New College Bird Methodist Church

Post by W Arthur Harbottle.

New College Bird was badly affected by the earthquake and where the church lost a lots of its senior Ministers when a building they were meeting in collapsed.  Though the Church survived (except for the tower) much around it has been rebuilt.  These shots show something of the Church and school today.
 

Thomassin Methodist Church

Post by W Arthur Harbottle.

Furcy Mission, Church, school and Clinic

It was a true privilege to go to Furcy this morning. Only about 15 mile from Port-au-Prince but at an altitude of some 5300 feet the air temps are a much more bearable 22 or so degs! The steeply sloping hillsides are terraced in a manner which reminds one of the Andes or Himalayas, with houses dotted around and groups of people working the ground to produce crops to be sold on to the markets in PaP.

The area has suffered much from erosion due to so much of the area having been stripped of its native hardwood to repay debts to the west and a major reason for some of the poverty here. It is virtually impossible to get down to the church, school, clinic, hostel (for work teams and another for teachers) in a vehicle, so we completed the journey on foot. We were greeted by many who recognised John as the Doctor who came to the clinic on some Mondays - clearly confusing some because it was a Saturday!

Life cannot be easy here, not least as it gets so cold at night, but there is such beauty I felt so honoured to see what many others will never have the chance to set their eyes upon.

Post by W Arthur Harbottle.

The earthquake mass grave

When I was told we would visit the earthquake mass grave I had in mind something like the graves in Europe from the two World Wars.  Certainly, at least in my mind, a place were 260,000 of the 300,000 victims of the earthquake were interred would seem to need a significant memorial.

The first picture is an artist's impression of one idea for the site.

But on arrival at the site I was …. to say the least ….. caught totally unawares, for this is what we found.

A large boulder surrounded by a concrete fence, secured by metal gates .

No flowers, no pictures, no recognition of the individuals who died!

It is a place which still stirs in me emotion every time I visit it in my mind's-eye.  Can you imagine how this place would be if it were marking such a disaster in Europe?

However, as I reflected upon it and upon my response, I began to admire Haitians.  Even though this site is a full 10 miles from PaP and difficult for most to access with public transport, Haitians clearly don't need to have a place to focus their grief and memories the way we do in the UK.  The past is the past - what has happened is done - and life goes on.  Maybe in time, when the Government there has surplus funds or another country offers to underwrite the cost they will complete the memorial garden, but until such a time every penny - sorry, Gourde - has a better function to fulfil, to rebuild a nation, to rebuild a future, to create a society in which Haitians today can flourish!

Freres Methodist Church

This is the church on the compound where all the Church Offices have been since the earthquake and where our Mission Partners, Dr John & Sharon Harbottle live.  The church draws from the surrounding area which includes people from the school and District Offices.

Post by W Arthur Harbottle.