Nwel

Hope on a String classes and its community center are currently on "vacans" for the holidays.  Christmas ("Nwel") is a very big holiday here and the upcoming Independence Day (New Year's Day) is also a very big celebration.  Because most people here are Christian, Christmas is a very important religious holiday.  However, because most people here do not have a lot of money, many children and adults pass the Christmas season without receiving or giving any presents.  Today, a man in the community, who currently spends most of his time in Florida, had his annual gift giving ceremony with the children of the community.  I was able to sneak a peak at the event and felt very lucky to do so.  The man had turned his front yard into a stage, with stuffed animals and decorations hanging all around.  He had kids sing on the stage, dance, and even rap.  There were boys and girls of all ages there, eagerly awaiting a special gift.  The host gave the children new and used toys that he and the Kadina Foundation purchased and received through donations.  He must have borrowed benches and chairs from a nearby church, because he had about 100 children sitting on them.  It was packed! Afterwards, he played music and the children danced and enjoyed their presents.  I was very happy to see the children, many of whom attend Hope on a String and who I know from around.

 

Happy New Year!!

On New Year's Eve, Bennett, Lara, Pierre, Guerda (Doctor Guerda Nicolas), and I planned to celebrate the New Year by attending a Tabou Combo concert nearby.  Tabou Combo is a very famous Haitian band that has been around for about 40 years - imagine like they are the Rolling Stones of Haiti.  Tabou Combo is very good friends with Guerda and Pierre, and the drummer, Jonas Imbert, is a dear friend and happens to be Pierre's son.  I was very excited to see Tabou Combo and also eager to see Club Indigo, the hotel where they would be playing and where we would be ringing in 2013.

Before arriving at Club Indigo, we made a quick stop (an appearance, if you will) at the Vice-Consulate of the Arcahaie region in Nanbouk because Pierre was invited to the government's New Year's Eve party as well.  Because we arrived on the earlier side, there weren't that many people there yet. However, the band on the terrace was playing and they were terrific. We stood on the terrace with them, overlooking the main street where people gathered to listen.  There were many moments, at this point in the night, when I could not believe where I was or the experiences I was having.  Little did I know what was to come...

We drove the 20 minutes north to Montrouis to Club Indigo and saw the set-up at the hotel--beautiful white chairs and tables outside, with an open-air bar, stage, and dance floor.  Gorgeous!  People in attendance were on the wealthier side of the spectrum-dressed nicely, some ex-pats, but mostly wealthy Haitians, and even some government officials.  We chatted with the band before they went on, enjoyed Barbancourt and a whiskey called "Something Special."  The band started playing around 11:30, and we were all ready for the New Year.  We danced, they sang, and the night sky was absolutely beautiful.  When the clock struck midnight, there were some fireworks, people hugged, and drank champagne.  However, there was no "countdown" to midnight, nor did anyone sing "Auld Lang Syne."  The band continued to play great music and we continued to people-watch and dance our pants off.  At one point, Pierre looked at Bennett and me and said, "those 2 tables are reserved for President Martelly."  "Really?" I responded, "How do you know?"  To which he replied, "one of my friends over there, a very close confident of Martelly told me."  Whoa, I thought.  Seriously?  "We'll see if he shows up," Bennett replied.  At around 2 am, Pierre told us that "in this song, Jonas has a big drum solo.  Come to the dance floor."  On our way to the floor, Bennett and I looked at the bar and saw a gentleman surrounded by people, shaking everyone's hands, walking toward the stage.  "It's Martelly!" I shouted!  Bennett confirmed my observation and we raced to the dance floor to tell everyone else.

For the next hour, President Martelly performed on stage for all of us with Tabou Combo!  Can you believe it?!  The President of Haiti, formerly known as Sweet Micky, when he was a famous singer, sang and danced on stage only 2 feet from our faces!  There were some bodyguards on stage, in the crowd, and around the hotel, but not as many as I would have anticipated.  The crowd was going crazy when Martelly was singing.  No one danced because everyone's eyes were glued to this gregarious, smiling, twinkle-eyed president partying on stage!  This was definitely one of those moments where I kept looking at Bennett and saying, "Really?!  This is our life?  This is happening to us right now!?"  Crazy.

