Another week in Cite Soleil, Haiti.

It is good to have company. My brother Tom, came down and spent the week with me. This was his fourth trip to Haiti but first one in ten years. His comment after the first day was "Haiti is no better than the last time I was here... in fact it might be worse". That was sad to hear but so true... many parts of Haiti are worse off or at least no better than they were 10 years ago.

I looked forward to showing Tom first hand, some of the things that I've been sharing in my previous emails. The first thing for Tom was the water truck. Learning how to ride outside the truck and delivering water to the poor was one of the highlights of his trip. It was great having another body to help manage the lines, play with the children, shoot some wonderful candid photos and to give a break to the workers when they were tired. What a luxury. The children now say "Tom", "Tom", "Tom" in addition to "Jeff", "Jeff", "Jeff"... they are the highlight of our day.
I thank God for Tom's visit and keeping him safe during his work in Haiti. I pray for a safe flight home tomorrow and for the ability to share what he has seen with those who care.

Jeremie Wharf
We again made a run into Jeremie Wharf. It rained very hard the night Tom got in and Jeremie Wharf was a mess.
How do you describe what life must be like when you can't even imagine it? Please pray for the people of Jeremie Wharf.

Cite Soleil
Even in Cite Soleil, the heavy rain had it's impact... imagine if your house was in the middle of a mosquito filled swamp...





St. Damien's Children's Hospital
We stopped at St. Damien's, Children's Hospital on Friday, a new hospital built by Fr. Rick Frechette ...





and took this picture of this beautiful little girl...























Fr. Rick Frechette, founder of St. Damien's, asked us if we could deliver a load of water to a refugee camp for people who lost their homes in the hurricane. When we arrived, we were met by 500 people... men, women and children... who had only the clothes on their backs, they had lost the very little they had... and now had very little food, almost no water, and no bed... just a bench or the floor to sit or sleep on. As if life is not difficult enough in Haiti... you wouldn't think it could get any worse... but this makes you realize it can. Please pray for the refugees of Noel.

and for this little boy, a cardboard and string is his only toy...


Here is another picture of the beautiful little girl in Haiti...























it is so very sad... Please pray for the burn children of Haiti.

Even though I experience extremely difficult things here in Haiti, God is using these experiences to teach me about true compassion, the tug at my heart is so real, to see hope that this little girl has in her eyes and the gentle smile she is able to give... is God's gift
to me.

Blessings....

Jeffrey Gacek
Executive Director
www.buya.org
Connecting people who have much and need little...
to those who have little and need so much.

What do all these children have in common?

Is it a bloated stomach from malnutrition?























Is it the look of despair?























Is it the tears they cry?























Is it the everyday chore's they have to do?























Is it the need for love?























Is it the fear of the unknown?























Is it the need to be held?























Is it the scars both seen and unseen?























Is it the patience they must have to survive?























Is it being lost?























Is it just another normal day in Haiti?























Is it the longitude they were born?























Is it the latitude?























Is it the need for clean water?























Is it the need to be clothed?























Could it be the need to be cleansed?























While it may be all of the above, the answer is
"They are all precious children of God".

Blessings....

Jeffrey Gacek
Executive Director
www.buya.org
Connecting people who have much and need little...
to those who have little and need so much.

Cite Soleil and Jeremy Wharf, Haiti

Greetings to all,
I pray God continues to bless you and your family as we head into this holiday season. For many, this can be a very stressful time of the year. I pray that we are all able to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and not get caught up in the commercialization of the season. This is such a wonderful time of year, when we are blessed with the ability to celebrate our Savior's birth. I pray also that we are able to demonstrate to our friends, families and neighbors through our love and compassion what it truly means to be a Christ follower. We can all give the gift of love and compassion, the same gift Jesus gave us 2000 years ago. Let our Saviors light shine through us for all the world to see this holiday season.

It seems like I've been down here for a long time. I know it's only been a little over a month, but it's the longest time I've ever been away from home and the longest time I've been away from my wife, my son and my family and friends. I miss them. Having never lived "out of state", it's a very new experience for me. God continues to bless me with opportunities to serve others on the water truck but continues to open my eyes to the daily strife that is Haiti.

