Challenges October 2019
If you are hearing anything about Haiti these days — although it isn't really being covered in the media outside of Haiti — the news is pretty grim. Living it is even more so. Haiti has been in "lock down" for about the past six weeks. That means daily, sometimes violent, protests. That means roadblocks and burning tires on pretty much every major road and many neighborhoods. That means businesses attacked, closed and workers losing jobs. That means public transportation stopped. That means schools closed. That means market women unable to safely sell on the streets. That means food, water and other essentials in short supply. That means prices skyrocketing when items can be found. That means shortages of fuel. That means blackouts.
The reasons all of this is happening are rooted in the frustration and anger of the Haitian people at the Haitian government and the leaders. The corruption, inaction and policies are just too much to bear. There could be books written about all the reasons behind this, but the (very) abbreviated version is this. The opposition wants the president gone. They say he and his government is corrupt and ineffective. Those leading the protests want everything in the country to stop — businesses, transportation and schools — in an effort to meet their political goal of getting the president of Haiti to resign. The president has repeatedly said he will not resign. There is no prime minister because the legislative branch is also in chaos. Besides the dissatisfaction with the Haitian government, protestors are also upset about billions of dollars missing from the government accounts, the rampant inflation (currently at about 20%) and limited access to fuel. Gas and diesel, which are necessary for everything from vehicles to travel around, to generators so there can be power in homes and businesses, has been in very short supply for months; and when available the prices have increased greatly because of the demand. In the markets, the prices of food and other staples have been increasing at unbelievable rates, because of both the limited ability to get goods to market and the collapsing economy. The average costs of basic food and supplies have quadrupled in the past few months. Besides being upset at the government, gas shortages and the economy, people are also scared and hungry.
These protests have actually been happening on and off since July 2018. Usually they last for a few days, then things go back to normal. In February 2019 they lasted for 10 days. I never thought that would happen again. People were scared and upset they lasted so long. But now, here we are, in at least week 6 of the current protests, with no end in sight.
What all of this means for the St. Joseph Family is a whole new set of challenges, with a few bright spots mixed in to keep us going.
At Wings of Hope, the employees are committed to coming to work every day so that the Wings residents are taken care of and their programs can function normally. All the Wings residents are healthy and happy. But behind-the-scenes, keeping things running is challenging. There hasn't been city electricity for a few months (other than an hour or two randomly maybe once a week). That means the generator has to run to give power for a few hours at night, which means the need for diesel fuel. Finding that fuel is a big challenge because of the fuel shortages, and when it can be found the prices are very high because of the demand. Every day there is the challenge of deciding if it is safe or not to go out to purchase food and supplies. When it is safe for us to drive around to shop, it may not be safe for the market women to be on the streets selling or for businesses to open, so it is hard to find food, water and other items Wings needs. Because of the roadblocks it is hard for supplies to be transported to Jacmel from Port-au-Prince, so everything we need, from food, to diapers, to medicine, is difficult to find. When we can find things, the prices are incredibly high, so choices have to be made with the limited budget we have.
Lekòl Sen Trinite and other schools throughout Haiti opened on schedule at the beginning of September. After about three weeks of classes, most schools, including LST, had to close. It was simply too dangerous for the students and teachers to get to school. Even if the route to the school was open, simply appearing on the street in a school uniform, or dressed to go to work, could make you a target of the protestors; and could bring the protests and violence to the school itself. As a matter of social justice, Lekòl Sen Trinite is continuing to pay its teachers during this crisis. To not do so would make their lives even harder, as they would have no income and no ability to care for and feed themselves and their families. It would also put in jeopardy the ability for LST to function once schools open again because by then the teachers may not be available to work for us. We are also using current funds in the LST budget to stock up on non-perishable food items that we use in our school feeding program. Because of the skyrocketing of prices, we have stocked up on non-perishable food so that when the school is able to open again we will have food secured at a lower price that what could be the cost in the future if prices continue to rise. While the academic classes cannot meet, the after school programs of karate and cooking class are both happening for the students so they have some activities to participate in. For the past two years LST has partnered with an arts organization to provide classes in art, dance, drumming and music to the LST students. While most of those classes aren’t happening because the school is closed, the after school and advanced sessions are still being offered to any student who is able to show up. This is giving those students something to do and look forward to during this very dark time in Haiti. Their access to the arts is literally feeding their souls.
As the economy is collapsing, it is harder for our employees to take care of their own families. We pay our workers by check, and in US funds which allows them to cope with the ever increasing exchange rate. However, because of the protests, banks are often closed or open fewer hours. That means a challenge for them to find a time when the bank is open to cash their checks. Getting funds to Port-au-Prince from Jacmel is also a challenge. One payroll this month was more than a week late to the workers at the SJ Welcome Center because there was no safe way to have someone transport their paychecks to them.
