We are quickly approaching the completion of our first calendar year in Haiti as a family. You might remember the whole adventure began last Nov. 9, and it has been quite a ride. This blog is a testament to the variety of challenges we and others in our community have faced in the first year.
One challenge or adventure we haven't written too much about is the fact that most of this past year there has always been at least once major construction project going on around us. During the first two months after we moved here last year a small house was built on the roof of the mission house, right above our heads. For most of the first half of 2011 the orphanage compound, on the other side of our wall, was slowly taking shape. Also, Richard was here for six weeks running his power tools in our yard, and we are looking forward to his return in just 2 weeks!
This year also saw some major construction at three of the schools Mission Haiti directs:
- Completion of several classrooms at the mountain school.
- The beginning of an entirely new school at Toussainte.
- The construction of a new pre-school at Lines School.
Mission Haiti has also funded the construction of some homes, or updates to homes, for extremely poor families in the mountains. Then there was the one-week project of beginning and finishing the famous “Hurricane-proof House” down on the new ALEXIS property. Recently we began the ALEXIS Dormitory, and in the coming months we plan to begin the cooking shed, meeting/eating area, shower/toilet building, classroom, and hopefully the Director House with ALEXIS office and library. You can see that construction has been a major theme here in our first year and will continue into the near future!
What does it take to build a house in Haiti? Right now a second small house is being built on the roof of the Mission House. They are really putting this one together quickly. Unfortunately, they did break through the ceiling trying to attach rebar to the house, but they are planning to fix that little mistake. The process mainly involves cinder blocks, rebar, and a ton of hand-mixed cement. The roof will be a little more complicated, building a frame with wood and covering it with sheets of tin, but these guys look like they could do the cement part of it with their eyes closed.
Below are some of the basic tasks they need to do to make it all come together:
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| Cutting rebar with hacksaw |
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| Bending rebar against the tree |
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| Laying the blocks...this man is called "Blan" by the other workers because of his slightly lighter skin. When I am visiting they call us "blan & pi blan" (white and whiter) |
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| All the piles of sand have to be sifted by hand to get the bigger rocks and gravel out. After that cement mix is added, plus water, and buckets of cement are hauled up to the roof. |
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| Looking pretty good for morning of Day #2! |
It is fun to watch these guys work. You can begin to discern the hierarchy determining who gets to do what jobs. When you see one of the younger guys getting a chance at trying something new, it is easy to see how much pride they take in proving themselves. The pay scale is pretty simple, too. The regular laborers get a set amount per day. The "bosses" or skilled guys get twice that amount, and the contractor of the whole project gets three times what the everyday laborer gets. I suppose all of that is somewhat close (in ratio anyway) to what goes on in the US.
This small house they are building today will have two rooms and a nice porch area, or "gallery" as they call it here. It will house short-term missionaries (individuals or couples) who come to work here for more than the normal week. This is probably the same crew who will build the rest of the buildings for ALEXIS, too. We have been pretty happy with their work so far. At least they haven't tried to rip us off or anything. It will be fun to see how they handle a more sophisticated project like the building we will use for the Director's house and the ALEXIS office and library, if we can get the funds donated for that.
May Your Adventure Include Building Something New!
-Grimm Family Adventurers
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