Oasis through benevolent partnership: A Canadian citizen's account
By Guy Renaud
I have quite recently had an absolutely incredible experience in Haiti. I met a man who goes by the name of Armand, who through his life work has changed for the better the lives of thousands of people. Nevertheless, he refuses to take credit for his work.
I finally got to meet brother Armand very recently, after a three hours ride through some of the most desolate areas of Ayiti on the Central Plateau. When I reached Pandiassou, just a few miles away from Hinche which is the main city of the region, I immediately witnessed how lush and green the region is. One finds trees and gardens there, as far as the eye can see. All this in the center of a region that suffers from a harsh and dry environment.
As soon as I stepped out of the car, I was greeted by brother Armand, a lively and smiling man who made me feel right at home. A Aytian in his early fifties, he looks however much older because of his white hair and beard. I later got to know that his hair turned white after he was arrested and "interrogated" by the military during the "Coup" period. His working so closely with the peasants made him suspicious to the military.
He immediately asked some young brothers standing around to take me to my room which was a small house in the woods. The small community is spread all around in a forest planted by the brothers. There is the small church, a kitchen and hall, and all the small buildings that house the brothers and guests.
After having put my things away, I was given a whirlwind tour of the region and it's many projects by brother Armand. As he drove his all terrain pick-up, he would wave at all the people he meet on the road. Here and there he would stop and chat with some peasants about some project or problems they had, but what amazed me was the attention he gave to all, no matter how trivial the conversation. You can see how he respects the people he works with. He did manage to show me some of the projects that were put into place for over twenty five years. Here was a huge pond that catches the rain water during the rainy season, witch lasts six months of the year. There are thirty such ponds in the region and more are planned. This pond was also well stocked with fish that a peasant group fished and the catches sold to people in the region. One of the ponds was public, open to all to fish anytime they felt like it. Pumps were used during the six-month dry season to water all the gardens and fruit trees surrounding each of the ponds. I actually saw some wild ducks in the pond.
I was also shown a modern slaughterhouse administered by a group of peasants that not only gives the beef, goat, and pork producers a market for their meat, but also the generator used to work the freezers also supplies power to the whole community, day in day out. Next to the building is a computer school that will be internet-connected . An antenna is now being installed that will access the world through satellite.
We then went on to visit the primary and secondary school. Both are modern buildings with libraries, were children are given the best education possible and two meals a day. The secondary school is also used in the evenings for a literacy program aimed at the parents. On Friday nights the "Jean Dominique popular university" is in session. Guest speakers from Ayiti and around the world are invited to give lectures on all sorts of subjects of interest for the peasants of the region. Having attended one of the lectures, I can vouch of the interest. That evening the hall was so packet with people that more chairs had to be brought in. The lecture that day was " The history of science and technology or lack thereof, in Ayiti" given by a professor of history from the university of Ayiti.
We then went on to visit the local clinic that is staffed by a young Canadian and Aytian doctor. An orphanage is also close to completion. Small houses will lodge up to six children, each staffed by a married Aytian couple so that the kids get to experience a regular family life. They will also be fully integrated in the community.
Speaking of small houses, at one point he pointed to me many houses that were built as low cost housing for the community members. Those houses are sold at very low prices,and paid for with small monthly payments over many years.
I did get to visit the tree farm that produces about one-hundred-thousand (100,000) small trees a year. Those are sold to all for five gourdes each. All kinds of fruit and wood producing trees are grown. During my visit, brother Armand explained the philosophy by witch his brotherhood stands. It's of being one with the peasants, helping them to realise their human potential to it's fullest in communal way. "We walk with them not in front of them, we preach the gospel with deeds not words". I should also ad that the work of the brotherhood "Des Petits Frères de l'Incarnation", is also complemented by a group of sisters that mostly help the women of the region. The brotherhood is now present in other underdevelopped regions of Ayiti doing the same kind of work of self-development.
To all who find only negative aspects to development in Ayiti, to those who think it's a bottomless pit for aid dollars, for those who seem only able to criticise it's people, a visit there should change your mind.
Guy Renaud and his wife are from Québec, Canada. They have been working in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for the past four years. His wife teaches English at the "École Normale Supérieure", and he is sort of in charge of the English Center there. Both he and his wife find it a privilege to work with Aytian students, who work so hard under such bad conditions.
