A Fond Farewell

In Zen, they say every experience is a good experience. It would certainly be fair to say that Haiti has been a life-changing experience, although my emotions were on a complete roller-coaster with several incredible highs and a few real low moments too. Needless to say, it has been really difficult to witness many of these sights, and once again need to pay homage to my Guardian Angel who advises, guides and continues to shower me with unconditional love under some trying circumstances.

It is to her that i dedicate the up-coming morph of this blog - i hope others will join us as we take "A Leap Into The Dark" for travels around the African continent.

From its most humble beginnings, Ketchup With Aubs´ some 540 posts have been viewed by more than 14,500 visitors, having travelled repeatedly across three continents, as well as achieving celebrity status from Lonely Planet. Awesome! But everything in this world is in a constant state of flux, and change is inevitable, necessary and good.

Ketchup With Aubs´ is at an end, but the journey and adventures continue.

An Eye and A Lens - Domican Republic

Outside my somewhat extravagant room in Santo Domingo is my new neighbour. It has been busy most mornings nest building.

With Alot of Help from Family and Friends

Playing with Reuben - Pa helps out to ensure his future looks brighter

I am deeply grateful to both family and friends, who have gone out the way to offer help and assistance to my new ever-expanding Haitian family,

In London, Ellie kindly donated financially - money she really probably doesn´t have, and both Jacq and Airways have been able to offer materials to the orphanage.

Pa has also made a most generous financial donation to help support Reuben, my dance partner and friend from the local Methodist church.

Karen in Israel is purchasing some photographs from the Hiati Picasa collection.

Ying, my amazing American friend and confidante has already sent over clothes, school resources, games, toys and food direct to the orphanage.

Michael Miller, also based in the United States, is working his socks off in collecting a huge shipment of goods.

Two schools in Bogotá have also promised materials and resources. The American Womens´ Society in Bogotá are running an article on the orphanage in their next newsletter to further publicise the cause.

Dr. Gloves made a huge financial donation that will enable us to buy security gates that will finally let J-L sleep in piece and ensure our kids are in a safe environment.

D, a special friend from my Hong Kong days has agreed to help Anderson with his medical condition. Completely awesome.

And these are the donations that i have been made aware of, there well may be others who have donated without my knowledge through increased awareness via Ketchup.

To all these people i thank you from the bottom of my heart, and have made the hardships of this trip (and it has been really hard at times) so worthwhile.

I have sent mails off to UNICEF, Save the Children Fund, and three other International organisations to inform them of the amazing SEED project in Cité Soleil in the hope that this will bring about financial aid that could bring about significant change in the most deprived area in the most deprived country in the Western Hemisphere forever. We have already received initial interest from World Vision, US and more recently UNICEF. I have had a subsequent meeting with Castro Pierre to put together an action plan to develop the project further, and to find further funding and support. I have agreed to oversee educational developments at SEED indefinitely in the hope we can change the lives of some 300,000 people living in inhuman conditions.

Jacq is also a film-maker and we will get together on my return to London to look at its potential as a subject for a documentary.

Please contact me directly if you can offer any financial or material contribution to this crucial project.

As Pa often reminds me, myself and three brothers were never short of anything growing up, even though money was tight. Here in Haiti i have seen the effects of deprivation at first hand. No-one should have to live in such inhospitable conditions, but they do.

Despite the material poverty here in the orphanage, it is incredible credit to J-L, Wilkens and the other staff members that these children enjoy a loving, safe and “rich” family life.

Gastronomic Haiti

mud biscuit production in Cité Soleil - an acquired taste?

Always keen to experiment and explore new tastes, during my time in Haiti i have been checking out a few bits and pieces.

I confess the staple diet of short grain sticky rice and beans doesn´t do a lot for me. The Mud Biscuits in Cité Soleil were definitely a first and a last for me too. It can be good however, the feast for Jean-Luc´s birthday party was awesome!

I have had greater successes on the drinks front however. Ragaman is a strong high energy drink not dissimilar and much more refreshing than Red Bull and has been a godsend as i have weaved around on the excessively cramped and noisy Tap-Taps that journey around Port au Prince. Best drunk ice-cold. Another classic is Couronne – a cross between the Scottish classic Irn Bru and cream soda. Desperately sweet, but really hits the spot. It self-defines as fruit champagne.

Even on the drinks front, it hasn´t always been successful however.

Those lucky souls that have travelled extensively in Tibet, or indeed areas of Ladakh will be well acquainted with butter tea. Whilst i might not dispute its medicinal properties, well suited to basic high altitude living, this hellish concoction has haunted me on my many various trips in these regions. Even the lingering odour is quite enough to turn my stomach.

