Day 13: Home we go…

It is hard to believe that our trip is over. I am feeling rather bittersweet as I sit in Florida writing this post. My current view on the ocean is similar to the one I left yesterday in Haiti, but my surroundings are so different. The culture shock is very real. I’ll quickly summarize our departure from Haiti in this post and then wrap up this blog.

The trip home

We left Indigo by 7am yesterday morning, to drive the long and, at times, scary road back to Port-au-Prince. Andrea, Kelly and I got to ride in the front vehicle and spend our last few hours with Smith, who was still wearing my HBS hat (photo below)!

Smith and I before taking off for PAP

He was particularly chatty, telling us more about his upbringing and the situation back in PAP, where protests had begun that morning. He also gave us each a CD but wouldn’t tell us what was on it. I put it into my computer this morning and what do you know? It’s Creole lessons!!! Unbelievable…

Nick would also later tell us (once at the airport) how some violence had erupted in certain parts of the capital in response to the OAS’s election review. Interestingly, the protests were in defiance of the OAS and in support of Jude Celestin – Preval’s “chosen” future President, who the OAS was suggesting be left out of the run-off. This morning’s international news is abuzz on the subject; some of the articles I’ve been reading are listed below:

• Haiti – Elections : René Préval very annoyed by the report of the OAS in Haiti Libre
• Haiti Weighs Move After Observers Reject Vote Results in New York Times
• 1 dead after Haitian police and protesters engage in gunbattle on capital’s outskirts by AP

One other interesting article I read this morning is related to the Place St. Pierre camp in Petionville. This is a tent city that we passed nearly daily as we went about our project work and to/from restaurants. According to the Montreal Gazette, the camp is being dismantled and families are being offered $500 USD in compensation. The article suggests that people seem happy with this outcome and this quote in particular gave me confidence that the move was right: ”I have three children and I want them out of here. This place is no good. It’s horrible. We’re going to have a new start.” The article  can be found here.

While all of this was going on around us, we went straight to the airport (well, straight through some traffic and a few stressful hours wondering if we’d make our flight!). I was glad to get another look at the airport because my first one had been so rushed and overwhelming. The place truly does need a lot of work in order to enable movement in and out of this country. People literally have to line up along the street (and be hassled by street vendors and porters) to get into the American Airlines check-in area. Our bodyguards stayed with us the whole time, ensuring we got in safely. Given our timing, our group was probably the last to check-in to the flight, which would soon prove problematic. We arrived in the terminal after heartfelt goodbyes with both Nick and Smith to find masses of people waiting for our flight to Miami. The group was mostly composed of Americans: lots of journalists (with their cameras and video equipment in piles on the ground), missionary groups and NGO workers. An American Airlines staff member soon came on the PA system and informed us that our flight was oversold. She offered $400 flight vouchers in exchange for people to be re-booked on an end-of-day flight. Brian and I would end up being the only 2 of 3 people that took those vouchers, unsurprisingly. Turns out, likely as a result of our late check-in, two of our team members, including one who had a flight the next morning to Hong Kong from Boston, were not ticketed for the flight. Given Brian and I were only going to Miami, we swapped out and hung out in the airport for another couple of hours. We had our last grilled ham and cheese sandwiches (!) and Haitian cups of coffee – well worth the wait! In fact, we got lucky and were listed first on the standby list for the next mid-day flight to Miami and were in Florida by 5pm.

What is most special, however, is what happened outside the airport terminal: a true testament to the generosity and care of the Haitian people – and, in particular, our new Haitian friends (and ex-bodyguards!). I had called Nick to let him know of the change. Immediately, there was an email to the HBS administration letting them know that a security vehicle would be left behind until my flight was in the air. I got messages from both Louis Rene and Nick on how they could be reached in case of any issues, and a message to call Smith. It is hard for me to even describe Smith’s reaction when he heard my voice. He seemed so worried and vowed to stay back until we were in the air. I know it’s his job, but after 12 days with us and several nights at Indigo, I can only imagine how frustrating it was for him to be delayed in getting home. I was to call him when I was in my seat on the plane, he said, which I did. Once more, he told me to follow my dreams and that he would pray for me. What a fitting end to the trip!

