Black Press reporter Katherine Engqvist followed a team representing the Westshore Rotary Club as they travelled to Haiti to assess the needs of two orphanages. The following is the third installment in a four-part series highlighting some of the people they met with along the way.
The truck pulls up to the gate of the warehouse and is stopped by an armed guard, his rifle casually resting against the length of his leg.
If you didnB次元官网网址檛 know the compound was there, youB次元官网网址檇 probably drive right past, as it is shielded by a large cement wall topped with barbed wire. On the other side of the wall lies a nondescript loading dock and a dark building with little brown and black goats guarding the door.
Inside, the air is hot and thick; shelves full of alcohol and other specialty items reach almost to the rafters, while stacks of pasta, machetes and juice line the floor. Further into its depths, past where the public is allowed to venture, sacks of rice, flour and cereal are piled in the dim lighting.
With a combined total of roughly 80 mouths to feed between the Divine Hands and Baby Jesus of Prague orphanages, the list of staple and requested items is quite daunting and more than the small local grocery store can handle. It was by chance a group of Westshore Sunrise Rotary Club volunteers discovered the warehouse on a previous trip, as it is near the previous location of the Divine Hands Orphanage in a suburb of Port-au-Prince. Run by George Farah and his family, the warehouse is a regular stop for the Westshore volunteers when they need to stockpile supplies for the orphanages.
B次元官网网址淭hey have been very good to us,B次元官网网址� whispers Rotarian and Langford Fire Chief Bob Beckett, as Farah emerges from behind a counter to greet the group.
Armed with shopping lists, Victoria resident Hilary Groos and Doris Abraham, the director of Divine Hands, venture off with a team of store employees. Farah turns to the remaining members of the group, offering special Haitian coffees for the wait. He leads the way through a side door and out to a table, resting in the shade of a large tree. The thick liquid quickly fills the little cups and is swirled with raw sugar.
While Farah grew up in Haiti, he refers to himself as Syrian. His grandfather was born there but fled in the early 1990s because of war. B次元官网网址淲hen (Syrians) left they would tell them they were on the boat to America.B次元官网网址�
But Farah said many ended up in Central and South America. B次元官网网址淲e have family everywhere. My grandpa chose to come here.B次元官网网址�
Now, Farah employees 50 people at the warehouse and his brother operates another near the Baby Jesus of Prague facility. The family also plans to reopen a warehouse in downtown Port-au-Prince that was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake.
Looking back on that devastating event, Farah said, B次元官网网址渋t was like something incredible. We lost a lot of family.B次元官网网址� Normally, they would stay late in the store, preparing bank deposits.
But on the day of the earthquake his father turned to them and decided to go home early. B次元官网网址淔ive minutes later it fell down,B次元官网网址� Farah said. B次元官网网址淭hat was the only day he said B次元官网网址榣etB次元官网网址檚 go, weB次元官网网址檒l count the money later.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
In the desperation that followed the quake, FarahB次元官网网址檚 world was turned upside down. B次元官网网址淲e had to go down with arms and everything, otherwise theyB次元官网网址檇 steal everything.B次元官网网址�
His brother took the step of moving his wife and two daughters to Montreal. While FarahB次元官网网址檚 mother has travelled to Montreal two or three times since, she hasnB次元官网网址檛 been able to get a Canadian visa recently to go visit.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e making it really hard, I donB次元官网网址檛 know why,B次元官网网址� he said. But getting a visa to enter North American countries isnB次元官网网址檛 easy and itB次元官网网址檚 out of reach for many Haitians. B次元官网网址淵ou have to have good work and prove you wonB次元官网网址檛 stay there.B次元官网网址�
The average wage in Haiti is between $5 and $8 a day and Farah estimated the countryB次元官网网址檚 unemployment rate to be around 70 per cent. Those figures shocked the group. B次元官网网址淗ow do they survive?B次元官网网址� asked Rick Fisher, a Langford resident and owner of Glenwood Meats.
