Notes from Haiti #3

On Friday we traveled to another remote region of the Plateau. It would appear the Fonkoze only serves those in the most distant and hard to reach areas. We came to an area that had very small homes and came upon a home that was significantly larger. Out came a woman by Jeanette whose children came out to see us. The youngest was terrified of the "blondes", the Haitian terms for white people. He ran into the house crying. Jeanette is part of a new project of Fonkoze called "Boutik Sante". People like Jeanette are given the opportunity to sell over the counter pharmaceutical products to people in remote areas of Haiti. However, in order to qualify to be such a merchant they must be trained by health care professionals to be able to diagnose issues such as malnutrition in children, prescribe fever medications or give instruction to people about healthy diets or even basic hygiene. This allows her neighbors to forgo a long trip to get such items which may simply be impossible. In this way Fonkoze is helping to improve the health of the country. There are 266 Boutik Sante entrepreneurs in Haiti have served more than 80,000 people in 2015 alone. She spoke to us about how she herself had learned how to feed her children nutritious meals and what it has meant to those living around her. With her profits she and her husband were able to build a large home for her family and ensure that their children can attend school. I asked her what she would want the people in Chicago to know about Haiti and people like you. She said: "you already know the answer in your heart. You are here, you see the need, you have already built one home and a family no longer has stand under the hot son, or be exposed to the rain. You already know the answer in your heart. What is there for me to say.". Her answer was far wiser than my question.

From her home we walked about 100 yards and saw a cement home. A block really, with a door and a few Windows. These were one of the homes that were built by AJWS after the earthquake. The woman allowed us to come in. Two rooms, one with two sets of bunk beds and the other room with pots and pans and a few sticks of furniture, and a cooking area outside. Our guide Linda explained that Emma had raised money to build a home like this. The woman stared at Emma and then with tears in her eyes said: "I did not know you before but I would have thanked you a thousand times. But now that I met you I want you to know that I will never stop thanking you". We who have so much look at a woman like this and see only what she lacks. While she focuses on that which she now has what her life would have been like without this home. "Who is rich?", our Rabbis ask. "The one who is grateful for what they have", they answer. I wish that I could fully express the power and poignancy of that moment. What I can say with surety is that neither Emma or I will ever forget the quiet dignity of a women living in the far reaches of Haiti. Emma will always be grateful for the opportunity to make a difference that AJWS and Fokonze afforded her.