best moment so far…

The days seem to be busier and busier, but we are having lots of small wins.  I have spent a lot of time in and around the respite centre for Physically and Mentally disable children lately; the Maison de Benediction (simply the Maison, or MdB as we all refer to it).  It is such a fantastic place and almost all the staff there are a foster-mother for one of the children.  It is unclear to me how this has happened, but I just like the fact that it is a great testament to those moms, some of whom look to me to be my age at least!  Anyway one of their problems is that due to the stigma of disability the local taxi drivers (tuk-tuks and moto’s alike) will either refuse to take the mom and child or charge them a ridiculous premium – say 500 Gourdes for a 75 Gourde journey.  So the US branch of the charity launched an appeal over Christmas to buy a Moto Twa Woo (really).  The money was raised and I went out and bought one.  Well technically the physio and I did some research and sent out a couple of the guys from the hospital to buy it.  For reasons I won’t go into now, and it’s not really racism, there will be prices and discounts for ‘locals’ and prices and discounts for ‘blancs’.   Anyway we now have a lovely new Haojing (see pictures, along with a Tap-Tap and a Tuk-Tuk)).  Haojing sadly is not the translation of ‘Honda’ as I had hoped, but a Chinese brand with a very astute commercial department.  They know that they can no longer sell crap to the UK, but for 3^rd World countries like Haiti, its ‘Game on’.  So we have spent quite a bit of time back and forth to the dealer to get missing parts and getting ‘our guy’ to do some welding and its just about ready to roll!

The best part about today though was not seeing the Moto Twa Woo ready to roll but progress on our new well.  It has been raining heavily today (ironically) and I was doing a bit of admin in our office when our electricians’ apprentice stopped by “Manu bezwen-w knoye-a”  (Manu, the electrician wants you, now).  My heart didn’t sink, but I thought it was going to be a problem requiring cash to resolve, which it often is.   Anyway I went over to the well and he was there on his own, not surprising in the pouring rain.  I didn’t quite have enough Creole, but I knew what he wanted.  He had just finished wiring up the pump and he wanted me to take the honour of switching it on.  I declined of course and filmed him do it for Social Media, but it was such a great feeling to be asked.  There have been so many highs (and lows of course), but what a thing.  This was undoubtedly the best so far.  Why?  I just felt really accepted and this gesture cemented a true friendship.  Would it surprise you to know that Manu is the foster-father of the child abandoned at the hospital on December 17?   What people.