I got the acceptance email today - God willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be going to Haiti again for this year's Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. I think this is the most excited I have ever been to get that email - even more excited when I found out I was going to India for my first build in 2006.
I think I'm excited because we were there, because we saw what needs to be done. We saw the acres and acres of tents organised into makeshift communities, with businesses like banks and barbers and markets set up in plywood shacks. We saw the desperation of the people we passed who resented the project because they weren't one of the lucky ones getting a home or even a job. We witnessed the extreme concern for our safety, traveling only in convoys, with armed guards on every bus and police escorts taking us between the build and the camp in which we lived. We heard stories about the protests at the pre-builds - protestors throwing rocks over the fences at the volunteers, rumored to have taken Haitian jobs, and digging trenches in the roads to prevent the buses from leaving the build site.
I also think I'm excited because last year was so amazing. I judge the intensity of an experience by how long it takes me to stop seeing it every time I close my eyes. Haiti took almost a full month. I met such wonderful people, had great tent-mates, had great crew members. How can we top that? This year the build is after Thanksgiving, so we won't repeat the moving ceremony for Remembrance/Veteran's Day. With a full 50% increase in the number volunteers, if Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood give a concert again, will it feel as intimate? Heck, with a full 50% increase in the number of volunteers, will there be enough beer and electrical outlets?
I'm also excited to see how I'm going to raise $5000. Last year my friends were so quick with their generosity that I was done in half the time. This year I'd like to not barrage my Facebook page with fundraising information and try to increase awareness of the project by getting local businesses to sponsor. Might actually get a press release out, since I have a better idea of what to expect and could actually answer questions.
One theme was constant last year: after the build, go out and tell Haiti's story. They need people to remember that it's not a country that can fix itself, and the corruption is keeping even outside aid from getting to the intended recipients.
Last year President Carter sat down with the President of Haiti. Eschewing pleasantries, he simply said, "You can go down in history as the president who stopped the corruption and helped his own people, or you can be just another president." this year we'll get an idea of which path he chose.
In the meantime, the next seven months will be about telling Haiti’s story to my already generous friends. Game on.
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