Interestingly, Haiti has its very own version. This however is a golden colour and rather than added milk and butter, they add salt to the tea. It is pretty much a part breakfast here at the orphanage. No doubt playing its part in rehydration, it´s nonetheless a drink which i will never miss.

Power, Corruption and Lies

Wilkens self-defines as a revolutionary.

I watch the United Nations armored vehicles move around Port au Prince including troops from Spain, Argentina, Sri Lanka and Brazil. The Brazilian contingent usually has two to five soldiers on top with automatic rifles poised at the ready. I don´t understand this, for there is no looting or violence on the street. Does this really promote peace?

I ask Wilkens what they actually do? “UN?” he laughs, "it stands for Useless Nada”. He cringes that the Brazilians and Sri Lankan troops are in Haiti. They can´t keep peace in their own countries so what the hell are they doing here".

Last week to Haitian boys were shot due their excitement at finding a bag of rice and trying to run off with it by UN troops.

The Domincan Republic has made huge profits from Haiti´s disaster and misery. With the airport closed at Port au Prince for more than a month, relief aid was flown into Santo Domingo. The Dem Rep government over-charged for renting out their trucks to cross the border, and many goods were hijacked by greedy truck-drivers who sold the goods off in their own country.

A guy I meet on the bus back from Haiti tells me another shocker. He met up with an independent Canadian student who was writing a thesis on the state of Haitian orphanages. She exposed a top government minister who had used fraudulent numbers to ensure she could cream off money destined for these impoverished organizations. The Canadian was subsequently harassed and threatened with a charge of child deportation. She was forced to leave her thesis and the country at the threat of arrest.

Where Were You On January 12th?

At separate times I ask both Jean-Luc and Wilkens to relate about their personal experiences of what happened at 4.57pm on January 12th. I paraphrase their descriptions.

Jean-Luc was at home which lies between Port au Prince and Leogane.

I was so tired that day. I had just bought a small bottle of rum and sat down on a chair. My leg had been very bad and i just wanted to rest it. I hear a noise and look around me, The walls are dancing. At first i am hypnotized as i watch with disbelief. Suddenly I become very alert. “Where´s baby Joei! Where´s Baby Joei!” I scream to my wife in the next room. Suddenly I see her, grab her, and hold her so close to my body. “Outside! Outside” i scream to be heard above the deafening noise. We run into the middle of the street. Everyone is outside watching, horrified. It goes on and on till I think it cannot stop anymore and the world is a crazy place. All I can do is hold my daughter so tight and close. It feels like ages and then suddenly it all stops. I look up at the sky to thank God that my time is not up. It is still early evening, but the sky is so black.

Wilkens was in the city centre in a meeting in a government office.

I hear this noise. It is a screaming noise. The walls are shaking violently. I see many people run. I just want to watch and stand still. I want to see where the danger is from. The walls are vibrating and shaking violently like this (he flaps his hands around), i have never seen anything like this. The noise is deafening. The noise won´t stop. It is like an aeroplane noise. I see people run in all directions, I just stand and watch. It goes on and on. Maybe three minutes. Then there is silence. Nothing. Nothing is moving, everything is silent. It feels like ages before I hear the sobbing, the crying and some begin to scream. I have a motorbike outside. I want to help. People are hurt.

Wilkens made many bike journeys to and from hospital that evening, some 10 minutes away. Everyone wanted his help, and many were trying to bribe him to take them first. He wouldn´t take their money and prioritized children and then women.

A Fond Farewell From Haiti

It is with a heavy heart that I departed Diakonos Orphanage around 6am yesterday morning.

I spend the last afternoon in the company of the kids. Several of the girls spend some two hours brushing and combing my hair, whilst I hang out with John- Carrie and Wilderson who play in the dirt, and Herve, Holken and Bonasta who flick bottle-tops with great skill and dexterity.

Indeed, despite having no Creole and the most minimal of French, they communicate their love through constant love, and kisses from almost all on their return from the school every day. They have asked when i´ll be back, and I tell them I will try, but it will take a couple of years. They have lost adults in their lives before, and I think they fear the worst about me also.

It´s difficult also to say goodbye to Jean-Luc and Wilkens. They urge me to stay and help out at the orphanage, but this is not a realistic plan of action for me to take. They do need help, but i´m not cut out for relief work full-time. They have both been so warm, appreciative and generous to me during my stay, and we have shared a lot together. Our backgrounds are so different but so many of our personal philosophies are either similar or identical. They both give so much of their time and love to the orphanage, simply through improving the lives and well-beings or others.