This blog

This post marks the end of my blogging experience (for the Haiti IXP, that is!). Though I have tried to recount stories from the overall trip, this blog was clearly biased by my views and experiences. I do hope that the many of you – family, friends, colleagues, etc. – that have followed (and there has been a lot of you – most days, we had over 200 views!) will talk to those you know that were on the trip and get their perspective. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with and spend time with all 19 other members of our team. It was truly a special group of people that I am proud and honored to know. I also am so glad to have worked with Brett, Andrea, Kelly, Gary, Nick and Smith to make this trip possible and hope that members of our team and other HBS students get this kind of leadership opportunity one day – it is truly invaluable.

Signing off,

Kathleen

Day 12: Our final day

The day started after another great night sleep interrupted early this morning by drilling and sawing on various floors of the hotel (reconstruction starts at 6am in Haiti – and I’m certainly not complaining about that!).

Our team – Brett, Andrea and I – met to get some of our work out of the way:

• Organizing the final dinner to take place in the evening
• Writing a report on the Haiti 2.0 conference we’d hosted in Port-au-Prince on 01/06 (see the draft here)
• Following-up with the various contacts we’d met during the trip and thanking them for their participation

We tried to do some of this in the sun, soaking in every last Haitian sun ray before our impending departure, but ended up back in the shade, instead, enjoying our last few cups of awesomely strong Haitian coffee.

Our teams, meanwhile, were at various stages of their own project wrap-ups. The Digicel team took off for Port-au-Prince in the morning for a mid-day meeting at Digicel headquarters, where they presented their findings to their client team there. One of the major responsibilities for the drivers/bodyguards of the expedition was to find us some Diet Coke (the resort only served Coke!). Funny how some things become so needed in our lives? It’s almost hard to believe how ridiculous the request is when you leave the confines of the resort and see people lining the street selling whatever they can to passing vehicles – or even less so when you drive by the tent cities.

Moving along… the Retail team finished up their report on the investment case for investing in Haiti. Despite some initial concerns about their ability to make this case, the team did conclude – among other things – that “investing in Haiti is certainly not without risks, but as a number of multinationals have demonstrated in recent months, there is the potential for a win-win opportunity –for international businesses and for the population of Haiti.” Investment in retail, however, was seen as more long-term objective, behind such sectors as agriculture. The team suggested that future retail investment in the country should (a) focus on food retailing, (b) be composed of local/foreign partnerships and (c) include the development of store networks in the provinces with supporting logistics. Much of the interviews the team conducted stemmed from contacts made at the Haiti 2.0 conference, and I’m copying in a separate blog page our report from that event for those that are interested.

The Choose Haiti team had some exciting developments this morning, which I’ll hopefully be able to update the blog (and all of you) on one day! Without giving too much away, they are working to help secure some retail distribution partners for the Caribbean Crafts bracelets that I’ve talked so much about and that the team developed a marketing plan for on this trip. At our closing dinner, one of the team members would tell the rest of the group about one exciting retail conversation in particular and about the potential for additional sales. Choose Haiti’s goal is to sell 1 million bracelets, and I’m proud that the team is helping them get there.

The Technoserve team worked with their entrepreneurs until the very last day! They had the biodiesel entrepreneur back for a last meeting. Speaking with Kamala, briefly, I learned that she was helping with some investment advice – straight from our Entrepreneurial Management classes. She was literally pulling materials and concepts from our TEM class, and it confirmed for me how truly valuable some of what we learn is for those starting businesses. In his closing address, Erik (the team lead) talked about how impactful he felt that this team had been working directly with young and energetic entrepreneurs. He talked about how many barriers people like them face in a country like Haiti and how hard working and passionate about their ideas they must be as a result.

After finishing our work, Andrea and I went on a little road trip about 20 minutes away to the next resort down the road, called Wahoo! We were on a mission to find souvenirs for our team to give them at our closing dinner. We happened upon a gold mine on the Wahoo beach: about 8-10 very competitive and very sales-oriented men with baskets of bracelets and trinkets. I so wish we had a picture, but our bodyguard and driver were mostly laughing at us, instead of being able to take one! There we were, Andrea and I, kneeling in the sand surrounded by these ‘salespeople’ calling at us from every direction to choose their goods. We selected bracelets for the girls and key chains for the guys, which we fairly distributed across all of them. I then negotiated our price and, though they settled a little bit too quickly for my liking (!), we were off. It was so nice, again, to be able to speak with these people in French and probably give them more business than they normally get in a week!

Many of us spent the last few hours of sun in a line of chairs on the beach catching our last few rays of sun. Daphne bravely ordered and devoured a coconut from the guy selling them on the beach. Nick, meanwhile, was protecting all of us from those same coconuts potentially falling from trees (apparently this can be an issue!). And Brett entertained us with some political musing.

