'I am Saved!' - Clean Water Comes to Zorange!

I'll always remember the realization I had a few weeks into my first "real" job, standing at the iconic water cooler, filling my 'Stuff White People Like'-worthy, reusable, BPA-free water bottle with crisp, cold, ultra-filtered water. Right behind me was a sink & faucet, with perfectly good water, that I refused to drink from. There, in a 3-foot radius, I had not one, but two, sources of unlimited clean water, and I was being so picky as to only drink from the cooler because of a preference in temperature - when much of the world doesn't have access to a single source of clean water.

For almost all of the developing world, lack of clean drinking water is one of the most pressing health and social issues people face. Women spend thousands of hours collecting water, waterborne diseases kill more than 1.4 million children each year and in some developing countries, 80 percent of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation. Zorange, Haiti, where Hope for Haiti Foundation works, is no exception. The main water source for the community is the river that cuts through the mountainous region (remember the river we got stuck in?). This is the same river they bathe in, walk in, drive in, tend their livestock in. Though they try to find side springs to avoid collecting water directly from the fast-moving, muddy main current, this water still isn't potable. The cost for this water? Miles of walking up steep hills with buckets of water and enormous health risks. The choice? There isn't one.

The health implications are obvious; waterborne diseases like cholera and dysentary can plague communities where they would otherwise be avoidable. The social implications, less blatant, are equally devastating. In communities facing water scarcity, women's time and resources are focused on obtaining water, sometimes walking hours each day to bring back small amounts of water for their families - water that will still make them sick. Sometimes children even drop out of school to help with gathering water. In communities where wells have been drilled, not only does public health immediately and immensely improve, but education, family structure and sometimes even economies strengthen, as women can focus on developing trades, skills and business. Providing clean water is one of the most effective ways to drastically change a community in an instant.

That's why one of the most exciting and powerful moments on our trip to Haiti last week was when Brian and Lydia presented the community with a water filter system that would allow them to purify water before drinking it, with no fancy contraptions and in just a few minutes. The filter, created by Sawyer and provided in conjunction with ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, where Brian interns), can purify up to 500 gallons of water a day, has a lifetime warranty and can be used just by attaching it to a bucket and running water through it before drinking. Several filters were donated to Zorange through ECHO's earthquake relief efforts, and Brian and Lydia trained community leaders on how to use the filter. The filters will be used for the school so the children have safe water to drink and in select homes in Zorange.


[Community members learning how to use their water filters]

The community reaction to the systems was incredible; they were so excited! “The idea of water for us is a mystery," said Obed, the head of our host family. "It’s true that we have water, but it is far to get to, and when we do get it, no one thinks about how to get it clean. Most of the time, when our kids get sick, the doctor tells them the reason they’re sick is what they’re drinking.” Sonie Adam, another community leader who was trained on how to use the system, yelled that she was "saved" after seeing the system at work. We can't imagine what it would be like to be forced to drink water that you knew was making you sick and the feeling of having that problem solved in an instant. Witnessing this moment impacted everyone on our team; the cool thing is that we know it impacted the community in Zorange even more.


[Olivier getting clean water for the first time]

Ultimately, we hope to build a well in Zorange as a wide-reaching, easily-accessible, long-term solution to the water crisis, but the weather, location and cost makes it quite the task. In the meantime, we are thrilled to have the answer in the Sawyer filters! We can't imagine how many deaths, illnesses, missed days of school and economic setbacks these will prevent. Brian and Lydia are continuing to work with ECHO and Sawyer to try to secure filters for the whole community, and we're really excited about the future of this project. It can pretty much all be summed up in what Sonie said when we talked to her after giving her a filter: “Because of this project, we will have a different life. When you come back, you will see our faces healthy.” It doesn't get more beautiful than that!