President Michel Martelly singing with Tabou Combo

President Martelly and Shoubou

President Martelly and Shoubou

After his performance, we walked toward the bar and to our surprise saw Martelly leaving, surrounded by highly armed guards, shaking people's hands.  Bennett and I put our hands out for him to shake.  "Would he stop?" we thought.  Well, he did!!!  He shook our hands and Bennett spoke Kreyol to him and I said, "Bon Ane!"  He chuckled and continued on his way.  WHOA!

What a New Year!  Full of friends, good music, a beautiful country, and hope for an even better tomorrow.

Bon Ane Tout Moun eh Mesi Tabou Combo!

Check out: www.hopeonastring.org ; http://www.taboucombo.com/tc2010/home.html

Oh HEY!

I'm back in Corail and it feels good!  I have been nervous about my Kreyol being too rusty, so I have been practicing and practicing.  It's definitely coming back though.  I have seen so many people so far!  We saw Florence (Pierre's sister) and Viola (see my previous posts from this summer).  We brought them presents - two sharp knives and a knife sharpener!  I saw Patrice and his son Patrick, Andy (Florence's son), Channy (Pierre's sister), Cassy (HOAS staff and dear friend), Madame Ramert (Pierre's godmother), Mialove and all of her friends, Jwa Chenn, Berard and Dumane (Pi Love). 

It's GREAT to be back!

I'm Back!!...almost...

Yesterday, Bennett and I arrived in Port-au-Prince.  We landed and walked into the airport, which had finally been renovated since the earthquake happened almost 3 years ago.  Now, instead of getting off of the plane and getting into a sweltering shuttle van, which used to bring you to this chaotic immigration room, with broken fans, and lines that didn't really form lines, we got off the plane and walked into an air conditioned room.  The immigration room had walls, lines cordoned off so people knew where to go, and many officers checking passports (as opposed to just 3 people).  There were murals on the walls spiriting Haitian culture and history.  Then, we took a working escalator down to where there was a real, live, working baggage carousel! I couldn't believe it!  Everything was cool, well-lit, clean, and new!  Great job putting those re-building dollars to work!

At 1 pm, we called our friends to let them know that we had arrived - they quickly told us that they were stuck in traffic and would most likely be an hour late picking us up.  "No big deal," we thought, "This airport is pleasant. We have each other, and we are just happy to be here!"  An hour later, they were still in traffic.  An hour later, they were still in traffic and they hadn't moved 10 feet!  Our poor, dear friends in traffic!  How absolutely terrible.  They helped find us another ride, and we were brought to Visa Lodge, a hotel right by the airport.  Visa Lodge is a very nice hotel, where Bennett is friends with the owner.  So, we plopped our bags down and began to wait.  We waited...we had lunch...we waited...we read....we waited...we had a few Prestiges...we had some good conversation...   We talked to our friends almost every hour and learned that they had not moved more than 10 more feet.  A new market that had just been built had burned down and had caused the largest traffic jam they had ever seen.  They told us that they saw an entire wedding party walking on the sides of the streets to get to their destinations.  They saw cattle, that were in large trucks, marching through the cars in single file lines to get to the slaughterhouse.  There was no law, no order, no rules that were being followed.  No lanes, no incoming/outgoing traffic.  Just pure stand-still chaos.  We started asking our friends in the car if we should reserve a room in the hotel for the night.  "Not yet," they said. "It might get better after the bend in the road."  Finally, at 10 pm, we reserved ourselves and them a room in the hotel.  After 10 hours, they had only driven a couple 100 feet.  We were staying the night in Port-au-Prince.  Finally, at 11 pm, they arrived and in surprisingly good spirits.  It was amazing to hear their stories in the traffic jam.  It was definitely a terrible reminder of how fragile the system is in Haiti.  One fairly minor disruption,  a fire in one of the markets, causes such terrible repercussions for the entire city.  An entire day lost to traffic.

