Travel with Gillaine Warne to the rural village of Moreau – where the Family Security Program is nourishing, thriving, and changing communities.
An early morning start to hike through the beautiful rolling hills behind Lachateau to the village of Moreau. Here we have another 15 families who have benefited from our extended Family Security Program which includes chickens and help with schooling until their own produce is sufficient to cover those costs.
Once again we were greeted with such enthusiasm, joy and appreciation for what we are doing, and for me to see the fruits of our labors, not just with the families but the way our graduated agronomists are using their agricultural knowledge in the field, and to see them working with the families, is very exciting. What they have learned at CFFL, PIA’s vocational school, is being applied in Moreau and many other small, rural villages in the central plateau, and they themselves are growing in a very positive way. When we visit our Family Security Program participants, we are making firm friends. As one lady said, “we will be able to greet one another in the market now that we know each other” – a sentiment that is truly heartwarming and heartfelt. Another wonderful comment by a beautiful elderly lady, when asked what she thought about the program, burst into laughter and said, “ it is so wonderful I can’t sleep at night for thinking about it!”
I am continually amazed at how clean and tidy their homes and surroundings are, out here in the country. Every courtyard is swept clean each morning, there is no trash and no plastic to be seen. Maybe this is because they don’t store much food, it is brought directly from the farms and eaten each day, and without refrigeration stocking is not possible. Here at our second stop I was offered 3 grenadia (passion fruit) – which are delicious and make a wonderful juice. Next stop I was taken up to the top of the big hill to visit a little ‘church’ place of prayer. Mostly all open to the view, but definitely a place where people thank their God for what they have and rely on Him to solve all their problems.
As we continued our hike we were always joined by those whom we had visited and who were anxious to continue the visit a bit and then to hand us over safely to the next host/hostess – the generosity of spirit is admirable and is evidenced in everything we do together. The children growing up in these villages have the wonderful advantage of having not just parents, but a whole group of people who look after them and love them, especially when they are little and seem to belong to everyone!
Another wonderful Family Security Program family, doing quite well with their goats and hens, were happy to show us their little gardens planted with beans and peanuts. The gift of a gallon of fresh milk was a great big surprise, and I was assured that it had been boiled and treated with a tiny bit of salt to avoid its turning. To make quite sure JeJe, our culinary expert and chief cooking administrator, did re-boil and added a little bit of vanilla and it was absolutely delicious – happily shared and appreciated by all.
I loved seeing the little hen houses, newly built so the hens can be locked up safely at night. The little structures vary at each stop, all interesting to see. It is hoped that these strong and big hens and cocks will also cross with the local hens and produce a better bird – both for eating and breeding.
As we were returning at the end of a wonderful day we met a group of school children returning home, many of whom our project subsidizes, they were all really happy to be in school and proud to learn.
This day also underlined once again the desperate help needed for housing — roofs made from banana leaves and palm fronds, sometimes covered with tarps to try and keep out the rain, but at the moment the rain is winning.
I believe there is hope for Haiti – and I hope and pray we continue to be given the strength, courage and support to continue the work we are doing. We are making a difference!