It takes me nine hours to travel on the Tera-tours bus from Port au Prince to Santo Domingo where I am installed in 5 star luxury. I feast on chicken salad and escalope and fries, and feel my strength returning fast, and take great pleasure in the life that I lead, and the contrast that it brings.

Smoking in Haiti

With the last of my duty free John Player Specials long since gone, so i check out the “joys” of Haitian cigarettes. My poison of choice is Comme Il Faut (reds). Oh dear – i have smoked some pretty rough stuff before, but i think i have might hit an all time low here.

Both Ma and Pa condemn my disgusting habit, and i know my Guardian Angel appreciates my efforts to smoke less. Maybe it´s time to take further heed... or at least until i can find a decent alternative

Desensitization My Ass

a sight that reduces me to tears

I recently wrote about having been desensitized when facing poverty. I have hung out in slum areas across India and seen some sights around Bogotá where no Gringo has travelled.

Most afternoons i walk the streets of Carrefour, about 20 minutes west of the city center, with Jean – Luc for company.

Like much of Port au Prince, this area was devastated by the 12 January Earthquake. Piles of rubble are scattered on every street waiting to be cleared away. No-one wants to take responsibility for it and almost 3 months on, nothing has been done about it.

Many have never seen a “white” man before in person and i seem to have celebrity status in the ´hood. English is often limited to “YOU!” which is shouted out as we wonder the streets. I have also been most welcome at the local church/school, and the Pastor is always keen to crack open a cold one for me.

Even the children at the orphanage struggle with Aubrey, and no thanks to Wilkens, call me "You Good" which brings a cringe every time.

Tent communities are now well established and life continues. People try and eek out a living as best they can.

Walking round Carrefour with JL a few days ago, i end up in tears. The poverty is all-consuming. India has many slums dotted over the country and conditions are really tough, but this is just too much for me. We stand in front of a yet another destroyed house and mixed in the pile of debris is even larger with garbage and all kinds of human waste. Myriad flies swarm around and not for the first time I worry about my own and others´ personal health in the vicinity.

I ask JL why he wants to stay here and just laughs at me. I invite him to be adopted by Ma and Pa in Watford, UK, thanks me for the offer and says he is here for the long term. Clearly upset by my distress however, he cracks open a bottle of 7Up on our return to the orphanage.

Maybe i have been here too long. Tomorrow it´s time for something completely different. It is a sad farewell to my new friends and family at the orphanage as i head back to the Dominican Republic for a school inspection in Santo Domingo. Again i find myself heading from the sublime to the ridiculous. From sharing a water-sodden tent with WIlkens on the building site that is the orphanage, to the Hotel Occidental Embajador.


They have invited me to stay on here at the orphanage, but it is time to move on, for my own sanity if nothing else. But i have a new family in Haiti now, and i know i will return for a visit. I will continue to look for support for the orphanage and i am now full committed to the SEED project in Cité Soleil - something that could put an end to the degradation of one of the poorest communities on the planet.

yet more collapsed buildings in Carrefour

Party Time

Martine, Jean-Luc and Baby Joie

We might not have made it to the beach, but we all enjoyed celebrating Jean – Luc´s birthday on Wednesday.

The orphanage was decked out in balloons and children and staff were given a sumptuous feast. Beyond the inevitable rice and beans, two kinds of salad (mango and beetroot), fried chicken, pasta and spicy buffalo balls are served too. This was washed down with soda, and we are all completely stuffed.

The kids love to dance and i am dragged repeatedly onto the dance floor by the children. Can´t think why they were in a fits of hilarity?
We had a new arrival in the morning, an orphan brought to us from the church, taking numbers up to 39. He is a lovely young boy and he settles in very quickly, clearly enjoying the company of the other children. Arriving the day of such auspicious celebrations he must think he has arrived in Nirvana. Shame i miss out on another feast to celebrate Wilkens birthday on 2nd May.

Mia helps the children with the balloons. The tent behind is where Wilkens and i inhabit

Rose-Nerlande

This is my new friend Rose-Nerlande.

She is a highly sociable and curious 13 year old, with a fantastic singing voice who often leads the other children in the twice daily devotions. She is keen to try and communicate with me, has a few English phrases, and was the star student in my English classes. She has a really strong and tough personality that will hold her in good stead.

The recent visit from the ship´s doctor diagnosed showed she has heart problems – certainly an irregular heart-beat or possibly heart murmurs.