So, we didn't make it to Corail until Sunday.  But that was just fine.  I got to spend my first overnight in Port-au-Prince, and heck, I was in Haiti.  I was happy.

Last full day in Haiti - what a day!

I woke up on Tuesday, feeling sad that it was my last full day in Corail.  I spent the morning at Hope on a String, helping the staff input the previous day's attendance into the spreadsheet I created to keep track of attendance, both on the individual student level and on the larger class level.  Hopefully, through the Excel classes and the help I provided, the staff will be able to input hte attendance regularly.  The challenges that they face (which occurred on this day), is that when HOAS runs out of electricity, and the HOAS computer is not charged, they can't input the information.  I charged my computer at the house and then brought it down to do the attendance.

Currently, HOAS uses a battery system for electricity.  They bring their batteries somewhere to get charged, and then use them at HOAS for light, fans, charging instruments.  However, they do not have something that indicates how much electricity they have left, so they don't know when they are almost out of electricity until they are completely out of electricity.  HOAS recently received a grant, which they will use to improve their power system.  They are going to buy solar panels and a generator, which will greatly improve life at the center.

There was also an adult music theory and recorder class going on, which I was able to snap a few photos of.  The teacher, Maestro Nelly, is very popular, as are his classes.

Adult Recorder Class

Learning about reading music and playing the recorder

 I also walked around the music practice that was going on.  Many students came at this time to borrow instruments and just practice!  There was a a beautiful cacophony of sound at the center as people practiced clarinets, trombones, trumpet, saxophone, keyboard.

Music Practice

Maestro Nelly (right) helping a student

Practicing the trombone!

Friends coming to practice the clarinet together.  They practiced for over 2 hours!

Afterward, Bennett and I walked around Corail with Zach Niles, an American filmmaker who is currently working in Haiti to film and produce a film featuring Haitian musicians, called Lakou Mizik.  He hopes to explore Haitian culture and resiliance through the music and stories of local artists.  It is also his hope to connect listeners, like you and I, directly with the artists to show our support.  Visit the website - http://www.lakoumizik.com/.  We showed Zach Hope on a String and he was able to see the wind class and music practice, then we walked him down to the Corail Market, which is open now, for the first time in 10 years.

On this walk, I was able to see a lot of my Chante Timoun and Dans students and other friends who live in the community.  It was very sad to inform them that I had to leave the next day.  Whenever I told someone I had to leave, I explained that my work was starting soon and that my vacation time was ending.  "When will you return?" everyone asked. "When will you come back?"  I had to be careful to promise anything, so I said, "I don't know, but I have vacation in December." 

The rest of the afternoon was spent learning about Zach's projects and teaching him about Hope on a String's mission and vision.  I had my last lunch, which again, made me sad.  Viola really made a fantastic spread for my last big meal in Haiti - piklez, potato and carrot salad, fried plantains, dirty rice and beans, fried chicken, and even brought us each a Prestige. 

Viola and her delicious meal!

From left to right: fried plantains, carrot and potato salad, piklez, tomato/oil sauce with potatoes, onions, and carrots, fried chicken, rice and beans

PIKLEZ!

The best last lunch.

Afterwards, we visited the soccer field because Mitan was playing Basin-Mahee.  Going to the game gave me a great opportunity to see even more people to say goodbye to.  Next, Bennett and I attended our last staff meeting with Hope on a String.  They discussed how this session is going and talked about how they would improve and execute the upcoming registration for the fall session.  They have to time the registration and their classes with the beginning of school and the length of the school day.  Unfortunately, the Haitian school system is not nearly as organized or reliable as the American school system.  The start day has not been confirmed - it might start in the first week of September or the second week.  Because June was particularly dry, to the point of disastrous for some farmers and their families, school might start later to give these family the opportunity to catch up on their crops.   So Hope on a String is making plans for a variety of start-dates.  At the end of the meeting, I was able to say a final THANK YOU to everyone - Watson, Clyn, Velouse, Cassy, Armonie, and Mumay.  They are so wonderful and I will miss them (and Bettie, Violette, Florence, Viola, Asmathe, Sadrac!)

