A friendly volunteering in Haiti

Getting here in Haiti was like starting a new chapter of our lives.
We spent the first few weeks looking for silly similarities, making comparisons with past experiences in the attempt to understand the context, the country, and its people.

It took so long to write this post because we wanted to understand, getting to know, stop making comparisons … and finally start to talk to people and live them!
So we began to hear stories, to stand between them and live this experience with different eyes.
Even if work takes us away most of the days we sometimes have some spare time and this is the occasion to go outside and have a chat. Always being in front of a computers makes you forget what you have around.

Every single person here has a story to tell and sometimes they are just looking for someone who wants to hear it, and we are happy to listen … cooperation is also made of this!

There is Belizaire who works in a paper shop and when he has no customers he takes out his books and start studying management;

There are Michelle, Zed and all the other women in their family who run a small business and a restaurant. They always welcome us with thousands of smiles and questions.

There are the old ladies selling peanuts and sweets, bread, soft drinks and fruit at the edge of the road. As soon as you approach them to buy something, they try to get up to say hello and give their formal welcome. And after a week they perfectly remember you, greet you, they call you by name.

Then there are the employees of DG Taxation who welcome us with a big hug and would remain hours and hours talking about football and Italy.

And then walk down the street and a family man tells you about his day.
These are the moments that change a day of work in the office in a day of participation to this city’s life.

Carmen and Federico

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