Haiti Worksite Day 01

Today was a day of language barriers and raw heavy lifting.  The house we are working on was a 3-story home with a single mother and 4 children.  The earthquake significantly damaged the home and it became unsafe to live in, though no one was injured.  We met the mother and eldest son in the family and they explained their current situation.

The mother and younger children went to live with a relative a couple blocks away, but John set up a tent on the roof of the neighbor's house so he could monitor the home and be prepared to rebuild.  He was studying accounting at the university and is 2 years into that program, but has put it on hold to serve his family.  Over the past 6 months, he has raised enough to tear down the old house and actually begin to erect new walls.

Our HDMen Haiti crew has the opportunity to give them a big push towards moving in again as a complete family!  The work began today and it started with creating some forms to pour concrete into and create pillars.

The afternoon brought out the rubble crew.  Simply take two 5 gal buckets, load them with concrete rubble and haul them down a hill about 150 steps, dump and repeat.  Most guys ended up making close to 20 trips throughout the day.  An entrepreneuring man with a home at the bottom of the hill overlooking the ravine decided it would be a great time to fill in the path to his home and we were happy to oblige.  In the end, we ended up with two rooms cleared and ready for building.

Later in the afternoon it was time for the concrete delivery.  The delivery guy came walking down the path with one bag on his head and one on his shoulder, so we thought we would be in great shape.  However, none of us guys could swing the head balance with the 94 pound bags!!!  After 25 bags and a couple rounds of rebar, Joel was quite sure his spine had compressed and he was now shorter.

We also picked up some plumbing supplies to rough-in their bathroom and then called it a day.  It was John Wall's birthday, so after showers and another delicious meal at Bethel House, we enjoyed a birthday cake!  Happy 21st Birthday, John.  Now to rest for Day Two!