I love Haiti; it is my second native land, a refuge from North American life and, over the past five years, I have found myself becoming more and more involved with L’Arche here. And if Haiti is myà second homeland, L’Arche is, without the shadow of a doubt, my second family. In L’Arche, I have grown so much, humanly and spiritually, guided by people who live with intellectual disabilities.

What was the project? It was well-defined, and the inspiration behind it renews itself daily. The European Union is supporting L’Arche Haiti in the development of a sheltered workshop in the L’Arche community of Chantal. Chantal, (besides being the name of my cousin), is the name of a village in which the second L’Arche community in Haiti was born more than 25 years ago.

The workshop currently includes two sections: a cabinet-making workshop, to which we are adding professional mechanical tools, and a Manba workshop, where people make peanut butter. A total of sixteen core members work here. The primary goal of the project is to enhance the work done by people affected by intellectual disabilities.

They gave me a title: “Project Leader.” I don’t like it, but it appears to be important for the paperwork. I don’t agree with having that title because, in a project like this one and, especially in an organization like L’Arche, there is no need for a “boss.” There are only people who work together, who collaborate to grow ideas, who transform ideas into concrete activities and action.

So, here I am in this hot country, which I have visited several times, speaking the language (well, getting by would be closer to the truth), and getting used to the food, the heat, and the lack of sleep…. What can I tell you? I just can’t seem to wake up at 4 a.m. the way my farmer neighbours do!

Please don’t hold it against me if I don’t update this blog regularly. It’s probably because the electricity has failed again, or it might be the fault of the Internet not wanting to visit my distant village. Or it may be that I simply don’t have enough time. The heat is forcing me to get a lot of rest in my hammock, neatly situated between two clouds.

On behalf of L’Arche Haiti, of myself, and of all the beautiful core members who accompany me every day, I’ll speak to you very soon!