During and after the protests in February, guests stopped coming to Haiti. Those who had reservations through the summer cancelled their trips, and others who might have normally come during the summer didn't. By the end of August we were starting to book reservations as groups once again felt comfortable planning a trip to Haiti. We had quite a few reservations for the end of October and beginning of November as groups were coming to help Wings of Hope celebrate its 25th anniversary. In the past two weeks all of those reservations have been cancelled. There is just no safe way right now to get guests from the airport in Port-au-Prince to Jacmel, and the situation in Haiti is too uncertain. Since we count on the guest houses to fund part of our budget, having a small fraction of the guests we thought we'd have in 2019 has had a big impact on our economic situation. Plus, we love hosting groups and making friends. It is a way for people to experience for themselves the amazing work being done at the St. Joseph Family ministries and to build relationships. It has always been those relationships that have sustained the SJF over the years. Our inability to build and strengthen those relationships by hosting groups for now is disheartening.
With everything going on in Haiti, we have been asked many times what people outside of Haiti can do to help. We have four suggestions for you.
PRAY! Pray for peace and that there is a resolution to the current situation that will allow life to go back to "normal" and will lead to long-term solutions to improve Haiti in a sustainable way. Pray that we at the SJF can continue to cope with the challenges we are facing. Pray for the safety of Haitians, and particularly the SJF, the people it cares for and its employees.
GIVE! We are facing a lot of economic challenges right now and additional funding is needed. Even if you can't come to Haiti and visit the SJF you can continue to support the work being done here. Haiti and the SJF need supporters and allies now more than ever, and you don't need to be here to make a difference.Below are links to two of our funding partners in the US who you can give donations through.
Friends of SJF: http://www.friendsofsjf.org
Hearts with Haiti: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/heartswithhaiti
TALK! Tell your friends about Haiti, not only the current situation, but all the wonderful things you know and love about the country. Most people aren't aware what is currently happening because it isn't making the news outside of Haiti much, so educate people about that. But also tell the great things about Haiti so that their only impression of the country and her people is not of violence and despair, but of the hope, beauty and tenacity of the Haitian people.
REMEMBER! Please don't forget about Haiti or the SJF. If you haven't been here in awhile, and can't come now because of the situation, please don't forget us. Remember the impact your time in Haiti has had on you and find ways to build and strengthen the relationships you have to those of us in Haiti. Check in on your friends in Haiti. They need to know you care. Keep an eye on the situation and when things calm down come back to Haiti. We miss you.
The reasons all of this is happening are rooted in the frustration and anger of the Haitian people at the Haitian government and the leaders. The corruption, inaction and policies are just too much to bear. There could be books written about all the reasons behind this, but the (very) abbreviated version is this. The opposition wants the president gone. They say he and his government is corrupt and ineffective. Those leading the protests want everything in the country to stop — businesses, transportation and schools — in an effort to meet their political goal of getting the president of Haiti to resign. The president has repeatedly said he will not resign. There is no prime minister because the legislative branch is also in chaos. Besides the dissatisfaction with the Haitian government, protestors are also upset about billions of dollars missing from the government accounts, the rampant inflation (currently at about 20%) and limited access to fuel. Gas and diesel, which are necessary for everything from vehicles to travel around, to generators so there can be power in homes and businesses, has been in very short supply for months; and when available the prices have increased greatly because of the demand. In the markets, the prices of food and other staples have been increasing at unbelievable rates, because of both the limited ability to get goods to market and the collapsing economy. The average costs of basic food and supplies have quadrupled in the past few months. Besides being upset at the government, gas shortages and the economy, people are also scared and hungry.
These protests have actually been happening on and off since July 2018. Usually they last for a few days, then things go back to normal. In February 2019 they lasted for 10 days. I never thought that would happen again. People were scared and upset they lasted so long. But now, here we are, in at least week 6 of the current protests, with no end in sight.
What all of this means for the St. Joseph Family is a whole new set of challenges, with a few bright spots mixed in to keep us going.
At Wings of Hope, the employees are committed to coming to work every day so that the Wings residents are taken care of and their programs can function normally. All the Wings residents are healthy and happy. But behind-the-scenes, keeping things running is challenging. There hasn't been city electricity for a few months (other than an hour or two randomly maybe once a week). That means the generator has to run to give power for a few hours at night, which means the need for diesel fuel. Finding that fuel is a big challenge because of the fuel shortages, and when it can be found the prices are very high because of the demand. Every day there is the challenge of deciding if it is safe or not to go out to purchase food and supplies. When it is safe for us to drive around to shop, it may not be safe for the market women to be on the streets selling or for businesses to open, so it is hard to find food, water and other items Wings needs. Because of the roadblocks it is hard for supplies to be transported to Jacmel from Port-au-Prince, so everything we need, from food, to diapers, to medicine, is difficult to find. When we can find things, the prices are incredibly high, so choices have to be made with the limited budget we have.