Rose-Nerlande is so active; it has caused a few surprises and worries amongst her carers here at the orphanage.

We would love to find a cardiologist here in Haiti who could examine her further and treat her condition, but they are notoriously expensive.

If there is anything you can do to help Rose-Nerlande, please contact Martine directly at martine@diakonosintl.com

Transport Difficulties

can´t believe this bike works, but it does!

One of the major difficulties the project face is through the lack of transport. All we have is this motorbike currently parked outside Wilkens and my tent. Unbelievably it still kind of works! Times are clearly very tough. The project is saving up for a bus or van that could transport the kids safely around Port au Prince and beyond for excursions.

Due to very high gasoline costs a diesel vehicle would be much better and more cost effective for the project to run. If you know anyone that can help us either directly or indirectly, please get in contact with us via Jean-Luc at ktfn@diakonosintl.com.

Routine Life at the Orphanage

our kids at the local church school

The day begins at sunrise around 5.30am, with both hymns and prayers. On completion it is a brush up and shower time with the children passed out their individual tooth-brushes and the older children helping out the little ones in an orderly line.

As the children complete their wash, they gather in the food tent and wait quietly for their friends to finish, before breakfast which is often bread and peanut-butter sandwiches and a third of a cup of apple juice, Haitian tea (brown and salty), or orange cordial. When the last child has washed, they eat all together and much needed vitamin supplements are passed out.

Once completed, the children go about their chores around the camp, from washing up, tidying the shared bedroom tent, to sweeping up and tidying around the site.

At about 8am it´s time for class. All schools were reopened on the 5th this month following their complete closure after the 12th January earthquake, and our kids head off down the rubble-filled street to the Methodist church school.

At least our kids had the benefit of being educated during this period at the orphanage under the expertise of Mme Nadia.

Lunch is served around 12.30 and the community enjoy their meal all together.

After lunch, it is time for rest and relaxation, for it is far too hot for school classes. Several of the older children get on with independent work whilst the youngsters either enjoy quiet play or hang out in the television room. Children take turns to use the only toilet facility on site. It´s too hot to do a great deal.


More food is served around 7pm, and again the all the staff eat together under the food tent. By 8.00, preparations begin for bed-time, brush-ups and pj time. Hymns and prayers last some half an hour, before the kids and helpers settle down for sleep under the same tent. Wilkens and i enjoy private quarters in a neighbouring tent. With the arrival of the rains – at the moment a couple of hours in the night, we have been somewhat flooded and increasingly swampy.

On Saturday morning, Wilkens puts his ex-marine skills into good use by running PE classes and Sundays of course is special here, with the children dressed in all their finery heading to church.

join Wilkens´ workout on Saturday mornings

Santa Clause Comes To Town

A visit from our patron, Martine Longchamp from New York brings much excitement to us here at the orphanage, and Mia, her daughter, brings some presents for all.

Prior to her arrival, toys have been limited to two marbles and a broken Barbie. Now the kids feel so rich.

I think of my nephews´ vastly stocked Toy Room in England and feel sorry that they are not able to fully appreciate what they have.

Further celebrations will continue tomorrow for a possible excursion to the beach.

Weather´s Grim

So the rains have come – first just for a few minutes at night, and then prolonged heavy showers throughout most of the night. Our tent was flooded for a second night and our mattress is soggy. Yum!

Port au Prince remains a site of complete Armageddon and with the rains comes disease. Some 300,000 people died in the quake and now who knows how many countless others are going to die from disease - malaria, cholera, typhoid, to name just three?

Everyone know that the rains come in April so why has there been so few improvements to the city when it was dry? Is this really the best our global community could have done for this poverty-stricken region?

So many people world-wide have donated financially to Haiti, but throwing money at a problem does not mean the problem goes away.

Come Visit the Orphanage

come on a Saturday morning and you can enjoy PE classes

Not surprisingly Jean-Luc and the rest of the staff are proud of their achievements in creating this rather unique community and environment despite the huge the lack of financial and material funds available.

Jean-Luc, always honest and transparent, encourages an open invitation policy to the Daikonos Orphanage in Carrefour, Port au Prince. All is welcome to this Home Away From Home, and he is keen to show off this incredible facility. If you are interested, you can call Martine Longchamp in USA (1) 954-410-5332 or Jean-Luc directly (0509) 36640709. You can also email the orphanage directly at ktfn@diakonosintl.com.

They do not have much, but what they have they will share with an open heart. I have been personally treated like royalty.