Many of our regular stops in Cite Soleil are starting to become easier. Lines are forming sooner and less people are trying to "cut in". At least one person each day, comes up to thank me for changing the way the water is distributed. Besides the children, this is probably the highlight of my day. Not only do the lines run smoother, I have more time to help lift buckets onto peoples heads and play with the children. That is my blessing.

Here are some pictures from the last week...
This first one is fairly typical. I try to always make time for the children and now many come and run to me as soon as I get off the truck. In the background, you can see some nicely formed lines of people that are waiting for water.

Jean Claude was able to capture this picture of me trying to thank the people for forming the lines. As you can see, I'm very happy when this happens.




There are so many children in Haiti without clothes. Many children like the boy in the green and white striped shirt to my left and the boy in the yellow shirt to my right, only have a shirt on, with no pants. You can see a child in the middle behind the boy in red coat with no clothes and another little boy on the left with no clothes. It is so common for children to only have a shirt or nothing at all to wear.

Here is a little boy who is obviously malnourished. His reddish hair and bloated stomach are symptoms of malnourishment. This makes me so sad to see... because it's so common.


Here is little Haitian boy is trying to collect run off water from a sewer pipe in his plastic pop bottles.





Often while I'm "directing" the lines, I'll feel a tug at the bottom of my shorts. I can't help but pick these kids up and give them a big hug. I just love the children... they make me smile... they are so innocent... I pray for their future...

"God let Your grace and blessings comfort the poor of Haiti and make it a better place for these children and their future than what I'm experiencing today. Let You move the hearts of people everywhere to do something to give these children a better life."

Another...








and another...











Helping lift their buckets is part of my work... over 40lbs. each... even young children are put to the task (see the little girl to my left with the towel on her head asking me to help her next).


One little girl was struggling so bad with her 5 gallon pail that I couldn't help but grab it and carry if for her to her house. She couldn't have been more than 7 or 8...




Jeremy Wharf
These next pictures are where God continues to open my eyes. This week we had the opportunity to go to Jeremy Wharf, a coastal town literally built on a swamp. The effects of Noah, even a week and a half later were very obvious. Unlike Cite Soleil, where some foreign government put pavers down on the roads between the shacks years ago, Jeremy Wharf has none. The streets are mud, water and sewage. It is incomprehensible that God's people are forced to live this way and very few from the US ever see this...


The question that keeps coming up in my head is "Can you imagine?"... Can you even imagine having to live in this as part of your everyday life... most of the mud and sewage wash down from areas higher up in Port-au-Prince and just land here as the water rushes out to sea.

Luke 10:25-28 says:
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, What's written in the Old Testament, how do you read it? The man answered, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Right, Jesus says, Do this and you will live."

Dallas Willard in his book "The Spirit of the Disciplines" writes:
"The overarching biblical command is to love, and the first act of love is the giving of our attention. The poor are not to be avoided, forgotten, or allowed to become invisible. We are to see them as God's creatures, of equal significance with anyone else. The rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all."

My prayer this holiday season is for me, through these pictures and experiences in Haiti, to be able to move the hearts of all who have seen and heard them. To help others see a world, not through "first world eyes" but through newly found "third world eyes". We in the USA are so blessed by our Creator... and so I pray...

"Dear God,
Please help me to capture the real devastation, struggle and hardship that is part of everyday lift in Haiti. Let my words and photos make an endearing impression on the hearts of those who you have blessed. Let those who are not able to come to Haiti, see Haiti through my eyes. You have blessed us by the latitude and longitude of where we were born, let us not take this for granted and let us commit to making a difference in this world, no matter how small or how large. Dear Lord, give the people of Haiti the comfort and knowledge of your Son's love through our actions as we 'love our neighbors as ourselves'. Let us give our attention to the poor and those in need... let us not let them become invisible, but let us lift them up for the world to see. Help us see them as God's creatures of equal significance and love them as you do.
In your precious and holy name I pray, Amen"

Blessings....

Jeffrey Gacek
Executive Director
www.buya.org
Connecting people who have much and need little...
to those who have little and need so much.

Haiti... how blessed are we?

