Bayonnais, Haiti

This morning, at 5:00, I left Bayonnais on a long drive towards Cap-Haitian, where I attended the college graduation of the first OFCB students ever to go to college. 12 hours later, I made it back to Bayonnais and had a delicious dinner of beef, “mushroom rice” and pineapple. And now I will sit down to write the first post of my blog. I have never had a blog before, so forgive me if I have no clue what I am doing.

So, I am in Bayonnais, Haiti. Until mid-August, I will be working with OFCB Ministries (Organization of the Christian Force of Bayonnais) in Bayonnais, about 20 miles from the 3rd largest city in Haiti, Gonaives. Bayonnais has a population of about 80,000 people, most of who live by subsistence farming. In 1993, the five founders of OFCB started a school in Bayonnais with the intention of providing for the physical, economic and spiritual needs of the people of Bayonnais. Since then, the school has grown to 1,600 students, from elementary school up to 13th grade. There is also a church on the campus and, in the next few years, there will be a health center.

OFCB has been kind enough to provide me with a place to stay and food to eat and, in return, I will attempt to make my stay here worthwhile for OFCB. The current plan is that I will offer summer courses in English and music, but all may and probably will change. Peter Daniels, a Davidson graduate who has worked with OFCB since last October and is currently back in the States, came to Bayonnais with the understanding he would be teaching English and Art, and ended up teaching a variety of courses including basic computer skills and even art history. So, I have no idea what will happen in the next 11+ weeks. No clue. But I can already tell that my time in Haiti will very impactful on the way I think and the way I live. I’ve been here 2 ½ days, and already OFCB has given me more than I could ever hope to give in return.

So, this blog will hopefully allow me to rant endlessly about what is going on in Bayonnais and what is going on in my life while I’m here.

Today, in Cap-Haitian, Amilar and Jesula graduated for North Haiti Christian University (I think that’s the translation), and have returned to Bayonnais as the first two “home-grown professionals”. OFCB works to put their graduates through college with the agreement that they will return to Bayonnais to work 10-15 years after college graduation and help further the development of the local community. Amilar has graduated with a theology degree and will become the associate pastor at the OFCB church. Jesula has graduated with a degree in business administration and will help with the development of local businesses. More graduates are to follow in the next few years, including a few agronomists and a few doctors, who will start the first health center in Bayonnais’ history.

The graduation ceremony was about 2 ½ hours long, and in French. I don’t speak French, or Creole. The language barrier is difficult, but a lot of students at the school are very helpful. Many have agreed to teach me Creole in exchange for me helping them with their English. My goal is to be able to have conversations with people in Creole by the end of the summer. Hopefully, I will learn pretty quickly since I am immersed in the language.

A lot has happened over the last 2 ½ days and I haven’t fully processed most of it. I hope that things will become clearer over time, but things are very muddled at the moment. It’s hard to know where to begin to process the culture of Haiti, or even it’s sheer natural beauty. But, I have 11 weeks to try.

If you have made it this far, and choose not to leave a comment, I will be very hurt.