Dermatology Affiliates supports Ties that Matter, by Lee Wilder

I am lucky that Dermatology Affiliates supports my work in Haiti by giving me the flexibility to travel several times a year. I just returned from a week and am both exhausted and exhilarated. My organization, The LaGonave Haiti Partnership (www.lagonavepartners.org), works on the island of LaGonave, home to over 100,000 people. It is said that “Haiti is the land that the world forgot and LaGonave is the land that Haiti forgot.”
The communities on the island are largely rural and less than 10% of the people have electricity, running water, or latrines. There is about a half mile of paved road on the island so transportation is over dusty rocky roads. I work with Nan Mango, a community of some 4,000 people two hours up the mountains. This was my 8th or 9th trip to Nan Mango (I lose count) and my friendships continue to deepen and my Kreyol advances from laughably pitiful to marginally passable.

Our partnership is based on a true relationship with the people of Haiti, working side by side to help them in the areas of public health, education, and economic development. We are a development, not an aid organization.
I delivered a bag of my 93 year old father’s tools to the men at Nan Mango. Boss Terlage reported that they were very good tools…. better than you can buy in Haiti and the tools were used to assemble the 3 sewing machine tables we brought, install a pump on the new cistern and more some minor car repair. Rigaux, the school principal at Nan Mango, is carrying one of my father’s pocket knives and said it was extra special knowing that it had belonged to my father.

We de-wormed 150 kids at Nan Mango — the best single public health initiative possible. We brought a ton on Jolly Ranchers because we were told that the pills taste bad. We gave them a pill, a cup of water and then candy. Turns out the kids did not really care about the candy — what they wanted most was the cup of water. (yeah, we all had a wet eye moment…..)
We helped the women start a sewing group one year ago and joined forces with an Atlanta group, Ties that Matter. Laura Martin, the human dynamo who founded Ties that Matter, conducted her first sewing workshop last October. Since then, the women have made dozens and dozens of amazing dolls and bags from neckties. Laura did another workshop and we brought over 1,000 ties. And, yes! We are still collecting ties. As with every trip, we had a meeting with the women to talk about community issues and their sewing. Berline, the leader said, “You treat us with respect and now we respect ourselves more.” Pass the Kleenex, please.
At one of these same meetings last March, one mother thanked us for helping their children learn to read and write but the adults wanted to learn too. So, we went into high gear and located Fonkoze, a well-known Haitian organization with a 20 year history of adult education based on an internationally recognized curriculum. By September, 10 people on the island had been trained as adult educators (creating 10 new jobs) and we started adult literacy classes in nine communities. Last week we learned that our first adult literacy class has finished and 100% of our people passed the final exam!! 158 people learned how to write their name.
Back in Port au Prince, we met with the director of Fonkoze’s adult education division. Our program is one of their best, according to Laurence Camille who is off to Malawi and Rwanda to consult with their ministers of education on adult literacy. We are moving ahead and sending our teachers to advanced training in March and starting phase two for the first 158 students and a new phase one class.
It has been an incredible gift to accompany my friends in Nan Mango as they build their community. As the Kreyol saying goes, “piti piti” — little by little.
Check out lagonavepartners.org for more about our work in Haiti and bring us those ties!!