First Week Adventures and Impressions

Hello All,

For those I do not know or have not met yet, my name is Greg Parker. I have recently joined the Network Support Team and will be working with them in Haiti for about 6 months. I arrived in Cap Haitien a week ago today and have been busy getting to know the team, many of the various Network facilities, and adjusting to my home at the Sonje Ayiti house in the Babiole neighborhood of Cap.

I won't recount all of our activities from the past week, but instead offer my general impressions and observations as well as promise much more frequent blogs from our team here. As has been the case with each of my previous visits to Haiti I was immediately struck by the contrast of the beauty of the landscape and the degree of the poverty. These elements are evident from the plane window before touching down and even more stark when driving through the streets of Cap and the surrounding areas. Poverty has brought about a lack of nearly all basic services, but it has not diminished the hospitality or spirit of the Haitian people. Everywhere we visit we are warmly received. I am particularly struck by the kindness and excitement of the children. Having been a middle school teacher in the states I have a particular fondness for working with kids, but am also well aware of how difficult they can sometimes be. In Haiti I am blown away by the character of the children be it a group of them singing for you, a girl caring for her younger siblings while transporting a load of goods home atop her head, or a classroom full of orphans diligently listening to there teacher while working with minimal and often substandard supplies.

As I continue working with the Team over the next several months I hope to be able to repay some of the hospitality and warmth I receive here with incremental improvements to the availability of healthcare in the region. To do that will require working closely with many of you and I look forward to that opportunity. Please let me know how we can be of assistance to you and allow me to help you with communicating and working with our team down here.

Best,

Greg Parker

gmparker1@gmail.com

Haitian Cell: 3-997-8891