[Sonie, so excited about her water filter]


Special thanks to ECHO and Sawyer for their generosity. You can learn more about the Sawyer product here: http://www.sawyerpointonefilters.com/

Coming Home (when everything is the same but you)

I've always loved going more than I've loved coming home. I thrive off of new experiences, get bored with routine and dream of far off places. Part of me has always wanted to be a flight attendant, and I didn't think that George Clooney's character in Up in the Air was really that bad of a guy. But I will say that after our epic and ridiculous time trying to get back to Raleigh (I don't know if we mentioned that we got stranded in Miami overnight and had our flight delayed again the next day), I have never wanted to come home so badly. I typically walk through the airport staring at the destination above each gate and thinking of the planes I'd much rather get on than the one heading home, but yesterday, the only place I wanted to go was to RDU. And in many ways, it has been nice to be back. I spent Friday night dreaming of hair straighteners and air conditioning, of opening my closet instead of a plastic bag to pick out my outfit, and I've spent the last few days running, spending time with friends & sleeping - some of the things I missed the most in Haiti. It's funny, because I've gone on plenty of trips before where I've camped, lived out of a backpack and not showered for days, but I've never felt the same relief of coming home with those as I do now. Something about being in a country so different from home, about knowing that I didn't have resources at my fingertips, has made coming home so comforting.

But, coming home has also been much harder and different than I expected. Aside from the common challenges of trying to describe an amazing trip to curious friends in just a few words, the let down of getting back to normal life after an adventure and missing the beautiful places and people I met, I have thought about Haiti almost constantly since landing in Raleigh. I have never had to process a place and an experience so much, never struggled so much to comprehend things that I can't really get my mind around. I had been warned that it takes time to decompress from a trip like this, that Haiti is somewhere you come back to over and over, but I guess I was naive to it all. I've been to other countries before, and I was only gone for a week this time. I wasn't expecting to be left with so many thoughts, so many things that I struggle to make sense of and so many questions about politics, dynamics, causes and effects and the best way to move forward. There are so many things - good & bad - that I'm trying to translate, to find their equivalent for in my own life, with very little luck. And there are so many amazing and meaningful personal experiences and people I've fallen in love with that I miss.

The thing that has surprised me most, besides the way I still struggle to process it all, has been my feelings as I have processed it. I knew that I would come out of this week changed, and I knew that I would see and experience a lot of shocking, difficult and beautiful things that would ultimately shape my perspective and worldview. Honestly, I expected to come back with the temporary feeling of guilt about my nice things and comfortable life, write an extra donation check instead of buying a new dress and get back to normal life. But for some reason, Haiti hasn't left me feeling guilty, but it has left me feeling very unsettled. I don't feel like I need to change how I'm living, but it bothers me at little times throughout the day - driving down the road, drinking a cup of coffee - that I can't do more to change how the people there are living. It bothers me that right now someone is sick and having to walk over mountains to get to a doctor, that a kid is drinking water that will make him sick. It bothers me that with one shower, my life was quickly brought back to normal while what I left was their normal. It bothers me that with a plane ticket and a U.S. passport (a birthright, really), I can literally be lifted above it all, taken to 30,000 feet where life is equal - we're all just specks on a globe - and dropped back into my life here, exactly as I left it, while they can't escape from the struggles they face everyday. I think I'm realizing that the way Haiti has affected me has much less to do with personal conviction and much more to do with what I believe about justice and my role in it at a deep level. I think this upsets me so much because it's not how the world was designed to be, because it bothers God too.

The temptation is to try to adjust, to just want to get back to normal, knowing that if I just let myself get back into my routine, it will eventually all feel right again, like waiting for a drug to wear off. But there's also part of me that wants to cling to this feeling because I know it's really the opposite of a drug wearing off, and that my normal life is the numb part and that this real. There's part of me that doesn't want to get back to normal, because injustice should always bother me. Because I should always be aware that there's no "me" and "them", but merely a difference in where we were born, which has come with a huge difference in opportunity. Because I should always realize that with awareness comes responsibility to not live selfishly, to do whatever I can, no matter how small.

