I am writing this blog from a hotel room in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It is a hotel room probably nicer than the Hampton Inns where I usually stay. Surrounding the hotel is some of the most unbelievable poverty on earth. 70% of Haitians are unemployed. Speakers have said that 50% of the population is under 15. One of five children will die of waterborne disease. Only 40% are literate.
The occasion is a Zone Meeting in Haiti to talk about projects. District participants are Al Steele, Tom and Becky Faulkner, Charles Warne, Rita Yarbrough, Tom Tiller and GWF. Gallaine Warne and Sara Mansbach are in Cange. My hotel room has two double beds. Hot water. Light switches. Internet.
The hillside outside of my hotel room has no electricity, or if it is there, most people can't afford to use it. A police escort will take us to an elderly home and school tomoorrow.
For many years, Haiti has been the poorest country in the western hemisphere. However, the work of the Upstate Episcopal Diocese, Dr. Paul Farmer, Charles Warne, Tom Faulkner, and others has had an impact. Former President Bill Clinton just agreed to be the UN liaiso to Haiti. He agreed to do so if Paul Farmer would be his right hand man. Farmer recently turned down the job of head of the US Agency for International Development, but agreed to be Clinton's aid.
The story of Farmer and others in Cange is one of the great stories on earth. More to come.
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