Haiti - Day 4 and 5

Good Morning!  I slept well again in my rooftop chalet au Coleman.  My computer was on the fritz so I had to watch the aerobics video without music.  I have no rhythm.  But I got a good work-out in.  Sweating like no tomorrow and the sun is not up yet.  Breakfast and quiet time on my exercise balcony. Cold shower (feels good) the bathroom has no ventilation and the concrete building holds heat.

I arrived at the logistics office downstairs at 7:00 am.  Nelson has me do the white board to set up the drivers for the day.  It is a fairly light travel day.  I am still sweating when others begin to come in.  They ask me, am I  "cho"?  (pronounced "show"), since my collar and the top of my shirt is wet.  I have to move my exercise until after work.  It took me two hours, or more with a fan to cool off.  I can honestly say I haven't felt cold since I arrived in Haiti.

Nelson, whom I am replacing, is not much of a check list kind of guy.  So I say to him, "When you have the time, I would like you to show me what I need to be doing while you are gone."  I have some small equipment and some supplies that I am supposed to check out - cameras and GPS units.  He hands me a thumb drive and says you should review these documents, about 30.  Many of them are forms to fill out or receive.  It doesn't take me long to go through them, but I know I won't understand them the way I will need to later.  We have a chance to go over the ones i had questions about.

Then we went to the warehouse.  I believe it is somewhere near the airport but don't ask me to get you there.  Nelson and I went with Bechamps, he is a Haitian who works with World Concern's (WC) "Orphans and Vulnerable Children's Program." He was going to meet some Haitian laborers to put some food packs together, rice and beans or 'diri e ous'.

Nelson and I went for me to see the warehouse and meet David who is the warehouse supervisor.  When we arrived a truck was there to pick up cement, corrugated metal sheets and 2x4x16' (real 2 inches by 4 inches) pine boards.  These were for the Cash for Work program of building temporary shelters and paying the unemployed Haitians to clear the rubble and build temporary structures - 11.5 sf per person under roof and 150 sf per person total space (including shelter).  For a family of 4.5 (ave in Haiti) this is a room about 13' x 13' on a space 27 ft x 27 ft..  My tent is 8ft x 7 ft and they say it is a 3 man tent -  but barely enough room for Patty and I to sleep, much less live.  The warehouse was rented for building materials but there is some left over food from the initial relief work.

Nelson pulls David aside and asks him about other WC programs using the warehouse.  He asks him about James.  Nelson says, "I am not going to change your decision, but James asked me about storing food here. And I told him 'no', two times.  Now you have said 'yes.'  So when you run out of room and have a problem, it is your problem."  David's eyes got really large and there was excuses like my phone was broken but Nelson wanted to make sure he knew that to get help he needed to ask for it and that you have to own the consequences of your own decisions. 

We got back and I finished looking at forms and called it a day.  I worked to try and help fix the audio on the computer for NCAA basketball and Skype.  I fixed myself a sandwich for dinner and waited to call to Patty.  We finally figured out that Skype has instant messaging and we did a Skype call without video and it was so delightful to hear her voice!  I got to see some NCAA basketball, albeit choppy video. And on to bed. 

Day 5

I was up about 5:30 am to jockey time in the bathroom with 4 others.  I was finished and down in Logistics by 7 am and Compare, the head driver, was working on the White Board - he needed some help so together we did well.  I went and grabbed a bowl of cereal for Breakfast.  Nelson and Susanna both went home today - Nelson to Nairobi and Susanna to Bolivia.  It will take Nelson until Monday (it is Friday) to get home!  I really like Susanna, she has been working here for 3 years - she has a husband and 1 yr old - she is trying to figure out how they can move here with her.  She returns to Haiti the day I leave - sad.

I worked on some forms until Nelson and Suzanne left at 11:00 am for the airport.  Before I really had time to come back to my desk, a woman, whose name I did not catch, came and said she was from the Emergency Program and needed to store some items in the "garage" storage.   I asked her when the truck would arrive and she said the truck was at the gate and had to wait for Nelson an Suzanne to leave to come in.  I reminded her that this was for temporary storage and asked her how much space she needed.  She said she understood but had a full truck.  I showed her what space i felt i could give her.  When they opened the side door of the truck, I could not believe how much stuff was in this truck.  It was packed from floor to ceiling - the size of a large moving van.  I asked her she had another warehouse - she said, "no."  They unloaded over 400 cases of items ranging from toilet paper, to Mazola Corn Oil to Body Soap.  When they filled the area I designated, the truck was still 80% full.  They wanted to put more in and i said no.  Elias arrived to save the day and reminded her it was 4 day storage only. 

They unloaded all the rest of the items in the compound parking area and covered them with tarps.  Later I spoke to Elias about the need for him reminding the other programs what the garage and warehouse is for and that by the end of the week, the garage should be empty.  This will be interesting.

When I returned to the office - I was planning on moving to Nelson's desk - when I walked in the door from the driveway, Compere, the head driver, was holding court at Nelson's desk, using Nelson's computer.  I waited until his audience left and then I indicated that I was moving there and he went back to his desk.
I finalized some new cards with emergency numbers and called it a day. 

I changed for my aerobics workout, in the evening this time.  Then as I cooled down, I made a sandwich and made a call to Patty.  Some more NCAA basketball - Go Duke!  Very good day.  Thanks for reading about my life in Haiti.  TTFN