I'm honestly not sure what to do about it all. There's that immediate desire to do anything - donate clothes, food, whatever - just to alleviate the feeling of helplessness, but I realize that that's not the ultimate answer. While it's not an easy answer for someone growing up in an instant gratification society, I know that the fight is much bigger and the road is much longer than a quick fix. That it takes time and a diversity of skills and building on top of previous work and providing resources that equip people to change their own nation rather than just providing a bandaid. I really believe that Hope for Haiti Foundation does just that, and I'm so proud to be involved. While the spoiled part of me wants instant results, ultimately, I'd rather see long-term and sustainable change that's community-owned and empowering. I absolutely believe that Haiti isn't a hopeless nation; I've seen the strength, passion, pride, intelligence and drive of the people there, and I know that in the long run, they don't really need me. All we can do is provide the jumping point - the school, the antibiotic, the access to information through the internet - and remove obstacles that allow them to live fully in that potential. It's humbling, and motivating to continue the work. If you'd ever like to be more involved with HFHF, give us a shout - we always love meeting more "victims of Haiti's passion" and promise there's a fit for your skills. You'll fall in love and you'll be bothered, but it's worth it. After all, waking up is always hard - but necessary - to do.

-Kristen P.

This is not our first rodeo or Murphy's law strikes again (or, what had happened was...)

We promise we've had a really great trip. Promise. But that doesn't mean it hasn't had it's share of adventure (we use the word adventure because we're so good at positive spin) . Right now we're writing to you from 30,000 feet en route to Miami, praying we make our connection to Raleigh. See what had happened was...after a crazy early morning drive from Bainet (details to come..this is a "it rains, it pours story"), we arrived at the airport safe and sweaty, boarded the plane and settled in, dreaming of flushing toilets, cell service and fried food during our 5 hour layover in Miami. Hold up. Turns out a valve on the plane needs tightening. Valve tightening leads to the discovery of a hydrolic leak in the landing gear. We all get off the plane. Miracles happen (the part needed to fix the plane is actually in Haiti...things never happen that easily here). We get back on the plane. We're now sitting here waiting to refuel (the truck is here, but you know, they can't fuel with lightning in the area, which clearly there is). The clock keeps ticking away as we watch our connection window get tighter and tighter.

Let's back the truck up real quick so you understand our mental state at this point. Yesterday, on our way to Bainet, we smell burning rubber after tackling a big hill in the Nissan (remember that this is the other car...as in not the one that got stuck in the river earlier in the week) and pull over to find out it's the clutch. The solution? Pile us all and our luggage into the Toyota like sardines-there were 11 of us flying (literally,on that bumpy road) to Bainet...Jessica even rode seated backwards on the front console. A few hours later, Marcel comes rolling down the streets of Bainet in the Toyota, tugging the Nissan and Elade behind him. Notice we say 'tug' and not 'tow'. There is no calling AAA, no professional truck to hitch the Nissan up to. No siree bob, we're talking a long piece of fabric tied between the two vehicles. Going up the mountain was no sweat, but you could see the tension on Elade's face when he tried to describe going down the mountain with no control of his vehicle, separated from the car in front of him by only a piece of fabric. But because it's not our first rodeo, both vehicles made it safe and sound! We couldn't fix the car in town and the verdict was that we'd all be riding in the Toyota on the 5 hour drive to PAP in the morning. Elade not-so-secretly rejoiced in the fact that we're finally "riding around like Haitians". We started doping on ibuprofen and did laugh about the fact that it was the stuck-in-the-river Toyota that came through for us in the end. So, on this trip we've managed to kill two cars and an airplane. As Elade points out though, there's really been no drama. God's given us a lot of patience and we've all had good spirits. Elade keeps saying: "And Kristen is STILL smiling!". God bless those newbies and their cheerful spirit :)

And that's the thing- even with all the craziness and hard moments, we've loved being here. We have a great team (and we somehow still like each other) and we've seen a lot, laughed a lot, experienced a lot of take-your-breath-away moments and learned a lot. One lesson has been that we have no right to complain. The crazy moments are small, and funny really, in light of the challenges Haitians face everyday. We hope we can approach these small challenges with the same joy that they have for the big ones. And if we can continue to do anything to help equip them to change their nation, we'll keep coming back. We'll stand up for and with them- every time.