Our day ended with one of the most memorable experiences of the trip for me, at least. Brett, Andrea, Justin, Justus, Erik, Ben and I went back to the soccer field and played a massive game of soccer. Word had spread in town that we were planning another game and we literally had 30-50 people playing and/or watching during the match. Someone even arrived with a car and turned the stereo up so we could have music! Our bodyguards, Paul and Jim (who were on my team) joined in and seemed to enjoy getting the opportunity to do this again with us. We have truly become friends with these guys who have taken care of us all along the way. After the game (it ended only because it was so dark we couldn’t see each other or the ball anymore), we all ran into the ocean, literally straight from the field. The bodyguards joined us and we swam out to a raft in the darkness. It was truly a special way to end our trip.

After a quick shower and change, we were back at it for our closing dinner. Brett, Andrea and I had planned some ‘programming’ for the team, while Kelly had organized superb logistics. We had our own section of the ‘dining room’ with our own buffet (a pasta bar, no less – which was perfect after several hours of soccer).

Final dinner buffet - thanks Kelly!!

We had a champagne toast and then the group tucked into some pasta. Before dessert, we asked the team leaders to each say some final words on their projects. Justin, Anthony, Erik and Daphne all did a tremendous job leading their teams this trip and ended their work fittingly with nice tributes to their clients, work and teams. While each had their own memories or takeaways from the trip, consistently, they were thankful for their teams and the work they were able to deliver. We then opened up the floor to the whole group to talk about their trip highlights. Here are some of those mentioned (from memory):

• The trip to La Gonave island – and getting to interact with locals and see World Vision’s humanitarian programs
• Playing soccer at Indigo with the hotel workers, local artisans and our bodyguards/drivers
• The Haiti 2.0 conference where we hosted the country’s top business leaders
• Better understanding the power of the young, passionate entrepreneur in this country
• The whole group sitting on the Pacot boat returning from La Gonave and singing, led by Kamala, Andrea and Ben
• Anya’s jokes
• Getting to meet senior leadership at Digicel and hanging out on their helicopter pad on the roof of their Port-au-Prince office building
• Developing an understanding for the challenges and opportunities for businesses in conflict zones
• Frank Williams and all of his work in helping us organize Haiti 2.0 and the La Gonave island trip
• Getting to meet people like Magalie Dresse who offered so much of her time to our team
• Our lunch with the Harvard Club of Haiti

Brett put a capstone on these memories by encouraging the group to start thinking about how they want to be involved with this or other innovative projects at the school moving forward. He also gave a short tribute to Kelly, Andrea and I presenting each of us with shells he gathered one morning on the beach!

After eating some cake (we had a cake made with ‘Congratulations – Haiti IXP’, however, by the time we sat down to dinner, the icing had melted off), I led off the rest of the evening by spending a few minutes thanking Kelly for the important role she played on this trip. We truly couldn’t have accomplished as much as we did without Kelly’s support. She often ‘went to bat’ for us with the administration and encouraged us to live this experience fully. Despite the packed calendar and many stressful days and decisions, she stuck with us through every minute as not just an administrative lead, but, more importantly, as a mentor and friend.

Finally, we presented awards to each team member – primarily based on inside jokes from the trip. For all of the parents and friends reading, go ahead and ask your Haiti IXP participant how their name came about – I won’t go into details here! (A sample of the certificate each participant will receive is below):

1. Erik “Slums of Port-au-Prince” Malmstrom
2. Kamala “Telegruv sales are bound to rise” Salmon
3. Iann “Wink killer” Poole
4. Ashley “Biker babe” Halpin
5. Anthony “French phenom” Lallier
6. Brian “The human bug bite” Polsinello
7. Kate “Ping pong dark horse” Kamm
8. Courtney “Ride the cowboy” Davis
9. Justin “I can’t turn my neck, guys” Lambert
10. Justus “I’ve never had so much Coca-Cola in my life” Meyer
11. Anya “Team cheerleader / little spoon” Klots
12. Julie “Jodie” Filion
13. Daphne “World Vision’s preferred translator” Leger
14. Albert “Dirty bananagram / super consultant” Chu
15. Ben “Soft rock star” Schumacher
16. Krizia “The Admiral’s Club / big spoon” Li

This is Anya's - Awesome picture of her!