Ways of Helping Diakonos Orphanage

some of the kids at Diakonos

A friend recently asked me about making a donation to Diakonos international without using her credit card. Of course everything is possible. Donations can also be made through the Project Director here in Port Au Prince via Western Union.

Western Union Port Au Prince, Carrefour branch
Name: Jean Luc Petit Frere
A/C number: 440 612 754

Another alternative for cheques and money orders can be made via Diakonos International, Inc., P.O. Box 111401, Cambia Heights, NY 11410 US of A

You can also send resources (pencils, books, colours, etc.) direct to the orphanage. The postal address in Daikonos International, Kominote Tifanmi Nou, Mon Repos 40, #69 Rue Mathon, Carrefour, Port au Prince, Haiti.

Credit card donations can be made by clicking here.

Critical additions to the current facilities include: -

• At least a computer newer than 10 years old for the office that can access the Internet
• The repair and completion of an external wall for additional security
• A van to transport the children safely around the city, as well as collect and drop-off supplies around the city
• Pens, pencils and school exercise books
• Basic toys and games
• To build at least another toilet on-site
• Shoes and clothes
• Food supplies are very limited at the moment, with prices for staple goods fluctuating wildly – any donations of food will be very much appreciated.
• Old computers for the students to develop ICT skills

Introducing Anderson

Meet our youngest friend in our special and unique community.

Anderson is 18 months old and is the son of our electrician here in Diakonos orphanage. He is much loved by the community and can often be found being carried around by one of the young girls. He is full of curiosity and enjoys serious celebrity status here at the orphanage.

As you can see from his photograph, Anderson has severe problems with his eyes. The ship´s doctor examined him yesterday and diagnosed him with chronic astigmatism and very low eye muscle control. He needs corrective surgery, but no-one here has the money for such an operation.

If you think you can help in any way, please contact Jean-Luc directly. He can be emailed at ktfn@diakonosintl.com.

When The Boat Comes In

Unbelievably, our much anticipated boat from Miami has finally been able to dock at the wharf. Whilst waiting to off-load its cargo, several of the crew express an interest in coming to visit.

In tow with us yesterday, we have the ship´s doctor, who agrees to give every child a general medical, and the ship´s chef who agrees to bring cans of buffalo meat and his special homemade BBQ sauce for a barbecue.

Both are busy throughout the morning.

One of the major problems the doctor notes is that many of our children suffer from heavy congestion. This is due to all the dirt and dust that hang in the air over Port au Prince - the city is completely filthy. Short of passing out masks to the kids, the best Dr. Rich can offer is Tylenol and Motrin. He also suggests adding a little honey and lemon to the tea in the morning.

Dr. Rich checks out Anderson - our youngest kid at the ophanage



medication time for Rachelle

Chef Robert does us proud with the barbecue and we all eat to bursting point, not least myself, who has grown somewhat fatigued with the staple Haitian diet of beans and rice.

Chef Robert performs magic in the kitchen

The ship´s owner arrives a little later, and, like myself, is deeply touched by what is being done for the kids in such frugal of circumstances. He shares some ideas and plans, and the future of Diakonos looks so much brighter if these plans can materialise. I may be here in Haiti for one more week, but i will be in regular contact with my new Haitian family, even when i´m on the road.

our Happy Family with our Guests of Honour

Editor´s Addition: I´m humbly grateful to ship-owner´s wife who possesses a coffee machine - my first cups since 24th March. Despite the fact they have no sugar, it tastes like heaven. Thank you xxx

So You Want To Adopt A Haitian Kid?

i came close to Godfather status to Reuben - an awesome kid

Before leaving UK for this brief sojourn in Haiti, both Jacq and Ma were keen for me to bring back a baby. Easier said than done, here at Daikonos orphanage.

Jean – Luc is always reticent to let go of his 38 charges. They are all loved, friendly, clean and cared for here at this orphanage and are all content within this environment. I ask him the process for adoption which he explains to me.

Firstly, he needs to meet you and collect all your details which are all rigorously checked for validity. He would encourage you to stay at length in the orphanage to ensure that a bonding process could begin. This would lead to Step One, which would involve you becoming their Godparent, requiring your sponsorship over a lengthy period of time. At least another visit would also be expected to monitor your relationship with the perspective child you wish to adopt.

Having viewed the potential bonding and carried out a rigorous background check, only then the necessary paperwork would begin. This could take up to a further year for the process to be completed with full transparency.

Don´t realistically expect to adopt your child without at least two lengthy visits here to the orphanage and within an 18 month period. Even if you are Madonna or Angelina Jolie!

