Rose-Carmel's First Trip to Les Cayes

From Tuesday, June 13 to Thursday, June 15, I had the extraordinary opportunity to go to Les Cayes. This experience left a lasting impression on me.

Because of the insecurity issue the country is facing now, we took a plane for the trip. It was my first time on a flight,and I noticed a lot of things. The clouds I was used to seeing far away, I was watching them very near me. While I was in the air, I could contemplate a little part of the country, and I realized the greatness of God.

Once we reached our destination, we took our luggage to the hotel and then got right to work. We went to buy some stuff and went to the prison to give them. We met with the women prisoners, and we talked to them. After that, we continued to work. We went to many places. We visited where they plant rice, we talked to the workers, and we tried to do their work.

This experience taught me that beside the current situation of the country, there are people who believe in working, who are living with pride because they are gaining their lives honestly and that also taught me that this mentality, if it is promoted to everybody, it could be the source of the country’s wealth.

Another source or wealth I saw is where they call ‘Gele’. It could be an extraordinary space if they adjusted and developed it, putting due infrastructure. It would attract local and international tourists.

But our work did not stop there. We continued our visit. We went to somewhere called “Canse”. It’s a marketplace where we observed the activities. We noticed the hospitality of the people and their dedication to searching for a better life. They showed hope as if they knew that things would change in the country.

The environment there in Les Cayes is calm and peaceful, and the landscape gives desire to live. All that experience makes us understand that we need to give the best of ourselves day by day in whatever we are doing in our works so that we can reach satisfaction.

I thank Haiti Awake for allowing me to go make that experience.

Hudson's perspective on the trip to Les Cayes

By God’s grace, Rose-Carmel and I recently had the opportunity to travel to Les Cayes from Port-au-Prince, Although I have been to Les Cayes many times before, this time it amazed me more than it used to.

Haitian people are resilient. We believe in working hard and we are creative to fulfill the void due to a lack of materials in order to have the best results that we are looking for.

Rose- Carmel and I went to Les Cayes specifically for a food distribution for inmates. Friends picked us up at the airport and we went to the market to begin buying food and supplies.

When we got to the prison, police introduced us to female prisoners as the organization that helps them with what God put on our way. They were so grateful for that.

It was Rose-Carmel's first day ever in the countryside, and she was also amazed by how the countryside is different from Port-au-Prince. She had to experience the authenticity of our fellowships in the South of Haiti. People are always showing their willingness to help, to assure and know that we are comfortable. The people embrace life with a contagious smile. This tells us life is beautiful, no matter where you are.

We visited a market that is mostly for the “Madan Sara”. These ladies come twice weekly to sell or buy in order to make a living. This place is known as a center for gathered vendors from different places of the remote areas. A picture can tell more than a thousands stories. That's why you can see we tend to share pictures of farmers, fishermen, butchers, to tell these important stories.

“Madan Sara” is a bird that you will call “Village Weaver” in English. Those birds are known to migrate together. They are so active you can see that they are working in groups, and they are noisy.

This theme also describes the strong ladies in Haiti that are bringing food from the remote areas to the city. They play a big part in our community by improving the food market and playing a big part in our economy.

If you ever go to an informal market in Haiti, you will be able to see how our Madan Sara are negotiating, how they are active in the market, and they will remind you of that beautiful bird that is a Madan Sara.

Believe us when we say, Les Cayes is a beautiful country. There are so many places that we didn’t have time to discover in order to share the beauty with you. But through those special pictures we had, you can see the resolve in the face of our beautiful Haitian people.