After dinner, we walked down the the solar lamp by the Catholic Church to hear the Twoubadou group play.  The moon, two days shy of being full, sat brilliantly in the sky; the music filled the air; and I sat and danced enjoying every moment - trying to soak in everything I was seeing, hearing, and feeling during my last night in Corail.

Some of my friends from Corail and who go to HoaS

Twoubadou

Bennett dancing with Mishu and Lara dancing with Marteen

Twoubadou group with Jwa Chen on drums and Gren on Manouba

SURPRISE!

On Sunday morning, July 29th, Lara told me that she had a meeting with all of the music teachers at 6:30 and she would like Bennett and I to attend.  Around 6 pm, she said, "Amanda, you hop in the shower before me."  I said, "Oh, that's ok.  I will just shower before bed."  But, Lara made fun of me and insisted that I wash and change before the meeting.  "Ok, ok!" I retorted.  I put on an informal sundress.  Lara and Bennett both made comments about the dress - so I changed into something a little nicer.  Odd, I thought.  Why do they care about what I'm wearing to this meeting?  Before we left, Lara said, "Amanda, can you bring your camera?"  I was already going to bring my camera, but this comment made me wonder.  Why does Lara want me to bring my camera to the meeting?  Is this going to be some kind of party?  No way...that would be crazy.


When we arrived in Hope on a String, Watson was setting up the chairs in a circle, Clyn was playing the guitar outside the office, and Cassy was in the office busy with something.  Everything looked like we were going to have a meeting.  But then, I turned toward the chairs more closely and looked at the chalkboard, which had a sign on it....  I asked Watson, "Do you know anything about this?"  He responded with a smile, "I know nothing."  I asked Cassy, "What's going on here? Is there really a meeting for the teachers?"  She said, "I don't know anything."  I asked Clyn, Lara, and Bennett the same thing, to which they all responded, "I don't know.  Then Clyn started singing a song, Lara opened up a cooler with sodas, water, and beer, and it was clear that the Hope on a String team were throwing me a going-away party!!  I couldn't believe it!  AND, Clyn was singing a song that he had written for me!  Everyone joined in and more people starting arriving.

Fefe and Clyn

Watson, Bennett, Michel Clyn, Fefe , and Lara - JAMMING

MORE COWBELL!

My face was plastered with a smile.  This was amazing and one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me!  More friends continued to arrive - staff, teachers, students, and my "family" down there, even Viola!  Then Cassy and Lara started serving food to everyone!  "Where did this come from?" I asked, shocked.  "We asked my cousin to make all of it," Cassy said calmly.  "Your cousin!  Holy Mackeral!  How did you guys pull this off?!"  I was so surprised - to pull this off took a lot of work, coordination, and love.  It isn't easy to get a cooler full of soda, water, and beer in Corail.  First, you have to buy the ice, whenever the ice truck decides to come down the street.  Then you have to go find packs of beer and soda from people in the town who "sell" it from their houses.  For the food, they had to ask Cassy's cousin, and then make sure she had enough ingredients - I don't know how they made sure she had enough food to cook!

It was an absolutely wonderful night - pure fun.  We sat in the round of Hope on a String, and danced and sang.  It was the best feeling.  What an extraordinary way to end my summer at Hope on a String!

So fun!

A fantastic dance line!

DANCE! (all the white dots are dust in the air)

This is Bettie singing, "AMANDA, I WILL MISS YOU!"

Add caption

Corail's Exciting and Memorable Weekend!