Personally i would be loathe to move any of the kids from this contented environment, although i am sure there would be other, far less professional and caring orphanages where children are neglected and unhappy, and the process of adoption is far “less complicated”.

Remember, a Haitian baby isn´t just for Christmas....it´s for life!

Success At Last

Suddenly all comes together. An amazingly successful day at last!

We manage to get more successful directions to Operation Blessing down by the airport, and finally locate the warehouse we were looking for for 5 hours on Tuesday.

Wilkens finds the place at last!

A large American greets us at the gate and asks who we are. This “Gate-keeper of the Storehouse” seems to revel in his own self-importance. Jean-Luc introduces himself and the American guy swears blind that J-L collected the shipment this morning. No way am i prepared to go back empty-handed, and i mouth off some at him. Fortunately he changes his tune rapidly. We get invited in for an ice cold coke and chocolate cookies (i´d forgotten how good chocolate can taste) and sure enough we are passed bags of rice, milk powder and sugar. By now i´m ready to marry him, settle down and have his babies.

J-L and Wilkens with the large American - all smiles - eventually

returning heroes! Unpacking at the orphanage

Feeling like we´d just won the World Cup, we return triumphant in a rented truck back to the orphanage, and within five minutes we get a call that the boat we had been expecting on Monday has finally and successfully managed to dock in the local wharf. J-L and myself rush down to the ship (organised by the Church of Scientology) and make contact with the now infamous Mexican Captain J. He greets us like lost brothers, for he is really drunk, invites us to join him for some stewed beef for dinner, regales me with a bunch of dirty and offensive jokes, and we make illicit arrangements to commandeer our “secret stash” for tomorrow. It is impossible for us to rush through the customs paperwork. There is a doctor on board who will give all 38 children a medical here in the orphanage and the chef suggests coming here too, to make us a special barbecue lunch!

J-L with the drunken outrageous Captain J.

After the last two days of frustrations, suddenly it feels like Nirvana.

Tomorrow should be another interesting day, full of barbeques, smuggling and another meeting with Project SEEDS from Cité Soleil.

Poverty and Costs in Haiti

Mena and Woodlina - two new friends from the orphanage and star students

Despite the abject poverty, life in Haiti is expensive – for pretty much everything! Not least, when you are running an orphanage for 38 children and 12 members of staff.

Even the most basic needs soon add up.

Here at Diakonos, budgeting is a vital part of everyday life.

Here is a list of some of the monthly expenses.
Water – US$ 258 per month
Bread – US$ 180 per month
Vegetables – US$ 150 per month
Gasoline – US$ 300 per month
Liquid Propane Gas – US$ 38 per month
Charcoal – US$ 47 per month

A major problem with budgeting here is the fluctuating prices of staples, so each month the amounts purchased are varied depending on the income coming in and the prices available at the market.

As you can see, the orphanage has a transparency policy to ensure all money and donations are accounted for.

If you can possibly afford to assist this project financially , please click on this link.

Resources and other supplies can be sent direct to the orphanage, although it is highly recommended to send stuff registered delivery to increase the chances of success.

Kominote Ti Fanmi, Nou de Daikonos International
Rue Mathon#69
Mon Repos 40
Carrefour
Port au Prince
Haiti

When The Boat Doesn´t Come In

a boat in the dock, a shame it´s not ours

Another failing day today.

Our shipment from Miami should have arrived on Monday. Rumour has it that it has been anchored offshore for two days now, but hasn´t been able to dock in the wharf.

security is tight at the docks, but J-L gets us in

No food has arrived in to the orphanage this month, and supplies are at an all time low. Jean-Luc and I head down to the dock to try and speed up the process, but it does no good whatsoever.

Fortunately, no-one has gone hungry...yet. Here´s hoping for better news tomorrow.

Editor´s Addition: We are told this morning (08.04.10) that the boat was unable to dock on three separate occasions in three different docks. Following the earthquake, the wharf is too shallow for boats to off-load cargo. Outside aid is trying to get through to us, and yet we remain bereft of supplies both from the airport and wharves. Can you sense my frustrations?

An Eye and a Lens - Port au Prince

keeping watch

Walking around Carrefour, the evening light is superb and i notice this girl keeping watch over the street. She was very happy to remain at her look-out for this portrait.

This photo is one of several that are being sold on-line, with all sales going directly to the orphanage. For just US$10 you can purchase the full jpeg file. The gallery can be viewed by clicking here.

