Jean Rony runs an organization called ASHOG (note: It looks like the domain registration or hosting expired) that focuses on helping children, poor and handicapped. He works tirelessly striving to get funding to keep up with his efforts. So he kept contacting me, asking when I was going to go to Haiti. I’d tell him that it was a tough trip to make, especially since my Chile efforts had fallen through. But he was determined, telling me that I needed to come. So I told him that I’d really try when Nicholas went and we kept in touch.

Many months later Nicholas announced that he was going. So, what do you know? Jean Rony messaged me and asked if I was going to make it. I talked to some folks at our church about the opportunity and the next thing I know I was given a check and told to go. Wow, just like that.

Now, remember, I’ve been training in regenerative agriculture all this time, so I’m picking up some things. I’m not the permaculture expert that Nicholas is, but I’m not your average Joe either. ;) And my emphasis has been on holistic regenerative design that focuses on abundant yields, so it’s a little different than his.

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

There is a sense in which what I saw in Haiti wasn’t shocking. I had been told about what to expect, and I tend to hold preconceptions really loosely. So I went with my eyes open to see what I could see.

On the other hand, as I said earlier, it was overwhelming. It wasn’t that so much of what I was seeing was particularly shocking. I had seen poverty before. It was just that there is so much need. Even if you had limitless time, you wouldn’t have the resources. If you had the resources, you wouldn’t have enough time. Everywhere I turned, there was more opportunity to help – there was someone in need. It was simply overwhelming.

One shocker for me was how expensive things are. How can people that make $20 a day live in such expensive conditions? But they do. Some have means, but most are poor. Their diet includes a lot of white rice, which they don't even grow there. But it's cheap and filling.

Abundant Opportunities

Jean Rony’s work focuses on helping children get an education, housing children whose parents (usually just the mother) are unable to care for them, helping the poor and attempting to find aid for the ill and handicapped. He works tirelessly at it, always striving to help other people enjoy better lives.

I didn't get to visit the poor house they have set up, but I did get to visit the children's home. It's really heartbreaking. The children are great. But the reasons they're there are what tears at your heart. They're usually not orphans. Their parents, typically a single mother, cannot afford to feed them, so they're left at the children's home so they'll have a place to live and food in their bellies. We've set up a fundraiser for this as well. They often end up with an education as well. The current house they're using can take about 6-8 children.

The schools there are private, usually run by churches. While not expensive by US standards, the $200 a year is difficult to manage for most families. We set up a fundraiser on Crowdrise to help pay for their education. Just last week someone paid enough for five children to get a year of education.

Jean Rony also works to help those who have various ailments. How much he can help varies, but there's always someone. I met one man who had a wheelchair that was donated. Another woman has lost the ability to open her eyes, so they are in the process of raising funds for her to fly to Cuba for surgery (very close to Haiti).

Apparently Jean Rony was building a decent career on the mainland as a teacher. But his heart was burdened for the people of his home, so he quit his work and moved back to La Gonâve. Since then he has done what he can to make a modest living while constantly striving to bring aid and raise funds to help his people.

Here he is asking some UN soldiers to send aid for his people. They were up on the top of Happy Dog. The soldiers were friendly enough, but couldn't understand a word he was saying. I think this group was Brazilian. Jean Rony is relentless in his pursuit for anyone who might be able to offer assistance.

Culture Gap

Jean Rony and I have become good friends. We’ve learned to speak candidly to one another and help each other understand the other’s culture better. This helps me in Haiti, and helps him as he interacts with Americans, Europeans and Australians.

It is sometimes humorous how we can find such interesting ways to put a foot in our mouths when it comes to other cultures. We try to help each other navigate those waters. I suppose it’s a bit of an odd sort of friendship, but I think we’ve become close. I consider him a friend and have grown to love him dearly.

Now, if we can just get a plan together to set the land and the people on a regenerative course…

Regenerating the land, as I said early on, will be a lot of work. It needs more vegetation, most clearly perennials, especially trees. But these can be structured in such a way as to promote the vitality of the land itself while providing abundantly for the people.

One of the goals is to be able to provide better for these children. Perhaps getting them immediate relief is enough, but I want to do more. I want to help build them a brighter future. We’ll get into the design a bit next time, with a proposed plan after.

Steemin' on,
Another Joe

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