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!