Following our dinner, we invited Nick, Smith and their team of bodyguards and drivers to join us. Each team’s French speaker (Erik, Julie, Anthony, Daphne and I) presented their bodyguard and driver with an HBS pen and hand-written note. With the exception of one team, most of us spent the entire 12 days with the same guys and got to know them quite well. Nick got his own tribute because he really has been part of the leadership team, helping Kelly, Brett, Andrea and I think through each decision and all of our logistics. Smith also got his own tribute, with Andrea doing the English version and I the French version. We gave him my HBS baseball cap so that he could always remember us. [By the way, until the time we went through security at the airport the next morning, he never took that hat off!] Smith then turned the tables on us and asked me to translate for him in front of the group. He said the following (I’m recounting from memory), which touched all of us – and as a result was hard for me to translate…

“Before this trip, I would say that I could remember all the bad moments in my life, but that I couldn’t remember the good moments in my life. After meeting you, I now have a good moment in my life that I know I won’t forget. You are all like my family now and I will pray for you always. I know that your dreams will come true but I will pray for them too. [He then turned to Andrea, Brett, Kelly and I and continued] To my close family – my mother, Kelly, my brother, Brett, my sister, Kathleen [Cathy!] and my other sister, Andrea.”

He then gave each of us a personalized gift with a big bear hug. You could see in his eyes how sad he was that we were leaving but how happy he was to offer us something in front of the whole group. Smith truly has become a friend – to all of us and we are so grateful that we were able to have him on our team over the past 12 days.

We then invited all of the bodyguards and drivers to play in Kamala’s game with us called “Product, Celebrity, Place” (I think?!)… where each team had to put together a short skit using a given product, celebrity and location. Our team got ‘Future U.S. President Brett Gibson’, a ‘NYC Ladies Bathroom’ and ‘Silly Putty’. Poor Smith and Paul (one of the other team’s bodyguards) – I mean you couldn’t pick three more difficult things to explain and translate but we managed! Most importantly, I think it was really fun for everyone to play together and I do think that, though they’d prefer to play soccer with us, the bodyguards and drivers appreciated being involved!

The night ended fittingly with some Telegruv, a dance party by the pool and lots of exhausted people off to bed for a 6:30am departure the next morning.

Brett, Kelly, Andrea and I at the final dinner

Dance party post-final dinner

Day 11: Work, sun & soccer!

We woke up in Indigo finally ready for a ‘day off’ / beach day. Though some of the teams were still working on their presentations, a sizeable group of us got to enjoy this beautiful resort. We lay by the pool, swam in the ocean and generally took it easy. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice. But it also felt strange… especially given it was January 12, the earthquake anniversary. Interestingly, the people at the resort (there is a sizable medical conference underway while we are here), didn’t take part in any memorial services here. There was a moment of silence around 4pm, but otherwise, it was a relatively quiet day on that front.

One of the NGO contacts I met in Port-au-Prince told me that I would feel guilty being here, especially after seeing what I did the day before on La Gonave island and for the past week throughout the country. You can always argue, and many people do, that you are contributing to the economy by supporting places like this, but it is still hard to feel ok about it. With that said, this place does make you realize how much potential exists for the tourism industry in this country. Tourism is an area that I hope future IXPs to this area will look at. The photos below barely do this place justice, but give you a sense for what we’re experiencing. It is like being in a cleaner, less busy and way less expensive Dominican Republic (or any other Caribbean island).

The pool at Indigo

The beach at Indigo

In the afternoon, we organized a soccer (futbal) match with the drivers, bodyguards and some of the local artisans and hotel workers. It was a total blast, despite the heat! We managed to keep up with them and were even able to share some of what we were up to and learn about what it is like to live here while on the sidelines. Our drivers and bodyguards continue to be very curious and I think they are getting quite a bit out of watching and listening to our interactions with locals. After soccer and a quick swim, we were back at sports, playing some beach volleyball and frisbe. A bunch of type As not able to relax? What else is new?! Some photos of these activities are below.

Post-soccer match photo, includes Andrea, Brett, Erik and I

Beach volleyball at sunset

After all of these activities, the teams were pretty tired. We had a quiet night – without Telegruv this time – sitting by the bar and pool. Many of the teams were still busy at work preparing for final meetings the following day. The Digicel team was polishing off their presentation and had plans to head into Port-au-Prince mid-day to present. The Choose Haiti team was finishing off their marketing video featuring the crafts people they interviewed several days ago. The Technoserve team was preparing for their final meeting with the bio-diesel entrepreneur, who was making the trek from Port-au-Prince to Indigo. And the retail team was putting together their final report for Frank. While I think everyone seems to be pleased with how far they’ve come, I think they are also excited to be done! One more day…

Marking the earthquake anniversary – January 12, 2010

Please check out our Facebook page for some of the anniversary press we’re reading today to mark January 12, 2010.