On Saturday and Sunday of last weekend, Corail experienced a great celebration, which resulted in a brilliant wave of pride for the community.  The whole town prepared for Sunday’s Sacre-Coeur celebration.  Corail has many different religions and many different churches.  It is also home to one of the few Catholic churches in Arcahaie.  Corail’s patron saint is the Sacre-Coeur and the feast day was to be celebrated on Sunday, July 22^nd.  This was the first large celebration of Sacre-Coeur that Corail had since 2007.  To prepare for the Sacre-Coeur, Hope on a String donated its chairs and prepared a special dance to be performed for some very special visitors.  The Catholic Church prepared by beautifying the church, practicing the ceremony, getting chairs.  The soccer program prepared by putting a palm-frond fence around the field, cleaned it up, and organized a match for Sunday.  Pierre also helped prepare for the feast by inviting President Martelly’s presidential soccer team to play in Corail.  While this was a far-fetched idea, Pierre was able to connect with one of his friends who is close to the Haitian President, and received confirmation that the President’s Foutbòl team would come to play in Corail on Sunday.  Pierre delegated responsibilities to everyone to prepare – his sister would arrange for all of the food to be cooked, we would make sure the house was clean and that HOAS was prepared to host them.  Having the President’s team in Corail would be one of the biggest things that have happened to Corail in a long time.  Corail is a town that has been forgotten by the government – no paved roads, no electricity, and no running water, barely any support.

One of the solar lamps

Corail’s Diaspora also supported the event by donating money, and one man, Nene Always, donated four solar lamps to light the main street in Corail.  They were installed during the day on Saturday.  There was definitely a feeling in the air of great anticipation! 

Some homes in Corail (like Hope on a String headquarters) have electricity, generated by a generator fueled by diesel.  Most people do not have electricity, however, because the government has not run electrical lines out to Corail.  In places where people do have access to the electrical infrastructure necessary to have electricity, like in Nanbouk, the access to the electricity is so sporadic that people and businesses can’t rely on it.  For example, a few weekends ago, Pierre drove several of us to a bar in Nanbouk.  However, the bar wasn’t open because Nanbouk did not expect to receive electricity that night.  Having these 4 solar lamps along the main road in Corail was truly life changing for many people.  

One of the solar lamps - the solar panel is on top.

On Saturday night, with the new lights installed, everybody was out on the street.  The toubadou group was playing below the street light located in front of the Catholic Church, just a 30 second walk from our house.  People hung around to the light and to the toubadou group like moths to a flame – literally.  Even small vendors pulled their small shelves of rum, candy, crackers up to the light to sell.  Down the road, by the next light, was a sound system playing music, which Nene Always had also lent to the community.  More vendors set up their shops, young people hung out on the street – the community truly came out! 

Lara, Pierre, and I walked down to the Toubadou group to enjoy the night, the music, and the community.  Young kids flocked to Lara and I to talk, hang out, and just be near us.  We saw our friend, Martin, who is about 17 years old.  She lives with her mom, and her two younger half-brothers.  Martin’s father passed away when she was in the womb – he boarded a small, dinky, rowboat destined for the shores of the United States, but he was lost at sea.  Her two brothers, Cleevens and Jackenson, with whom I had a great conversation, have a father who has lived in the United States for the past 7 years.  This is just one example of the many families who only have one parent at home.  Many families in Corail (and the country) consist of a single mother.  The father might be absent in the lives of his family for several reasons – he passed away, he lives in the United States, or he was never married to the mother and is not around.  It seems that this family model is more prevalent than is the two-parent home.

After we hung out with the Toubadou group, which is a group of older men that organize to play Toubadou music, we walked down the road toward the other light.  We enjoyed sugar cane, Prestige (Haiti’s best export – a delicious beer), and then made our way back home.  Lara and I listened to Pierre’s stories of when he grew up in Corail.  

SUNDAY – SACRE-COEUR!

I woke up excited for the day’s festivities, especially attending Catholic Mass at Corail’s church.  Pierre’s godmother and her husband donated money to rebuild the church when Pierre was just a little boy.  Before, it was just a one-room house close to the road – now, it is a larger church that is pushed back off the road and has a larger gathering place in front.  For the Sacre-Coeur, the church was decorated with fresh flowers, and there were rows and rows of chairs for people to attend Mass.  On the altar was a beautiful white linen.  It was clear that many people put in a lot of effort to make the church look so great.  