B次元官网网址淗aitians are good people. They help each other,B次元官网网址� Farah answered. As an example, many Haitians canB次元官网网址檛 get mortgages to build their homes, which is why a great deal are only partially complete. B次元官网网址淚f I have a good employee that works, I lend him the money with no interest.B次元官网网址�
Farah moved his own wife and three daughters to Miami after his wife and one of his daughters were held for ransom. He shakes his head as he shares the experience, noting they would have been killed if he hadnB次元官网网址檛 been able to pay. B次元官网网址淲hen we used to be downtown it was very dangerous.B次元官网网址� Two of their armed guards were killed during a robbery and his brother was injured. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been through a lot.B次元官网网址�
Farah nods to a black Isuzu parked beside the table. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 my car, itB次元官网网址檚 an armoured car.B次元官网网址� He spent $30,000 US outfitting it, but said it was a necessary expense.
He also spends roughly $8,000 US a year on medical insurance. That way if he gets sick or shot, which his brother was once, a plane will come get him and whisk him away for treatment in the States. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no good hospitals here,B次元官网网址� he noted. B次元官网网址淲e have full insurance B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 the most important thing.B次元官网网址� As for his mother, Farah said, B次元官网网址淚 told her to go get her passport.B次元官网网址� That way if she gets sick, heB次元官网网址檒l be able to take her to America for treatment.
Asked what it will take for Haiti to change, he paused, then said, B次元官网网址渢o support a good government.B次元官网网址� Many officials are millionaires within six months of being elected, he said. B次元官网网址淭hey have money to do all these things, but they steal the money and build a home in Miami (instead).B次元官网网址�
He nods to his own import business. In customs fees alone, he pays at least $20,000 US per container. B次元官网网址淚 bring 500 containers a year B次元官网网址� (and) thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of businesses like mine,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲here is that money, where has it gone?B次元官网网址�
Final thoughts on an impactful trip
Sitting in the Vancouver airport, waiting for the fourth and final flight home, the team reminisced about the last several days in Haiti before returning to life in the Capital Region.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 easy to dismiss some of the stuff B次元官网网址� but it really starts to add up when you look at everything,B次元官网网址� Bob Beckett said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 quite a list actually.B次元官网网址�
It all starts with buying a meal for the children and sharing that with them, he said, B次元官网网址渁nd thatB次元官网网址檚 (just) a small thing.B次元官网网址�
But as he pointed out, what often has the most impact are the connections made. The more you can create relationships with people there, the more invested you become. Using people in the neighbourhood to help accomplish charitable goals also makes them stakeholders and gives them an interest in the project. B次元官网网址淎ll of those value added pieces are important.B次元官网网址�
Saanich Coun. Leif Wergeland added his thoughts to the discussion.
B次元官网网址淕oing down there gets one excited B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 very (life) changing,B次元官网网址� he said.
While in Haiti, Wergeland travelled to a small medical centre and a school further out in the country. In early October, during Hurricane Matthew, the roofs of three classrooms were blown off. After assessing the damage, he agreed to leave money for the repairs.
B次元官网网址淚 think of the money I waste in my own life,B次元官网网址� he said, shaking his head.
When you go on a trip like this you see a lot of poverty and it starts to have an impact, Wergeland continued. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檇 like to help everyone, but you canB次元官网网址檛 B次元官网网址� If we all do a little, together weB次元官网网址檒l do a lot and I think thatB次元官网网址檚 so true.B次元官网网址�
Fellow team member Hilary Groos expanded on that thought.
With all of the things that need to be addressed just to meet basic needs, she said, it can become overwhelming quickly. Volunteers need to B次元官网网址渇ocus on what you can do and do it well B次元官网网址� I see the possibility,B次元官网网址� she added.
Rick Fisher nodded in agreement. B次元官网网址淪ometimes you have to divide and conquer.B次元官网网址� And while the team accomplished what they wanted, he noted, B次元官网网址渢hereB次元官网网址檚 just so much more.B次元官网网址�
And that thought seems to be what keeps these volunteers B次元官网网址� as well as those who have joined them on past trips and those supporting them at home B次元官网网址� from walking away. While itB次元官网网址檚 not an easy thought to process, at some point the end will come. Whether that comes in the next year or five, it will come.
But I have seen firsthand the work this group does. The lasting impact they will leave isnB次元官网网址檛 just immortalized in a plaque that hangs on the wall of the Baby Jesus of Prague Orphanage, itB次元官网网址檚 in the hearts of those they have met along the way that continue to pay it forward.
For more information on the Westshore Rotary's work in Haiti, go to . of this series features the Divine Hands Orphanage, features the Baby Jesus of Prague Orphanage and features RCMP officers working in Haiti.
katie@goldstreamgazette.com