Day 10: La Gonave island – well worth the exciting boat & truck rides!

Please read (and look at the photos in) this entry. Day 10 was one of the most special days on the trip!!

We started the day at 5am. Our fearless security leader, Nick from GardaWorld, had organized a boat for our group to take the ~2 hour traverse to an island just off the coast of Haiti called La Gonave island. Brett & Smith went early with Nick and they scoped out the boat situation. Turns out the boat was a bit delayed (leaving at 4:30am wouldn’t have been my cup of tea either!). Everyone had a few more cups of coffee and watched the sun rise at the resort and took off to meet the boat when it finally did arrive.

Sunrise

Our boat to La Gonave island

We made the trek across to the island and had a very special day hosted by World Vision, and organized by Frank (as with most things on our trip!). We were welcomed by Sam with a day-long agenda, which included observing a food distribution program, visiting a food warehouse, meeting with locals at their homes and with kids at a school, and ending with a lunch and cultural show in the center of the island in the town of Ti-Palmiste. The food distribution was interesting: we arrived and found many women of various ages (some of which were carrying infants) in line and waiting to get in-line for food. World Vision runs a program specifically for pregnant and nursing women to prevent infant malnutrition. Our team debated some of the benefits and issues with such programs: the incentives they create vs. the strong need in such a remote place like this. According to our tour guide, ~14,000 families are served by World Vision programs on the island (equating to approximately half of the people there).

Food distribution

After the food distribution, we visited the warehouse where the food is dropped and sorted. It was a large area which contained primarily vegetable oil, soy and rice. USAID stickers were all over the goods, though, we watched the unloaders taking the stickers off as they stocked the goods. We hypothesized that this was because they didn’t want the people to know the food was paid for by U.S. taxpayers? Indeed, that was another interesting debate we had that day.

Warehouse distribution (note: stickers removed from veg oil)

Warehouse food unloading

After the food distribution and warehouse, we did two really neat things. First, we visited a local La Gonave house and met some locals. One of the men had just caught some fish and was taking the stingers off them. It was a true representation of life on an island like this. Second, we visited a school where children were off for lunch. They surrounded us and were very interested in our clothing – especially our sunglasses. Andrea and I had fun passing ours around and having them pose with them. I spoke to some of the parents as the others took photos with the kids and mentioned what great teeth the kids had. I know this seems strange but I truly didn’t expect it in the conditions we were in. Despite those teeth, the kids didn’t like to smile for the camera! That said, they smiled tons as our convoy left as did others along the road to lunch.

Fisherman tending to his fish

Andrea and a schoolboy with her glasses

Me - surrounded by children

After those visits, we proceeded along a rather treacherous (well, rocky and bumpy) road to the town of Ti-Palmiste in the center of La Gonave. We were greeted by a group of World Vision workers and what looked like sponsored children. They treated us to a cultural show where they sang and read poems about Haiti. Some of the kids were really talented and our group did our best to cheer them on. Following the show, we all ate a beautiful and diverse spread prepared by the locals with the children. It was a really special part of the trip because all of these activities had clearly been organized for us and the team really appreciated that. After a long, sleepy ride back down to the port (i.e., dock!), we were back on the boat for the sunset cruise home. More pictures below.

Cultural show by World Vision children

The team before boarding the boat home

Sunset as we return to Haiti's mainland

Overall, the day on La Gonave was really special for the group. We truly did get to see the extent to which Port-au-Prince gets government (and international) assistance, whereas the rural areas must survive on their own. Based on the amount of help that World Vision is giving there, it seems as though survival is barely possible without the help of NGOs. One of the interesting things we learned today is that extent to which the difference between living on the coast and up in the highlands can make. We noticed that people seemed friendlier and less suspicious of us up in the mountains – which our guide said was because they lead much more simple and “untouched” lives, and that their access to agriculture is a huge plus for their living conditions. Those on the coast live in a perpetual dust bin and see “foreigners” (or the “haves”) much more often, reminding them that they truly “have not”.