Last night, Elade drove a few of us to a piece of land we recently purchased down the road from our future hospital. This plot is huge and stretches all the way from the road to the water. This is the place we go and dream. We're not sure exactly what this place will be used for 10-20 years down the road, but it will be something big- a teaching hospital, an industrial center, a community center, a multiuse complex (Tara and Kristen say a resort). Elade wants to bring a team of architects down, crack open some coconuts and just talk about the possibilities- a coconut summit, if you will. Last night we stood there as the sun set over the Caribbean Sea, our friend Franki (the godfather of Bainet) sliced open some fresh oranges and we had our first unofficial coconut summit, going around the circle and each talking about what we hope to see there. It was awesome to take the time to see the potential- not just to be excited about what was accomplished this week or even our plans for next year, but to dream about the future. After all, "hope" is an important part of our name :)

So we say orevwa, or see you later, not adieu (goodbye) to Haiti. Haiti is one of those places you go and then you come back. Whether it was our first or 30th trip, we all fell in love with a part of Haiti and can't wait to go back (though we'll all be glad if we ever make it home!)...and we'd love to have you join us some time!

Keep checking the blog! We're excited to have launched it this week and will regularly update y'all with details about projects from this trip and future projects.

XOXO,
Kristen & Tara

Someone here is stinky... And I'm pretty sure it's me

We got to spend some quality time yesterday with the people of Zorange - one thing we love about these smaller trips. Tara and Kristen pretended to be international journalists for the day (hello, dream job!) and interviewed many of the employees of and people impacted by HFHF. We videoed each interview and plan on including a story in each email update (which we promise we'll send out more often- hopefully at least once a month. Brace your inboxes and hold us to it!) We won't tell you too much yet - don't want to spoil it - but there were stories that made us smile and might have made us cry a little (ok, I'll call myself out-this is Kristen and I'm a softie). Needless to say, we are pumped to share these videos with you! While we "went down to the river bathe" (so refreshing and much needed. We were stinky!), some of the guys joined in a game of futbol,Haiti's pastime. They played "a team from across town", which means across the river and over the mountain! The competition continued after dinner with some intense games of dominoes...played a lot like our Spades. Meanwhile Elizabeth entertained girls from ages 6 to 19 with fun iPhone games. It was so cute to see a group of laughing kids at her feet, and we all loved getting to build relationships with our friends in Haiti.

The internet drama continues, and this blog post is brought to you by the iPhone (and the letter O). The Internet company still isn't giving us our full allowance of bandwidth, and we've figured out that using our phones uses much less space (want to blog from Haiti ? There's an app for that). The IT team has done a great job working in less than ideal conditions and has everything squared away, but Team Haiti is still going to have to travel to Port au Prince to give the company a little talking to, since the lack of service as interfered with some of the needs of the foundation. Some other seriously cool stuff was accomplished yesterday... so cool that we want to dedicate a whole blog post when we get home (hint-clean water!).

We are about to eat lunch (Vierge is making Pate again, our favorite... Like a meat and cheese pastry), and then we are heading to Bainet to stay tonight. Bainet is a city about 10 miles from Zorange (an hour drive) and staying there puts us a little closer to Port au Prince for our flight out Friday. (quick Haiti geography lesson- Haiti is divided into departments or states and we work in the Sud Est, or southeast, department. Departments are divided into cities and those cities into sections...kind of like our counties and cities. Bainet is a city with 9 sections and Zorange is one of those sections. Bainet, where we're staying tonight, is a section of Bainet city - think Durham in Durham county). It's also the site of our future hospital and dorm. Y'all, we want to build this hospital so bad!! Seeing those buildings and their potential makes us so excited to revisit our fundraising efforts and get this hospital operational. We're looking forward to hanging out with the team, processing this week, celebrating what's been accomplished...and maybe going for a little swim in the Caribbean Sea :) We all love it here and are sad to leave but are so thankful for what we've been able to do and excited about some projects put into motion that will grow and have huge future impact. We'll be getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to drive to PAP and fly home. We'll get back late but hope to post a quick blog update letting you know we're safe and sound.

