Vassar Haiti Project

Day 1: 3.16.15

After a challenging 3:30 wake up call, a rough car ride to the airport, and assistance from generous airport employees who waived the fee for our extra luggage, we are finally here in Port au Prince! It all began to set in when we were sitting on the plane, and the gorgeous Haitian mountains gradually loomed into view through our cabin windows. We hadn’t even landed, and the country already enchanted us.

We were greeted on our way out of the airport by the sound of energetic Haitian rhythms, and a sudden wave of hot and humid air. We all agreed (at least at first) that it was a nice change from the cold winter weather back in New York. We met up with Pere Andre Wildaine, who couldn’t have made us feel anymore welcome with his friendly demeanor and bright smile.

After Pierre Wildaine helped us settle in, we made our way through busy traffic to our next stop. To the inexperienced eye, the rules of the road seemed chaotic and a little frightening, but as Andrew Meade said, everything in Haiti works like a perfectly choreographed dance. After gracefully weaving through the streets, lined with an assortment of foods, vendors, and busy pedestrians, we reached our long awaited destination: The Artisan Business Network.

We walked in to a vibrantly colorful room with many different kinds of handcrafts, paintings and were excitedly greeted by Nathalie Tancrade, who runs the business end of ABN. We gathered and had a meeting to talk about the possibilities to establish a partnership between Chermaitre woman co-op and ABN. Throughout the meeting, Robyn dazzled us with her knowledge and skillful presentation of the woman’s cooperative. Everyone was inspired by VHP’s work and Tancrade immediately asked one of the employees, Sebastien, to climb up the mountain with us on Wednesday!

Tancrade said, “When you come to Haiti, you leave a changed person.” The trust and passion that the ABN crew had amazed everyone of us, and we see a great prospect for the women co-op’s art to grow and expand in the local and international market.

After our successful start to the trip, we arrived at Clairiola’s house (one of us trippers, as we like to call ourselves) to have dinner and spend the night before we leave Port-au-Prince. The familial relationship and warmth that Clairiola had reuniting and embracing her family members touched all of our hearts. This was her first return to her homeland, Haiti, since the earthquake. We were served with delicious rice and beans, lamb stew, onion salads, plantains and juice. Hospitality truly takes on a whole new meaning in Haiti.

“Love” and her baby brother came around and played with all of us. Even though we struggled to communicate because of the language barrier, we sense their innocence and humbleness. It has been a day full of memories, and as Robyn said, “we have already been through so much, and there is an infinite amount more!”