Day 5: Mangos, Metal, & Mojub

We decided to start our day a little differently this morning. Instead of waking to the “Breakfast is ready!” alarm clock, we instead woke up with the roosters to make breakfast for Mama Rea and our Haitian family. We made the classic bacon, omelette, pressed fried bananas, and an array of fancily decorated fruit trays of watermelon, grape, pineapple, mango, papaya, and apples. We mustered through English/Creole/French filled conversations (we’re getting better, we promise!) over more delicious coffee. It was a small token of our appreciation for the incredible hospitality and generosity they’ve extended to us.

After breakfast, we hopped in our big blue van that literally fits seventeen without squeezing, and headed to get some metal work from a village called Croix de Bouquets. We practiced our bartering - and napping - skills on the 2-hour car ride and were ready to get the most bang for our buck. As we got close, we could here the harmonic banging of hammers on the pieces of metal that soon would be cut and stamped into beautiful pieces of art. Not only do they make great souvenirs, but we will also be auctioning off some of the artwork at an upcoming fundraising event in May. After Rea prefaced our visit with a conversation with the shop owners to ensure we got the best prices, we set off to put our bartering skills to work. We must’ve really brought our A-game because they were negotiating lower than what we offered! We loaded up the trunk of Rea’s very tinted Ford with our new pieces of art and were on our way to our next agenda item: lunch.

Of course, shopping takes a lot out of us and we were in desperate need of chicken nuggets, french fries, and ice cream. Kelly was a bit braver and got a classic Haitian meal of rice, veggies, and some type of meat filled biscuit. She ate the whole thing, so I think that’s a testament to its tastiness! We got food to go because we had people to see and places to go, so we loaded up the van yet again and notified Mojub that we were on our way!

Mojub is an incredible women’s center that began as a literacy program for older women, and then expanded to a school for small children as well as a micro finance loan organization that funds women to go to a vocational school. There, the founder, Madame Rosaline, spoke to us about how Mojub began and how it has grown. She wanted to give back to her community after seeing that many women did not know even how to sign their own names. After the program began, many women started to bring their children to learn too, and Madame Rosaline knew she couldn’t turn them away so she found a way to include the children and make it work. What started out with 5 students now has 490, and they have added two more stories onto their building. It is still not nearly enough space for them all, but their financial strain is too burdensome to relocate and expand further. One of the most inspiring aspects of Mojub is the stories of the women who are learning to make a livelihood to provide for their children. Most have been abandoned by their husbands and are left to take care of multiple children with no source of income. When one woman is funded to go to trade school, she comes back to Mojub and teaches the other women what she has learned, so they too can have a skill. In this way, Mojub creates a community of women who are working hard for their independence and financial stability to provide for their families. Some of the women even stood up and shared with us their personal struggles, and what they have at stake that is pushing them to create a better life. As a group of 13 women, we were all extremely inspired by these women who take initiative, work hard, and work together to move forward. They were and will always be very positive role models for all of us.

After Mojub, we made our daily trip to the supermarket before coming home to dinner. Dinner was the usual, and always very yummy, rice, beans, veggies, and some type of red meat - no goat yet! The beans have been pretty magical, but not enough for some. After 8-12 hours, alas! The ex-lax did the trick. We played some futbol before Kendall led us all in a workout class while bumping some 90’s throwback songs. We have another busy, and very early, day tomorrow, so time to tuck ourselves in under the shelter of our mosquito nets and get some much needed rest. We have an extremely eventful day tomorrow, but we have to pack everything into our last full day in this beautiful place. Bon Nwi!