Much love,
Kristen & Tara

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

The rain clouds rolled out last night, and we woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny day - perfect for a hike through the mountains of Haiti. Elade, Brian and Nanga (our agricultural gurus) – and Kristen and Lydia, the two tag alongs – started the morning with a 3 mile tour (sing to tune of Gilligan’s Island) of farms and land plots in the Bigot/Zorange area . The agricultural team has spent this week surveying the area and meeting with local growers to find out about what they grow and their practices. Haiti has the ability to grow a huge variety of crops and the farmers here are employing a lot of great agricultural practices, even without access to agronomic education. Brian and Nanga hope to help increase crop diversity, create buffer zones and find crops that can be harvested in the off season to increase food security. We’re looking to set up a test farm to demonstrate how new methods of farming can really work here in Haiti. It was great to get out, see more of the other habitations and beautiful countryside and get some exercise… though we’re pretty sure we ate more than we hiked, as we were treated to a coconut feast at a friend’s house along the trail. Nothing beats the fruit fresh off the tree in Haiti!

Yesterday was another productive day in Zorange, despite a constant drizzle all day. Undaunted, some of our brave strong men donned rain jackets and climbed up on the slippery roof to keep installing wiring . We are still having bandwith issues, and the IT team has done a great job installing language and antivirus software while dealing with the internet provider and trying to get them to correct our limit. Oh, and did we mention there’s a new Wifi hotspot in town? The awesome IT team also got internet down in our dorm, and it even reaches down to Obed’s, our host family’s, house. Pretty soon we’ll be surfing the internet while feasting on amazing Haitian bread, coffee & pastries. (Thought you’d get away with a post without a food mention? Our Italian, food-lovin upbringing won’t allow it! We’re thinking about starting a side Haitian foodie blog.)


[ making covers for the laptops ]

Now, we’re going to let you in on the tough life we have here on the media team. Apparently, in addition to plenty of bottled water and coconut milk, our teammates have been drinking their share of the Haterade. They censor themselves while “the bloggers” are around. Any time we make a positive comment, it’s dubbed as “spin”. We have even been called “the party team” (hey, girls just wanna have fun!). So when we heard that school storage room needed organization, we attacked it with something to prove! “Needing organization” turned to be an understatement – the room looked like an episode of Hoarders! Towers of books were piled in the corners; crayons, toys, games, flash cards, tape and glue were piled in bins with no rhyme or reason; and we had enough pencils for Tom Hanks to send Meg Ryan dozens of bouquets of pencils, ala You’ve Got Mail. Little did we know that we’d find enough historical artifacts in those piles to make the American Pickers proud. We’re talking phone books and the University of Maryland class directory from 1994, late-80s school supply catalogs galore, and instruction manuals for 1960s computer equipment! In case we weren’t already surprised by some of the well-meaning but not-so-useful donations we’d received, we stumbled across the collection of French romance novels (none of us speak French, but covers complete with Fabio look alikes are universal!). We’re proud to report that after a full day of manual labor, we’ve got everything sorted, organized, boxed up and labeled – and upped our cred with the team. If TLC calls, you know where to find us.



[ Before: Tara & Kristen, a little overwhelmed by the messy room ]



[ After: Lydia with the nicely organized books! ]

Even after a hard day’s work, we still had to stay true our reputation by throwing a little part-ay (we can’t let down our fans, now can we?). As the team and a few of our Haitian friends gathered to watch the sunset on the porch of the dorm, we busted out a little Michael Jackson (“P.Y.T….I want to loooove you…”) and our best dance moves (though Nanga showed us all up when we played “Beat It”). After dinner, the party continued with a movie night on the inside wall of the dorm. Tim figured out how to hook his computer and the projector up to the power source down there, and we had a good turnout of adorable Haitian kids for our first movie premiere in Zorange. Ashley, our school director in Haiti, told us that the kids kept saying “Those people are so cute!” after seeing the dolled up celebrities. Unfortunately the movie got cut a little short when the power went out – turns out the cloudy day didn’t charge the solar panels enough to support a day’s worth of blogging and movie-watching.



[ it isn't a party without the Cupid Shuffle! ]

“Are you not entertained?” Well, we hope you are because we’re running out of stories. Good thing we can use the excuse of “poor internet connection” as to why we haven’t posted more :) Seriously though, we never know when the interwebs is going to cooperate with us, so we’ll try to post 1-2 more times before we return home on Friday. Peace out homies!
- The Party Team!