Well, I can tell without doubt that two things are happening. Your prayers are being answered and God is blessing me.

Week 3 was a very good week even through a hurricane. Week 3 started off a very difficult week because of the uncertainty of the approaching storm. With all the rain and wind, the driver and workers on the truck said they would not be able to work. After much dialogue, mostly with hand gestures and some broken english and creole, (can you imagine, me speaking creole?) we agreed to at least attempt a run to St. Catherine's Hospital. You can not believe the joy and appreciation from Vincent, the director of St. Catherine's Doctors without Borders when we showed up. He was so relieved because he was very low on water and did not expect us. He expected many people coming for help but did not expect us. St. Catherine's delivers 20-40 babies each day... regardless of what storms might be approaching, the need for water is great. We were able to deliver 5 additional loads Monday but only one load Tuesday as the storm worsened. We were still able to deliver another load to the hospital before we lost electricity that powers the pumps that fill the truck. Wednesday as the storm passed, rain continued to drench the surrounding area... we were only able to deliver three loads to the hospitals in Cite Soleil before we were forced to quit.

By Thursday, we had filled most of the cisterns for the week and went to work delivering badly needed water bucket by bucket. I prayed, and so did others I can tell, to be able to manage the crowds and lines when delivering water to people who have been without for four days. I know God answers prayers, in everyday life, and again, He answered my prayers... crowds previously very aggressive and rowdy, seemed to line up and wait their turn... when I told people, "la line, la line" they understood I was saying "the line, the line" and most moved to the end of the line. There were still some who sought preferential treatment, but I was firm. I'm hoping that as weeks go by, they will learn coming to the front of the line no longer earns them a bucket full of water. For some, I am not a very popular person, for many, I think they appreciate someone sticking up for them and one person who actually speaks broken english came up to say thank you for "giving us respect and managing the lines for the people".

How does God bless me? Buy giving me the opportunity to serve others, by giving me a calling, by blessing me with the rewards found only in serving others... peace, satisfaction, compassion, and even the challenges in trying to answer God's call. It is amazing how putting God at the center of my life... and then others in need... can bring so much fulfillment... everybody is born with a God size hole in their heart... and it doesn't matter what we try to stuff in there... new cars, houses, career... it never fills that God size hole... I learned the hard way... there's only one thing that will fill that hole... it's God.

By coming to Haiti, it has helped me forget about all the "little" problems in my life that that I thought were important. When I've put others first, my problems seem to dissipate or even disappear. I have found there's absolutely no magic to getting rid of my problems... simply focus on the needs of others and my own problems seem to become very minor.

I've attached some new photos of the last week... mostly of the last few "bucket by bucket" days...

Oh, and one more revelation this week. I've done a great deal of walking... and it has helped me realize how difficult life is here... many roads are very difficult to walk and people have to do it every day... as I walk down roads, I realize how easy it would be to turn an ankle on the many stones that are in many of the roads here... there just seems to be no smooth path for these people... every path seems to be a rocky road... here are some pictures of the path I walked this week...

To me, this looks more like a river bed than a road... but this is from a road walked everyday by hundreds of people...






The UN Stops the Water Truck
Another highlight of the week was when the UN stopped us and asked us to help wash the floors of Ecole Nationale in Cite Soleil, a school about to be reopened in Haiti for the first time in three years. We filled the truck and poured 3500 gallons onto the floors of the school as many helpers "brushed" the concrete to clean the floors. Here is an article about the opening of the school after we helped prepare it for opening...

From no-go areas to 'Disneyland':
Haiti emerges from a nightmare...
UN troops have brought calm to one of the most dangerous places on earth. But some wonder how long it can last.
Tom Phillips in Port-au-Prince
Friday November 2, 2007
The Guardian

Children sing the Haitian national anthem during a ceremony to mark the reopening of the Ecole Nationale in the Cite Soleil shanty town, Port-au-Prince

It was one of the biggest slums in the northern hemisphere, the poorest area of the poorest country in the Americas, a seaside shantytown described by the UN as one of the most dangerous places on earth. Teenage gangsters armed with assault rifles would cruise the streets, picking off enemies in gun battles and kidnappings. Shootouts and murders were everyday fare. During the worst of the excesses, with Haiti still recovering from violent uprising, Cité Soleil was off limits to outsiders, even to the authorities.