Off On A Wild Goose Chase

help arrives, but it´s uncoordinated

We have heard rumours over the last few days of two possible loads destined for us here in the orphanage, and this morning we are told to locate one of these at the airport, a place that does not hold the best of memories for me having been deserted by HODR and where i personally suffered a vicious verbal assault.

Nonetheless, we have an address on Avenue Haille Saillaise and Jean – Luc, Wilkens and i set off around 8am this morning with high hopes as food supplies are reaching dangerously low levels for us.

Unusually it is already really hot, something that is usually not felt till after 9.30 so we know we are in for a hot one. We drop Wilkens off in the city centre to complete some paperwork, whilst J-L and myself head out towards the airport. We have strict instructions to head to the major roundabout to locate the depot and to make sure there are photographs of the transaction; all sounds pretty straightforward.

However, this is Port au Prince, and nothing is straightforward.

Locals by the airport insist we need the roundabout on the other side of the airport, so we walk up the 2kms or so in the searing heat, checking with locals as we go, who continue to point further up the road. The further we travel, the more sceptical we become.

Eventually arriving at the second roundabout we ask a police officer for the umpteenth time for Avenue Haille Saillaise, who tells us, yes he knows it, and it is down by the airport. We grudgingly turn back from whence we came. We have no extra money in our pockets and we are slowly but surely wilting with dehydration with not even enough money for a 25 cent packet of water.

Back at the first roundabout and we are saved by a Federal Republic of Germany water pump and we gulp greedily. I have never been so grateful to the Germans as now.

We do finally locate Avenue Haille Saillaise and it is filled with hundreds of containers with hordes of people walking around lost. There is no officials to ask and we meander with the other lost souls in the vague hope we will bump into the one destined for us, but we don´t.

There is aid arriving in all the time. Look around any of the hundreds of squatter camps and you can see evidence of Save the Children, Concern, Red Cross, Medicine sans Frontier, US Aid and the United Nations, but there seems to be absolutely no co-ordination between these different groups, with no-one taking charge. No-one knows the complete picture, and what is needed where and when.

We pick up Wilkens in town and head back up to the orphanage despondently and empty-handed.

This hellish ordeal has taken some five hours and we have nothing to show for our exploits today. Tomorrow we have to head to the wharf for another possible shipment for us. I´m fearing the worst.

A Day Out in Sun City (Cité Soleil)

the infamous coastal shanty town of Cité Soleil

Wilkens, my tent-mate, friend, brother, revolutionary and ex-marine has been keen for me to visit City Soleil – Sun City – probably the most infamous of all areas of the country. This is where, even before the earthquake of 12th January, residents are so poor they eat biscuits made of butter, salt and mud as reported several months earlier on Ketchup.

Wilkens wants to introduce me to Castro Pierre who has set up an interesting project in the area and he arranges me to visit and tour the vicinity.

three remarkable visionaries - from left to right Jonathon (teacher), Alex (Principal) and Castro Pierre (owner)

Now Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and it is in Sun City where the poorest and most poverty-stricken people inhabit. It has a reputation for complete lawlessness and indeed between 2004 – 2006 was a complete no-go area, not just for Haiti´s police force, but indeed for the United Nations. Remnants of previous battles scar buildings in and around the area. Some 300,000 residents inhabit this coastal area. Wikepedia notes that these people rarely survive beyond the age of 50. Drugs (crack, cocaine and marijuana) and some 30 warring gangs blight this ghetto.

We drive through into this area via one of the dirtiest, smelliest and disgusting markets i have ever witnessed, before being picked up by Castro Pierre who delivers us safely to his project. It is based at Av. Soleil 20#135 with a telephone hotline (509) 3708 5463

Castro (like his famous name-sake) is a complete visionary and philanthropist. Having grown up in the ghetto he realised the necessity of changing the patterns of lawlessness. With his own money in 2006 he set up his own school, open to all students both in Sun City and the neighbouring areas. He provided classrooms and resources single-handedly, and up until the Earthquake it provided vital education to some 250 students aged between 5 – 20 year olds.

It was free to students who did not have the economic resources, indeed even providing free food and water to the students where necessary. 13 teachers were employed with his friend Principal Alex in charge of pedagogical practice and school development, as well as a school secretary and supervisor. It ran from 7.30am – 1pm every Monday to Friday and plans were in place to provide extended services in the afternoon for secondary classes.

the remains of the school


remnants of the classroom - eerily the board reads 12 Janvier 2010

Castro informs me he tried to get other external organisations involved in the project including UNICEF, but unbelievably, amazingly and completely shockingly, nothing ever materialised. I asked them why, and the only hypothesis was that they were black. I´m horrified! He kept the project going single-handedly.