Lekòl Sen Trinite and other schools throughout Haiti opened on schedule at the beginning of September. After about three weeks of classes, most schools, including LST, had to close. It was simply too dangerous for the students and teachers to get to school. Even if the route to the school was open, simply appearing on the street in a school uniform, or dressed to go to work, could make you a target of the protestors; and could bring the protests and violence to the school itself. As a matter of social justice, Lekòl Sen Trinite is continuing to pay its teachers during this crisis. To not do so would make their lives even harder, as they would have no income and no ability to care for and feed themselves and their families. It would also put in jeopardy the ability for LST to function once schools open again because by then the teachers may not be available to work for us. We are also using current funds in the LST budget to stock up on non-perishable food items that we use in our school feeding program. Because of the skyrocketing of prices, we have stocked up on non-perishable food so that when the school is able to open again we will have food secured at a lower price that what could be the cost in the future if prices continue to rise. While the academic classes cannot meet, the after school programs of karate and cooking class are both happening for the students so they have some activities to participate in. For the past two years LST has partnered with an arts organization to provide classes in art, dance, drumming and music to the LST students. While most of those classes aren’t happening because the school is closed, the after school and advanced sessions are still being offered to any student who is able to show up. This is giving those students something to do and look forward to during this very dark time in Haiti. Their access to the arts is literally feeding their souls.
As the economy is collapsing, it is harder for our employees to take care of their own families. We pay our workers by check, and in US funds which allows them to cope with the ever increasing exchange rate. However, because of the protests, banks are often closed or open fewer hours. That means a challenge for them to find a time when the bank is open to cash their checks. Getting funds to Port-au-Prince from Jacmel is also a challenge. One payroll this month was more than a week late to the workers at the SJ Welcome Center because there was no safe way to have someone transport their paychecks to them.
During and after the protests in February, guests stopped coming to Haiti. Those who had reservations through the summer cancelled their trips, and others who might have normally come during the summer didn't. By the end of August we were starting to book reservations as groups once again felt comfortable planning a trip to Haiti. We had quite a few reservations for the end of October and beginning of November as groups were coming to help Wings of Hope celebrate its 25th anniversary. In the past two weeks all of those reservations have been cancelled. There is just no safe way right now to get guests from the airport in Port-au-Prince to Jacmel, and the situation in Haiti is too uncertain. Since we count on the guest houses to fund part of our budget, having a small fraction of the guests we thought we'd have in 2019 has had a big impact on our economic situation. Plus, we love hosting groups and making friends. It is a way for people to experience for themselves the amazing work being done at the St. Joseph Family ministries and to build relationships. It has always been those relationships that have sustained the SJF over the years. Our inability to build and strengthen those relationships by hosting groups for now is disheartening.
With everything going on in Haiti, we have been asked many times what people outside of Haiti can do to help. We have four suggestions for you.
PRAY! Pray for peace and that there is a resolution to the current situation that will allow life to go back to "normal" and will lead to long-term solutions to improve Haiti in a sustainable way. Pray that we at the SJF can continue to cope with the challenges we are facing. Pray for the safety of Haitians, and particularly the SJF, the people it cares for and its employees.
GIVE! We are facing a lot of economic challenges right now and additional funding is needed. Even if you can't come to Haiti and visit the SJF you can continue to support the work being done here. Haiti and the SJF need supporters and allies now more than ever, and you don't need to be here to make a difference.Below are links to two of our funding partners in the US who you can give donations through.
Friends of SJF: http://www.friendsofsjf.org
Hearts with Haiti: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/heartswithhaiti
TALK! Tell your friends about Haiti, not only the current situation, but all the wonderful things you know and love about the country. Most people aren't aware what is currently happening because it isn't making the news outside of Haiti much, so educate people about that. But also tell the great things about Haiti so that their only impression of the country and her people is not of violence and despair, but of the hope, beauty and tenacity of the Haitian people.
REMEMBER! Please don't forget about Haiti or the SJF. If you haven't been here in awhile, and can't come now because of the situation, please don't forget us. Remember the impact your time in Haiti has had on you and find ways to build and strengthen the relationships you have to those of us in Haiti. Check in on your friends in Haiti. They need to know you care. Keep an eye on the situation and when things calm down come back to Haiti. We miss you.