We got back to the hotel, had a late dinner and got back to Telegruv. Tonight, Nick and Smith joined us and played along. Nick, Brett, Andrea and I ended up winning (who knows how?!) which was great. We’ve mastered the ‘moonwalk’, the ‘thunder-clap’ and the ‘boxer’ dances, that’s for sure!! For those reading that don’t know the game, all you have to know is that we had lots of fun dancing and laughing at each other. I can’t say it enough, we are so lucky to have the team that we do. It’s been so great getting to know the group – in professional, social and sometimes slightly emotional settings.

Day 9: Me & Martelly + Indigo!

***I’m writing this entry from Club Indigo, where we’ve been for the past 2 days. We had a busy few days so I’ve been taking notes to recount it all here. My sincere apologies for the lateness of these blog entries***

This morning, we had no morning meetings and let the teams decide how they wanted to spend their time. Between packing, client meetings, presentation work and some tennis / working out, there was a lot to keep them busy! Justin and I managed to beat Andrea and Justus in tennis which started off my morning well (and early!). We spent the rest of the morning organizing ourselves for the trip to Indigo and the following few days.

In the meantime, the retail team continued to meet with their list of Haitian business leaders, including Mme. Sicard-Siegel who is in the perfume business. As we meet with business people in the country – be it through our conference, the Harvard Club of Haiti meeting or through other means – we continue to be struck by their appreciation for our work and their interest in having us back, working for them on their businesses and/or start-ups!  The Technoserve team met with their last entrepreneur, which is a biodiesel start-up, and had a ‘farewell’ lunch with Yves Andre, their client. I still can’t believe we are already at the stage of ‘farewells’! The Choose Haiti team presented their marketing plan to their clients and are currently refining remaining elements. And finally, the Digicel team got to work crafting their mobile banking agent training model recommendations after several days of meetings. I can’t say it enough: I am so proud of the teams and what they’ve been able to accomplish in such a short-time with so much additional programming and logistical challenges.

Teams meeting pre-departure

Throughout the morning, we could see Martelly (see previous posts) on his usual balcony at the Karibe.

Martelly on the balcony (again)

We would realize, as we were packing the cars and finishing our last security briefing, that the OAS had apparently just sent the government their recommendations following a review of the elections process suggesting that Martelly and the female ex-Prime Minister’s wife, Michelle Manigard, move to the second round – ahead of Preval (and the ruling elite’s) candidate, Jude Celestin. As we stood in the hotel lobby, waiting to board our cars for the drive to Indigo, while emailing our parents telling them of potential unrest in the capital as we were traveling out of it (!), we all see Martelly come out of the elevator. Dressed in a(nother) pink dress shirt, jeans and a blazer, he looks like the hybrid “man of the people/man of the elite” that he seems to have mastered. Kelly suggests I get a picture with him. Just as I’m hesitating, and his convoy is pulling up to the entrance of the hotel, she pushes me towards him. As politely as I can, I ask if I can take a picture with him. The next 2 minutes were a complete blur by I’ll try and recount them here.

Martelly turned around immediately and smiled, seemingly accepting the idea of a photo. I congratulated him on the announcement. He looked at me with wide eyes, and asked how I knew. I told him we’d read it in the international newspapers. He told me that he didn’t realize it had already leaked to the international press. Cool! As Kelly prepared to take our photo, he asked me where I was from. I told him we were 20 students from Harvard University that were here working from January 3-14. He asked me where we were going (it was quite clear from the pile of luggage that his bodyguards had to step over on their way out!). I told him Indigo and I also told him how we weren’t sure what PAP would be like after the announcement and for the earthquake anniversary. He paused and asked me what I thought of his country. As I answered, a flash went off and he turned. He asked me if I’d prefer to speak in English, which I said no to. I told him I was Canadian (from Montreal) and he asked me if I knew that my government had contributed assistance after the quake. I told him I did and that we’d seen the tents. He got quite serious then and told me that his country didn’t need any more tents (almost as if I should relay this to my government!) and that they needed permanent housing. He said that was why he was running for President. When I told him, I’d heard he was a “man of the people”, he said he felt that nobody had ever represented the people of Haiti and he was running in order to give them a voice. His passion and intensity was surprising and inspiring. I, like many others who have probably met him, felt like he could and would be the right candidate.