The last day of school was 12th January when the earthquake struck, and much of the school and classrooms were completely destroyed. He has no more money, but is determined to try to resurrect the school. Some of the school´s resources were saved from looters and he is desperate to get things up and running again as soon as possible. Indeed, whilst we visit, two Grade Four students turn up to ask when the school will re-open. They have nothing else in their lives apart from this school.

Given the situation, Sun City self perpetuates its problems with children having nothing else apart from continuing in their parents´ vane – namely drug abuse and lawless gangs. Their only escape from this cyclical pattern is through education. Both Castro Pierre´s and Alex´s vision is that the students will leave this ghetto and to escape the drug and gun culture.

two young residents - what future will they have without an education?

Both Castro and Alex are more than pleased to welcome me, for they have never had an “outside agent” come to look and explore their facilities. They show me all the students´ files meticulously kept from each class, including attendance and birth records – made even more difficult by the fact that often these are non-existent due to the child´s abandonment and homelessness. Nonetheless they persevere and can get court issues of these retrospectively.

The school can be contacted via org.seed@yahoo.fr

another young resident

Both Castro Pierre are keen to give me a guided tour of Sun City. We head to the outlying shanty town with pigs and humans living in the same residence. It is truly a pitiful sight surrounded by squalor and filth.

filth by the quayside

Next we head across to see the carbon manufacturers in action, via the cock-fighting ring, their houses completely black, and what looks completely uninhabitable. Yet it houses complete families in deplorable conditions.

Heading on to the quay, we see fishermen in action as well as identifiable cracks in the road from 12th January. We pass buildings with bullet holes from stand-offs between gangland gunfighters and the United Nations dating back from 2006.

gunshot wounds from battles with both the police and United Nations peace-keeping forces


Lastly, the trip would be incomplete without a visit to the “biscuit factory”. I would like to report that they taste of chicken, but they don´t, just like salty mud really.

The Biscuit Factory - mud, salt and a little butter - Yum! Not!

wild-looking mud biscuit seller

The trip is a complete eye-opener and an education into the atrocious conditions that humans can survive in. It makes the Seed project seem even more vital if the situation is ever to change.

I know i have been asking for a lot of support through this blog, but this cause is vital if the situation is ever going to improve for this impoverished community. If you can help in any way, please contact Alex and Castro through their yahoo account. Meanwhile, i am sending this blog posting to any appropriate international charity i can find - this project is too immense for it not to have international support.

Not for the first time on this trip i am grateful to Nurse Carol for administering me with a tetanus jab before leaving.

cracks permeate the road by the quayside from the earthquake

Wilkens stands by a church built by two repentant gangsters


yours truly making friends with some of the residents

literally living with pigs

Working at Diakonos

morning brush-up

One cannot be failed to be impressed by the work carried out by Diakonos International over the last five years.


Despite the clear hardships faced post 12th January, they have clearly established a very caring and loving community of children and personnel. Their original site was completely destroyed by the earthquake, and the institution has had to relocate to their current site where i am currently based in Carrefour, west of the city centre.


Due to a most fortuitous excursion, unbelievably all the children survived the brunt of this devastation, but the new site can only be described as primitive.

Most of the internal walls are severely cracked and the outer walls completely destroyed. The front and back gates are temporarily constructed from corrugated iron and barbed wire. Not quite the image the institution wants to portray to the outside world.


Running water has been installed for two very basic shower facilities and an emergency gasoline generator provides power whenever necessary, which is quite frequent as the local power source is often down. The site has just one toilet shared between 38 children (aged 18 months to 15 years old) and the 12 staff members. At the moment my computer is the only cyber-link and has become a very much shared resource.

The children are not all orphaned, but have, on occasions, been recommended here due to either neglect or abandonment, not just from Port au Prince but other regions of Haiti as well.

There is only one full time teacher (Mme Nadine) who works with an open classroom with a blackboard and a few benches. Her efforts are nothing short of heroic – i´m exhausted after a fifty minute stint at an introduction to English class. There are just a few bits of plain paper and a handful of pencils for the students. It is hoped that the children will be able to attend the local school next week if it is finally able to open.

my new classroom is somewhat basic and extremely hot

The behaviour of the students is nothing short of immaculate. They help each other and the community at large, through not just complete love and care for each other, but also through doing daily chores around the site which are done with a smile and a big heart.

everyone lends a helping hand at this tight-knit community

You can help this worthy cause by clicking here direct.