Bat men ankouraje chen

Bat men ankouraje chen.

Literally it is  "Clapping hands encourages dogs."

People have dogs for many purposes depending on their activities, profession, or social rank. For example, farmers want them to take care of their farm and sometimes help them pursue domestic other animals when they want to catch them. Dogs help hunters track and catch their hunt. 

People often clap their hands when dogs are in action to motivate them. 

Haitians say this proverb when they want to encourage someone who is doing a good job. Sometimes, we do not have the means to pay someone for what he/she is doing or a reward to congratulate his effort.  Therefore, we just offer what we have even though it is little - like water for drinking or bathing, a  little food, some help, or even kind words. It is true that these are insignificant quantitatively, but we know that they could be a mental booster to the worker showing him/her that we care.

The little we do may not actually meet their needs. We can not go through the rough roads and be in the rough time with them. But what we can do acts like a fuel to their engine.

Never stay indifferent towards someone you know is doing a good job. Because, even little can encourage and boost his/her work and intention.

Bat men ankouraje chen

Twòp chenn gate revèy

Twòp chenn gate revèy 

"Too many chains spoil clocks" is the literal translation for this proverb.

Clocks are very important for families. For some people, it is just a decoration for their rooms. It helps some other people be aware of the time so that they can balance their daily activities. 

There were  some big clocks that rang each hour and every one had a special sound. That is to say the sound for noon was different from 1:00 clock, and so on. For some other clocks, people had to use a chain to program them. The more you calibrated it, the better it became. But sometimes, the clocks broke up because of using the chain too much.

Haitians use this proverb to warn people that tend to overdo, overcare or are too meticulous. Everything has a limit. It is alright to look for a certain limit of perfection. But sometimes we complicate things and even damage them by putting what does not have to be present on it. They also say this proverb when people that have lots of opportunities/means/connections  create their own unhappiness/adversity by doing excess or abusing their freedom and means.

Let us keep things simple and take advantage of what we have without any abuse.