TIN ROOF! Rusted.

It is Tuesday morning and we just had the most awesome rainstorm. Shoutout to my mom: you would be so jealous!! We're staying in a building with a tin roof and it rained all night- the most beautiful sound. There was even a tremor last night during the rain storm. No worries though, we're all safe and so are the buildings.

Yesterday we werent able to post as many photos or blog updates as hoped because we ran into a snafu with the internet provider. They capped our bandwith at a very low level. But again, no worries, because if you know Elade, you know he's already rallied the troops to talk to the provider and fix the issue.

The various teams made amazing progress yesterday. The IT team had the computer lab up and fully functioning...before lunch (now where did we put our hammocks? ;)). We've got nine shiny Dells and a copier ready to use. They even installed software like Microsoft Office, language software and Mavis Beacon (I see you, 8th grade keyboarding teacher!). The construction on the school is coming together nicely (the building was very damaged in the earthquake), and we spent yesterday afternoon dreaming of the finishing building, painted (votes on color?) and connected to the world wide web. The PowerSecure guys, our resident workaholics, certainly earned their keep. Up and at it before their morning Haitian coffee/rocket fuel, they completely fixed the generator, which was damaged when a roof fell on it during the earthquake. It's now running even better than before and powering our copier in the computer lab. And just to prove they weren't slacking on the job, they even installed electrical outlets in the lab. We can now power up our Dells whenever we want! We also had two team members do an agricultural survey of the area.



[ the computer lab, almost finished ]

Three of our team members leave today to get back to work in the States. We hope the rain doesn't cause even more adventurous crossings than Sunday night. Your faithful media team will keep you updated as the trip goes on and our bandwith allows!

-Tara & Kristen

First Impressions

It was 15 months ago that a small island in the Caribbean captured my attention. I knew nothing about Haiti when, through a seemingly coincidental series of events, I met Jean Elade Eloi, founder of Hope for Haiti Foundation, at a soccer game in Cary, N.C.. Within 10 minutes of meeting, he had recruited me to do volunteer PR work for Hope for Haiti, warning me that I’d quickly become ‘a victim of Haiti’s passion.’ I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it took only a few meetings to know I was in deep. A year of work later, I can say being involved with HFHF has been one of the most meaningful parts of my life.

Eight months ago, Haiti captured the attention of the world. When a 7.0 earthquake struck just outside of Port au Prince in the afternoon hours of January 12, others like me, who had never known much about Hait,i became suddenly aware and engaged. We all realized that Haiti would never be the same, and in a much smaller way, that earthquake changed everything for us at HFHF. On the ground, our efforts turned towards construction and earthquake relief, and we began sending regular trips to Haiti. From a marketing perspective, we were thrust into the spotlight in a way we hadn't been before. The media paid attention to us, downtown restaurants hosted benefits, our Twitter followers skyrocketed (clearly the true sign of progress) and friends who only knew I volunteered with an organization in Haiti were much more interested. Suddenly, we went from being a grassroots organization to being in the center of a huge international issue. It's been quite a journey.

One journey I didn't expect to be on a year ago was the one I took yesterday – fighting my way through customs, flying down mountain “roads” (we’re talking Ford Tough commercial-worthy terrain), getting the car stuck in a river (more than once) and mainly, just being in Haiti! I didn't think I would be able to make it here so soon, and after working with Haiti from a distance, I wish I could describe my first impressions of actually seeing this beautiful country. In just a day, there have been moments that have broken my heart (seeing people literally living in the medians in PAP) and given me chills (standing on the porch of our future hospital buildings and knowing what they'll be someday). Getting out of the city and climbing into the Haitian countryside, I searched for words to describe the green rolling mountains, folded on top of each other like an accordion, the sun breaking through the clouds and lighting them on fire, the Caribbean Sea sprawling in the distance. As I anticipate the impossible "How was it?!" question from everyone when I get home, I realize I have no way to talk about the things I’ve seen without sounding cliche. The warm, friendly people, the beautiful countryside contrasting with poverty, joy in the middle of suffering. It’s all been said before, but it all is true.