Martelly and I in the hotel lobby

Shortly after I was ‘star-struck’, our team jumped into our caravan (of 6 vehicles) and took off for Indigo, the beach resort on the interior coast of Haiti, North West of Port-au-Prince. The drive was approximately two hours through some really desolate and heart-breaking communities.  Below are some pictures from our journey, including a view of Camp Corail, one of the largest and most disperse camps just outside of the capital. It is a massive expanse of tents and small wooden cabins with tarps on them. The sight makes you realize just how many people are without homes.

More destroyed houses along the way to Indigo

Camp Corail from the truck (a bit blurry)

We couldn’t be more thrilled to be here at Indigo. The resort is an old Club Med – though the rooms resemble prison cells more than beach suites! That aside, the views are phenomenal, as is the pool and the other facilities. We had a pretty quiet night in and around the hotel though we did bust out the board games. In particular, we played Kamala’s game, Telegruv, which is available at www.telegruv.com (shameless plug!). We laughed and enjoyed dancing by the pool. More to come on the place in tomorrow’s post.

Day 8: Lost in translation – or not?

Today the team was up early for a quick, yet important sightseeing tour. I didn’t make it for my usual morning swim (I’ve been trying to get up early each morning and do a few laps in the pool). The water is freezing so I pretty much have to jump in to get started. Once in, however, those few laps really start my day off right (well, that and the butter croissants that the hotels keeps serving us!). From the pool, I can see some of our usual morning waiters watching me. They must find it fascinating that this is how I choose to spend my time!

It is Sunday which means that the streets of Port-au-Prince are relatively clear of traffic – and people. People we do see on the streets – as with last weekend (hard to believe we’ve been here a whole week) – are incredibly well dressed, for church, of course. The young girls wear colorful dresses and polished patent shoes. Men wear shirts and ties, despite the heat.

The streets are truly empty and we make our way down the winding roads to Champs de Mars in under 15 minutes. I don’t think we’ve made it anywhere all week in less than 15 minutes! Champs de Mars is, of course, the site of one of the largest and more volatile IDP camps in Port-au-Prince. It is also where the Presidential Palace is located – which was the main reason for our trip. As we drive up to the camp, I can’t help but stare at the people sitting outside of their tents. Here we see some new tents – including many donated by China. The place holds thousands of people – though it is very hard to imagine how by driving the periphery. Tents and people must be stacked against and on top of each other as you get to the center of the square. On the outsides, however, we see signs of life: more women bathing themselves and small infants; men huddled around a radio or newspaper discussing what I can only imagine is politics these days; kids running from each other while their mother tells them to stay out of the street. It all seems so normal yet they live in camping tents – and have been for a year now. At dinner, I would learn from one of our guests from Save the Children that informal community and social structures have developed (partially due to NGO and government needs to have ‘someone in charge’ of the camp through which they can funnel information and resources). Unfortunately, these community leaders have taken advantage of their position and dole out jobs (cash for work, primarily), food/water, and supplies for bribes (cash or – worse – sexual favors). One can only imagine that the longer these camps remain, the more likely the violence, prostitution, high pregnancy and disease rates will increase – which will only make the process of dismantling them more difficult.

We get out of the cars for a few minutes and literally only to take a picture in front of the palace. The palace itself deserves a paragraph – and a photo so one is posted below. The palace still stands virtually as it did nearly a year ago today when it shook and partially collapsed. The government has received several offers to reconstruct it, including one from my Canadian government, but – to date – has not begun that process. We ask Smith why he thinks they haven’t rebuilt it – hypothesizing that maybe it is because it would be a strange thing to prioritize while people sleep in USAID tents across the street. He doesn’t agree with our hypothesis and thinks that frankly the people of Haiti would prefer to see it rebuilt and soon. Together we surmise that Preval and his government aren’t willing to take handouts to rebuilt one of the more important structures in the country; they want to do it themselves. Herein lies part of the problem with this country and that approach: there simply aren’t enough skills or resources to do so and therefore the situation remains. As with many issues this country faces, Preval has chosen inaction. I truly hope his legacy as a person and president are firmly tainted with his inability to repair this country – and its palace.

