Kombit

Bennett has taught me the meaning of the Haitian Kreyol word "kombit."  "Kombit" means a collaborative group work project.  The kombit is a cultural institution in Haiti and conveys the sense of voluntarism that occurs when individuals come together to help each other out in times of need.  Historically, kombits were formed when a farmer needed help clearing a field.  He would provide food for the community and people would come and help him clear his field.  Today, Hope on a String hosted a kombit.  This Sunday, Hope on a String is having a big soccer game.  HoaS has players on a team, chearleaders (chofe) on the sidelines with choreographed cheers, and members of the community to come and watch.  To prepare for Sunday's event, the soccer field needed to be cleared and the lines on the field needed to be marked - quite a lot of work.  HoaS asked members of the team, the cheerleaders, and other members of the community to come and help clear the field and pick-up the area.  In return, HoaS would provide lunch.  We woke up at 6:30 am to meet at the field at 7:00.  Using machetes, hoes, rakes, and shovels, people got to work, clearing weeds, cacti, and brush, "cutting the grass" by slashing the machete back and forth.  Men and women (gran moun), teenagers (jen), and young boys and girls (timoun), worked incredibly hard in the hot, hot sun clearing the area so the soccer field was playable.  I used the machete, raked, shoveled piles of cut grass, and sweat buckets.  Buckets and buckets of sweat.  Next, some of the men used measuring tape to mark the sides of the soccer field, and then tied string to wooden posts they hammered into the ground.  Using such "crude" tools (zouti) made the work that much harder, but people kept a positive attitude.  It really was wonderful to see so many people coming together to pitch-in and better their community.  Hope on a String believes that strong communities are built through common experiences, and that communal celebration of music is particularly effective in building social change.  The work we did today affirmed this belief.

It takes forever to upload pictures, so here is just one that I took today!