More than describing this with words, I wish I could tell you their stories. This place looks so different from our comfortable homes in America, but the people are just like us. They love life, love each other, laugh at the same things and want the same things. It hurts them just as much to watch their childhood homes destroyed by an earthquake as it would us, and they have just as much potential to change the world and their nation with education and the right tools as we do. With every town we passed, I wanted to stop the car, grab my camera and just learn the story behind every beautiful face here. While I know language barriers and access make it impossible, I want to somehow find a way to make it real to everyone at home, so you can really appreciate WHO Haiti is, not just the issues and the headlines on CNN.

And the story is constantly changing - for good. Cool stuff is happening in Haiti, y’all; Zorange has some amazing things going on, from a full time clinic to a school with a computer lab and internet (I mean, we’re blogging from here! Seriously?). There is so much hope, potential, strength, skills and brain-power here, and I'm so excited to see where this town and this nation is 10 years from now. That's the story we can tell you, and that's what the media team hopes to do through this trip. Stay tuned!
-Kristen P., PR Hope for Haiti Foundation

“It’s Not That Deep”

An amazing group of media, IT professionals, agriculture scholars and the talented guys from PowerSecure met at the airport Sunday morning at 5am to depart for Haiti. The day couldnt have started off any better- check-in was a breeze, we found out the Mura fundraiser raised $600+ in funds and the Duke football game sales raised $1700 for HFHF. We landed safely in Port au Prince around 10am and only had a few hiccups to get thru customs.

And since you may have caught on that I love my food... I’m going to go ahead and tell you about the meal I’ve been dreaming about since my last trip in May. Vierge always prepares lunch trays for the groups arriving at the airport (see photo). This is seriously some of the best rice and beans I’ve had in my life; I dont even like beets but the beet/potato salad is killer, and the goat is definitely bangarang. Nothing can compare to Vierge’s cooking!


[ mmmm... delicious ]

The drive from Port au Prince to Zorange is probably only 70 miles, but it can be a ~6 hour journey. We have several ‘first timers’ on this trip and we were teasing them that this was shaping up to be one of the easiest car trips to date. Since the earthquake, so many roads have been paved and smoothed out. The cars were running smoothly- we even had air conditioning and fabric seats! Honestly, I was truly worried we were spoiling the newbies rotten. The weather was even beyond dreamy. The air was cool and crisp because several storms had rolled through.


[pictured: Tara & Kristen en route to Zorange ]

Consequence of awesome weather due to storms: swollen rivers. Car #2, driven by John Brown, got STUCK in the river! The team came together, unloaded the car, walked across and pushed the stuck vehicle out of the river. Every time we would cross over the river, Elade would say “oh, car #2 can make it- ITS NOT THAT DEEP.” We’ll let John Brown tell you whether those spots in the river were ‘that deep’ or not. :) Ten hours later and MANY more river crossings, we arrived safely in Zorange and crashed in the brand new dorm building (thanks G for laying that solid foundation!).


[ stuck in the river, unloading the car ]

More updates coming soon- we’re excited for Monday to start and work on the generator, computer lab and media projects. Kristen from our media team will be blogging as well, telling you all about her experiences as a first time traveler!

- Tara Z.

Packed & Ready To Go!

Hope for Haiti Foundation has a group traveling to Zorange tomorrow! This trip is all about the media & IT teams. We've been able to get some sporadic internet service up in the mountains of Zorange, so we're hoping to be able to update the blog while we're traveling. The teams will be taking photos, shooting video interviews and setting up a computer lab this next week. Be sure to check the blog throughout the week for our daily updates!

The team is meeting at the RDU airport at 5am tomorrow to start the trek to Haiti. Good thing I'm all packed up with the essentials already, because I'm working at Mura @ North Hills tonight for a HFHF fundraiser event (click here to read more about the event).

- Tara Z. (Marketing Team, HFHF)


Bag is packed with the 'essentials': I have my beef jerky, cliff bars, flashlights, two cameras, tripod... what else could a girl need!? :)