| Working for a nongovernmental organization in Haiti has been an enlightening and challenging experience for Portia, who comes from the United States. Here she describes how she came to be working in Haiti, what her job entails, and the high spirits that the people have in spite of living in abject poverty. |
 Portia Mills |
-Where were you born?
Washington, D.C., USA
-In which country and city are you living now?
Les Cayes, Haiti is the closest place you’ll find on a map but I am actually living several miles northwest in a place called Madame Combes/Castel-Pere. It’s farm country.
-Are you living alone or with your family?
I live at a place called Pwoje Espwa (Haitian Creole for Project Hope), on a farm with 600 kids. The quad where I reside also houses a 70-year-old Oblate priest, a 23-year-old American guy, a 60-something French-Canadian guy, and a 20-year-old Haitian cook with sickle cell disease. You could call us a family, as we eat together and drink together and share a bathroom and I suppose you could say we even care about each other but it’s more like dorm-style living than anything. Through all of March we had at least 5 extra people a week living with us – lots of short-term volunteer help this month.
-How long have you been living in Haiti?
I took a 3-week hiatus in February to recover from an accident but I have been here since December 28, 2006.
-What is your age?
A lady never tells but I shall. I’m 24.
-When did you come up with the idea of living in Haiti?
I was working in the DC area and disliking my job intensely. All the skills and subject areas I worked on in college were wasting away. I knew I needed a change and began looking for it. A quick trip to Mexico really solidified my desire to move overseas. So I began thinking about volunteering with an NGO in Latin America.
After some research and deliberating, I ran into an old acquaintance – a former pastor of a church in Maine that I’d attended as a child. He was back in the States fundraising for an organization he founded and I was captivated by his story about Haiti. I offered to come visit.
Haiti, as stated in the first line of every article written about it, is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It boasts a poverty level rivaled only by some countries in East Africa and Southwest Asia. The state of affairs here is truly impossible to imagine without seeing it. In addition to feeling challenged to help doing something to help, I fell in love with the wonderful Haitian people.
-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
You can fly to Haiti without a visa. If you are here longer than 3 months, you have to go to an immigration office to get a visa before you are allowed to leave. That’s done in country though and as I understand, is not TOO difficult (think any really screwed up bureaucracy in the third world and you get the idea). Though I am unpaid, I think the situation is the same if you are getting paid, since several of my friends are and have not contradicted my understanding.
-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
I got a something called SOS. It covers me for medical evacuation – if necessary – but nothing else. I rely on another insurance company for that and am covered because of the last job I had.
I had a first-hand experience in seeing how this really works. Med-evac insurance, though nice to have as an emergency backup, will do NOTHING for you if they determine that your illness or injury can be treated in-country. The UN “med-evac-ed” me to Port au Prince after a helicopter accident. This was covered under their humanitarian outreach mandate, thank God. Without them, I would have been screwed. The hospital in Port would not submit an insurance claim. I had to do that later. We paid out of pocket. I am sure things work differently if you are working for the State Department or another big entity but I would venture to say that your insurance in medicine in the third world is who you get to know and who your friends are, in any case.
-How do you make your living in Haiti? Do you have any type of income generated?
I don’t make a living here; I am an unpaid volunteer. Specifically, I am involved with project development, networking and fundraising. In addition, I teach a little English and help organize the artisans (more difficult than it sounds). A big part of what I do also just entails hanging out with the little kids I live with.
Most of the other expats I know here are not unpaid volunteers – they are either paid volunteers or employees with NGOs. I think a majority of the organizations that do long term, unpaid volunteering abroad (Peace Corps, Jesuit Volunteers International, etc.) all left during the Aristide riots and have not come back.
I got hooked up with Pwoje Espwa through the director, as I said. It was a family connection and though I applied and visited for an “interview,” it was all rather casual.
-Do you speak the local language and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
Before I came to Haiti, I had years of experience in language learning – French, Spanish, Arabic and a little Portuguese. I picked up Haitian Creole rather quickly – partly because I work with children, and they make the best teachers, and partly out of necessity. There is no way that I could operate and be effective here without speaking Creole, which is, incidentally, a beautiful and endearing language.
I can’t speak for expats in general, but I know that given the kind of work I do, speaking the language and respecting the customs is vitally important. French will get you only so far here, since it’s the language of the formally educated and a majority of Haitians are not. Working with poor kids, which is what I do, necessitates picking up Creole quickly – but even to go out and get a drink or have dinner, it’s a rather important skill to learn.