Article continues
Now, however, a year after police were able to enter Cité Soleil for the first time in three years, things seem to be on the turn. All the signs of conflict remain: the gaping holes gouged out of the area's concrete shacks by automatic gunfire, the cinder-block walls peppered with bullet holes. But for now at least the sound of shooting has receded, replaced by the hustle and bustle of a busy market and the screeches of boisterous children as they career from street to street on battered BMXs. Indeed, the only images of violence are the ones being touted on pirate copies of Massacre in Cité Soleil, a controversial film that serves as a chilling reminder of the slum's recent history.

Today the SUVs that race through the slum's dusty streets are driven by UN security chiefs and aid workers. A two-storey market that previously served as a hideout for local gangsters has been turned into a UN stronghold.

"Twelve months ago there were areas of Port-au-Prince where the government and its different representatives, including the Haitian police, were incapable of operating," said Luiz Carlos da Costa, the deputy special representative of the UN secretary general in Haiti. "We have a situation of greater stability at the moment but it is still very fragile. We need to remain alert to this."

One former UN military commander in the country said that compared with one year ago Haiti was now "Disneyland". Colonel Carlos Jorge, a representative of the Brazilian portion of the Minustah force, said that since June there had been only one murder registered in Cité Soleil, following a fight between two women. Not one shot had been fired there since February, he added, pointing out that the "strong presence" of the UN troops had temporarily scared the gangs into hiding.

But though the new president, René Préval, claims Haiti is bidding farewell to its status as a "failed state", the authorities face a massive challenge to rebuild a country that has been brought to its knees by decades of political squabbling, corruption and violence. Despite the apparent improvement in security the Caribbean country remains one of the poorest in the world.

Challenges
According to World Bank statistics, life expectancy is 57, compared with an average of 69 in Latin and Central America. More than 80% of the population live on less than £2 a day. Huge piles of litter, in which children play alongside goats and pigs, still line many of the city's thoroughfares, a constant reminder of the challenges facing Mr Préval and his government. Unemployment rates remain staggeringly high, as do levels of HIV infection and domestic violence.

Merlain Marc Guerrier, a 29-year-old resident of the La Saline slum, laughed off the idea that the calm would last. "There is still no real security," said Mr Guerrier, who works informally as a telephone attendant in a squalid portside market. "We need food, we need jobs. Out of 100 of my friends maybe three have work."

Finding people jobs, in a city where working as a gardener in a UN base for $5 a day is currently one of the more attractive options, will be no small task.

"We used to have tourists," complained Pierre Andrégené, a 52-year-old who works as a UN interpreter. "Now, as you can see, all we have is rubbish."

Mr Costa claimed Haiti was faced with a "job creation emergency". "Development is the biggest challenge," he said. "Fifty per cent of the population is under 20 years old. We need to create jobs for these youths. One generation lost the right to an education and we have to resolve this."

Others question whether the gangs really are a thing of the past. One UN military official said as soon as the UN pulled out the gangs were likely to return to the streets.

The burning roadblocks and gunfights may have been replaced by a fragile calm, but for Haitians such as Exil Marcel, a teacher at the Ecole Communautaire in the Cité Militaire shantytown, the uncertainty remains.

"To have security you need the military, of course," he said, looking around at his school's ramshackle corrugated roof. Outside, clusters of ducks waddled around the school's football pitch, a wasteland dotted with heaps of rubbish and pools of raw sewage.

"But if we don't educate our children we will never have real security."

Not far from the school's rickety door, a message had been daubed onto one wall in spindly red lettering. "What we need now?" it read in English. "Peace - Jobs - House."

and pictures of our work at Ecole Nationale...


Finally, some people have asked if I have a "blog" going with the emails I've sent. You can find the emails of my journey at "http://healing-haiti.blogspot.com".

We are all so blessed. My prayer tonight is for us to realize how blessed we truly are. May God continue to bless you and your family this coming week.
Blessings....

Jeffrey Gacek
Executive Director
www.buya.org
Connecting people who have much and need little...
to those who have little and need so much.