The group at the palace

After our quick (and very strange-feeling) photo shoot, we get back into the cars and head to Hotel Olofson, which is one of the expat/tourist/NGO/journalist hotels in the city and is apparently one of the best representations of gingerbread architecture that exists in Port-au-Prince. A description of the hotel from their website is below and highly appropriate:

“With its towers and balconies and wooden fretwork decorations, it had the air at night of a Charles Addams house in a number of The New Yorker. You expected a witch to open the door to you or a maniac butler, with a bat dangling from the chandelier behind him. But in the sunlight or when the lights went on among the palms, it seemed fragile and period and pretty and absurd, an illustration from a book of fairy tales.” – Graham Greene, The Comedians

Hotel Oloffson

The place was eery – if not creepy. Gnome-like sculptures litter the grounds, the stairs creek and the rooms are not numbered but ,rather, named. I get stopped on our way by an American who asks what we are doing in Port-au-Prince. I briefly explain us as consultants working with NGOs (a very simple and almost inaccurate description, to be honest). He proceeds to tell me that consultants sitting behind computers are “shit” (excuse my language) and have no place here. He says “bulldozers and builders” are needed – “people like me [him]”. I try not to react – he is clearly trying to engage me in a development debate, in one of the most unconstructive ways possible. When I ask what he is doing, expecting him to tell me he is building houses or working in the camps, he tells me that he working at a music university, reconstructing violins. Go figure!!!

Back at the hotel, we have a team meeting and get everyone ready for the drive to Indigo the following day. We also update them on an exciting change to the schedule. We have confirmed a trip to Lagonav island, about an hour and a half boat ride from Indigo. The island is one of the most remote areas of the country and is the site of World Vision’s child sponsorship programs. We will get the opportunity to serve food and interact with locals. Brett, Andrea and I are thrilled to be able to offer this to the team because it will enable us all to really see what life is like for Haitians outside of the capital, where it is said that over 90% (if not more) of government resources and support are spent.

We get back in the car and head to Hotel Montana. Brett hadn’t had a chance to visit it because Andrea, Kelly and I went before he arrived so we wanted to take him. Smith let us get out of the car and explore the area. He was super helpful in explaining what we were seeing because he and his team used to work from this hotel frequently. I got to take some pictures which are below.

Brett and Andrea at Hotel Montana; the pancaked parking lot is behind them

Smith at the new portion of the Hotel Montana

The reason I titled the post the way I did is because today was a big translation day. Smith has decided that he is pretty much only speaking in French and I’m translating for the team. It is great for me to get to speak to him and practice my French and good for the team because they get to hear more about places because Smith can explain it better in French. We chat about the hotel owners, his life working there before the quake, the reconstruction effort and the impact of that hotel’s destruction on the rest of the hotel industry. We get back in the cars and head to the site of the old UN building. Turns out we end up on a road where they are rebuilding a university. Smith rolls down the window and lets me speak with one of the construction workers, who explains in a mixture of French and Creole how and what they are rebuilding. He seems to appreciate my French and our interest in what they are doing. I can’t help but notice all of the other construction workers stop what they are doing and stare at us. They must wonder why in the world we are interested in what they are doing. Just getting the opportunity to speak to people like them who are dedicating their lives to rebuilding their city is a big part of the reason.

We manage a swim and some relaxing in the afternoon (despite feeling incredibly guilty whenever we do so) and then it’s back to work. I join the Technoserve team who is working with two internet café entrepreneurs from the rural areas of Port-au-Prince. Our team is helping them translate their business plan into English and develop an investment pitch from that same plan. Additionally (and despite being internet café entrepreneurs), they are new to PowerPoint, so our team gives them a tutorial .Translating as Kamala explains the features of PowerPoint, it strikes me how much impact we can have through things we take for granted. Their eyes widen when we show them how to import photos and change font and size of text on different slides. Amazing.

Brett, Andrea and I meet with Frank in the afternoon to close out our trip with him together. Brett keeps saying he’s not sure how Frank and I will survive without working together anymore. It’s truly amazing how well we’ve been able to collaborate and – despite some challenges with project scoping (to be expected) – how well the projects have gone. We agree on several next steps including the format of the report we will submit to the conference attendees as well as to the World Vision CEO who is attending Davos shortly. Though it is sad to say “goodbye” to Frank, I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished together and look forward to more interactions with him in the future – and more similarly mutually respectful and collaborative business relationships in my career.

We ended the day with our last guest dinner at La Reserve restaurant. We host three women from Save the Children, who talk about the NGO’s work in the camps. It is amazing to hear of what they working on, including education, security, sanitation, rehabilitation and more. I can’t help but be a bit skeptical about their ability to have impact with so many priorities, and so many of which overlap with other NGO priorities. Interestingly, each table seemed to come away with different impression of NGOs – some more positive than others. Another really great day and I’m so proud of one week down and another one starting tomorrow.