Foos officially resigned from SOIL in early January. Kevin had been struggling with malaria and dengue fever, and is now recovering slowly in New York.  On a happier note, they found out they are also expecting a baby! We are laden with a conflicted heart, as we are sorry to see them go, yet excited for the next phase of their lives as a growing family. Thank you Sarah and Kevin for your commitment and partnership over the years.

SOIL has recently begun a new project in Port-au-Prince with OXFAM GB. Along with the new project have come new employees!

SOIL is glad to welcome Nick Preneta and Amy Ross to the team in PAP. Be sure to check out their bios on the website, and check back soon for more information about the OXFAM project!

Dear friends,

12/12 Today marks the one-month anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti and marks the beginning of a three day period of mourning and remembrance. The usually busy streets of Port au Prince are quiet while the churches are full of people praying and singing in unison.

Friday February 12, one month after the earthquake, the first day of Jounen jèn, the days of mourning and remembrance, and we walked through the twisted iron and dusty shards of glass of the shattered National Cathedral. As we crossed through the open door and stared down the length of the cathedral it was as though the world had ended and even the wind had disappeared into the silence of the rubble.

Driving through the city with the sun beating down and the smoke and dust blurring my vision, I am soaked in sweat and still the goosebumps rise over my skin.  It is as if the souls of those still buried under the rubble are coursing through my veins, reaching for the sun, yearning to be free. I carry them with me as I ride through this broken city, but I can’t let them out, I am so afraid that they will take me with them to a place where I will no longer be able to serve, my mind is numb but my skin is crawling with loss.

This gives me the chills...and hope for the future.  Yes, Haiti will save us.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/where-i-stand/haiti-rest-story-ours