There is also the custom factor. There is no question that all expats need to understand and respect local customs. Though Haiti is only 2 hours by plane from the US of A, it is one western country with a distinctly unique culture. It is affectionate, joyous, excitable and proud. The same man that would never dare go to a funeral without a (borrowed) jacket and tie, will strip to his skivvies later and bathe by the road-side. A family home that possesses but a single chair will always insist on giving it to a visitor. To refuse would be insulting. A member of the same sex my take your hand and hold it while conversing. To refuse this would be to refuse an innocently intended, friendly gesture.
-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
I do miss my family – because they are the best in the world and I am very close to them. But then, we are close, so we keep in touch. I miss my girlfriends dreadfully because I live with a bunch of guys, the orphanage is mostly boys and my co-workers are mostly male. I miss getting a good glass of red wine with my best buddies on a Friday night. I also miss warm showers.
Every Friday night, Pwoje Espwa personnel get together for a “fête.” I think it’s modeled on the Peace Corps weekly tradition of getting together with your fellow Corps buddies to have a drink. It also helps solidify our family-ness.
I like going out dancing here a great deal. Haitian music is called “kompa” and it’s an upbeat two-step. I have been to several DJs and have tried to see a group called Jacoute but it seems to keep getting cancelled. Some times some other NGO employees, UN people and myself get Happy Hour drinks on week nights at a place call the Bay Klub – which is always low key and fun AND essential for networking. Occasionally I go out to a UN base to play pool. We had a soccer game with the UN last weekend, so that was fun… We like to go to any number of the amazing beaches around here… and the list goes on. I am never lacking for fun things to do here. Haitians do know how to have a good time and seem to come up with a lot of reasons to do so.
-Do you have other plans for the future?
Right now, I am leaving the future a bit open-ended. I committed to 6 months to a year with Pwoje Espwa but have told them that I am flexible as well. Grad school is a possibility but then, so is finding work with an NGO. I continue to reach out and research while remaining committed to my current work here.
-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
I honestly don’t think that anyone but Haitians can buy land. If you’re a registered NGO or Corporation you can buy – or you can buy in partnership with a Haitian but not outright. Therefore, I haven’t looked into it.
-What is the cost of living in Haiti?
Cost of living is low. I raised enough to cover the $500/month that it costs for me to live and eat at the farm and for some amount of transportation. In addition to that, I spend maybe, MAYBE, $20 a week on entertainment or recreation.
-What do you think about the Haitians?
Most of my friends here are locals. I have frustrations, expected when considering language barriers and other cultural differences. Generally, though, I enjoy spending time with them and working with them.
Any expat or foreigner is referred to as “blan,” literally translated as “white” but in reality referring to anyone with money – and everyone coming to Haiti has more money than a majority of the locals by default. But Haiti also has a very deep-rooted problem with racism. This makes being here difficult at times – especially when there is really no way for me to blend in, as I did when I traveled in other Latin American or Mediterranean countries.
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Haiti?
The climate, the music, the children, the dancing, the rum, the beaches and my friends are all positive aspects of living here.
I think it’s a negative to stick out like a sore thumb – but it’s a learning experience, so it isn’t all negative. I hate how aggressive some of the guys get about dating or even marrying me – as I type I am fending off intense verbal “attacks.”
Getting parasites is a bummer. Fungi are problematic. The spiders are big and scary and the mosquitoes MUST be evil. The medical care leaves something to be desired – I was not entertained by the mouse creeping over my mangled foot while I waited in the emergency room of the general hospital here. Not too many negatives though.
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Haiti?
Lay low. Don’t break the law and avoid any circumstances that would make it appear that you are doing so. Stay fairly uninvolved in politics, local or otherwise – unless, of course, it’s your job to be involved.
Driving in Port au Prince is insane. Make sure you have a good driver – and he’s someone you can trust. If you are outside of Port, be careful if and when you do drive. Traffic laws are ridiculous/non-existent here. If you get a motorcycle, or take advantage of motor-taxis, BUY A HELMET!
Dress conservatively.
-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Haiti?
http://www.portiamills.com
http://insidetheframe.blogspot.com
http://pwojeespwa.blogspot.com
