a skirt & combat boots

          Haiti is a country of extreme contrasts. This is something the interns have been talking about a lot, and I cannot think of a better way to explain or visit to Ti Goave. The location; a drastic juxtaposition of mountains and ocean. My outfit was a nice contrast between me trying to be professional and wearing a skirt, yet trying to protect my feet from poop and trash and thus wearing combat boots. There was some kind of lunch mix up, so we were hungry from 4:30 am until 7:30 pm. At 7:30 pm we gorged ourselves on the biggest meal we have had so far; prestige, coke, pizza and crazy bread.

            But for me, the most important contrast was between what I felt was the most productive part of my experience here, and the worst, least organized failure. Starting with the good news:

Yesterday was a GREAT day for the public health program. We had a successful toothbrush training, in which the kids identified what was bad for their teeth “COCACOLA” and what was good for their teeth. (although “LEGUMES” doesn’t really roll off the tongue the same way.)

            We surveyed Ti Goave women about their maternal health experiences and needs. We found out unsurprising things, like most women give birth at home, money is the biggest obstacle to care etc. Collecting this data is the first step in the public health program here, there is no way to actually improve upon something if you can’t identify what the problems are. And you can’t accurately assess what the problems are without talking to the people in question. That seems obvious but is so often overlooked.

            Those were the highlights. It was exactly what I came here to do and it happened without any complications. We finished in time for what was supposed to be our lunch break. It transpired that lunch was not ready (at any point) and that we were supposed to entertain kids (150 kids!) for an undefined amount of time. In the sun. With no water. (the water was supposed to arrive the same time as lunch.) We attempted some games with the kids, but our Creole communication skills are severely limited in the best of situations. We attempted soccer, but the hot sun and the “field” (a dirt road) proved too harsh.  .

That’s when we noticed that the toys were disappearing. So we handed out toothbrushes and prenatal vitamins, both of which painted a vivid picture of the “aid” system that is in place. Women who had not been pregnant when we asked before were suddenly hording the prenatal vitamins; one woman accidently dropped about 10 extra toothbrushes from underneath her shirt. I wrestled prenatal vitamins out of the hands of a 10-year-old boy.

This is the pattern of assistance that aid organizations have unknowingly (and sometimes knowingly) set up. It’s a pattern of dependence. Is this any different than international monetary policy pushing open market competition to “stimulate the economy” of the developing world? These global systems create dependent populations while crippling the demographic they are trying to “help.” It’s the same as food aid hurting local agriculture.

The failure of our Ti Goave visit, for me, was that we fed right into the system. Because what choice do we have when people are suffering? Weighing unknown long term risks against imminent threats of sickness does not usually come down in favor of allowing imminent sickness.

            The more involved I become with this kind of work the more apparent it is that good intentions are NOT enough. Good intentions alone can be devastating.

            Long term vs. short term. That is another extreme juxtaposition in Haiti. I hope that our short term prenatal vitamin distribution can work in tandem with the long term results of the surveys, but that all depends on sustainability of the program, and I’m not sure we are set up for that.