Catholic Church in Corail

Mass was scheduled to start at 10:00, but the priest did not show up until a little after 11.  He had already done two masses and was running behind.  We showed up at the mass around 10:45, knowing that the priest had yet to arrive.  The people at the church asked us to sit in the front—we were perceived as special guests, not only because we were with Pierre, but because we were outsiders visiting the church.  We ended up sitting in the fourth row, on the left side of the aisle.  People stared at Lara and I as we walked in and sat down – perhaps some were curious as to who we were, and others knew who we were and were happy to see us attend their church.  Many of the children and adults were familiar to me.  I smiled at people I knew.

Because Catholic Masses have a clear order, I was able to follow the mass very well—other than the language barrier, of course.  But I could understand the parts of the mass and because I have most of the Catholic Mass memorized from growing up, I knew what the Priest was probably saying.  This mass had a children’s choir, which sang many songs, and even danced in the aisle for several.  They were accompanied by conga drums, and a keyboard borrowed from Hope on a String. 

The most powerful part of Mass was the presentation of the gifts – the part where the wine and host are brought to the altar to be transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  For the Sacre-Coeur, there was grand procession of gifts.  To music, women in informal, long dresses, danced slowly and rhythmically in two rows up the aisle.  They balanced large woven baskets on their heads, filled with coconuts, vegetables, flowers, and plantains.  It was absolutely breath taking.  Thinking about how little most of these people had and how willing they were to give and sacrifice what they had for the feast of the Sacred Heart.  It was touching, beautiful, and at the same time, it made me feel sad.  What I did not understand at the time, but which was explained to me later, was that as the women were presenting their many gifts, the lyrics to the song that the choir was singing were about sacrificing in the physical world to receive rewards in the spiritual world.  I was moved to great emotion that this part in the mass, but I did not cry because I did not want to draw any more attention to myself than I already was just by being there.  But I was thinking about my family, my Grandma Mattei, as I always do when I am at mass, and I was thinking of how lucky I was to have this experience.  How lucky I am to be welcomed into a community so different from my own; how lucky I am to have grown up with opportunity and access; how lucky I am to have a family intact; how lucky I am not to have to worry about affording and drinking clean water or when my next meal will be. 

Then, we said the Lord’s Prayer – I in English and everyone else in Kreyol.  Next, we shared the sign of peace, which is probably my favorite part of Mass.  I love how everyone greets each other, shakes hands, kisses.  It is invigorating!  When it was time for Communion, I hopped in line with everyone else.  I think some people were surprised to see me receiving community, but at the same time very pleased – I saw many smiles, head nods, and even a thumbs-up. 

Before the Priest dismissed everyone, people made several announcements.  Many people were thanked for helping to organize the Mass, including Hope on a String for its keyboard.  Mass lasted for two hours, ending around 2:15.

The inside of the Catholic Church

Then, we were on full preparation mode for the President’s soccer team – very important people coming to Corail!  The team arrived in their special vehicles, with Arcahaie police with them, and their own security detail.  They ate lunch at the house, changed for the game, and then made their way to Hope on a String.  Lara choreographed a fantastic dance, which our dancers practiced all Saturday, and rehearsed for on Sunday.  They were definitely ready to show off their abilities!  Cassy introduced Hope on a String to everyone, explaining its mission and vision.  Then, the dancers took their places, Lara started the music, and the dancing began! The dance was perfect - and it even inspired hoots, hollers, and applause from the audience.  The dancers did an excellent job and the President’s players and guests were truly impressed.

Cassy introducing Hope on a String to the President's team

The President's Team and special guests watching

 After the choreographed dance was over, the Hope on a String dancers went into the crowd and started dancing.  Soon, everyone was on their feet dancing to the music!  It was awesome!!

Hope on a String dancers invite the team to dance!

Next, we made our way to the field to see the President’s team play the Corail All-Stars.  There were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people in attendance to watch the game. The Corail team thought they had a good chance to win, because they were comprised of young men and the President’s team consisted of older men.  However, the men on the President’s team were clearly very healthy men – large calves and strong thighs.  These were well-nutritioned men, who were also spectacular foutbòl players.  Corail lost the game 4-0, but gained an incredible amount of pride in their community.  I was so happy to be able to witness it!

Overall, it was a very successful weekend for Corail!!

President Martelly's foutbòl team

Pierre and Roro talking to the crowd!