Konbit (Haitian Creole for community working together) to clean up destroyed church
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Fonkoze
Fonkoze, largest network of micro-credit banks in Haiti, founded by Fr. Joseph; this one in Fondwa survived the earthquake; the building grounds also include a restaurant, bakery and tool rental business
Friday, March 26, 2010
Post-Earthquake UNIF Conference
University of Fondwa International Conference, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Haiti or Bust
I'm leaving for Haiti tomorrow night...I'll take the train to Penn Station, a taxi to the airport, a direct flight from JFK to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic...then I have to call someone named Dante to pick me up and take me from the international airport to the other airport and then I'll fly from Santo Domingo to Port Au Prince, and then somehow I'll end up in a rural, mountainous area about 40 miles from PAP called Fondwa. It's a multi-purpose trip - a tour of the damage in Fondwa, a conference about how to rebuild this community and university and meetings with some of the grassroots organizations who I will be working with on some future projects. The University of Fondwa has a Facebook page you can check out...
I'm not really thinking about how intense it is all going to be. If one did think about such things too much or be bothered by such thoughts, well, nobody would go and help them. But, I think once you've lived and worked in an apocalyptic disaster site, it gets in your blood. I have to recommend a couple of books that I'm reading now - Rebecca Solnit's A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster and Beverly Bell's Walking on Fire: Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance. When people look at me curiously, wondering why the hell I'd want to go visit a place of such suffering and devastation, I guess I have a different take on it. On the one hand, it's bearing witness to this devastation and this is always a powerful thing to do. But mostly I see, as Solnit does, "the extraordinary communities that arise in disaster." Contrary to the reigning disaster narrative, people are not helpless (the people who are living through it always do the bulk of the work, before the media arrives, before the government arrives, and before the professional macho, male disaster rescuers arrive). I go to learn about and support the strength, resilience and resistance in Haiti, the country with the only successful slave revolt in history.
One final note...I have this recurring dream (once or twice a year for about 20 years) that I have to leave quickly for an international flight and I am not packed but have to leave anyway...it's always a horrible feeling. This has been a somewhat last minute trip and I'm feeling like this dream state is trying to take over my waking state...very strange. I'm almost all packed though, so no worries. I think I'll have the dream tonight, but then I will never have this dream again.
I'm not really thinking about how intense it is all going to be. If one did think about such things too much or be bothered by such thoughts, well, nobody would go and help them. But, I think once you've lived and worked in an apocalyptic disaster site, it gets in your blood. I have to recommend a couple of books that I'm reading now - Rebecca Solnit's A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster and Beverly Bell's Walking on Fire: Women's Stories of Survival and Resistance. When people look at me curiously, wondering why the hell I'd want to go visit a place of such suffering and devastation, I guess I have a different take on it. On the one hand, it's bearing witness to this devastation and this is always a powerful thing to do. But mostly I see, as Solnit does, "the extraordinary communities that arise in disaster." Contrary to the reigning disaster narrative, people are not helpless (the people who are living through it always do the bulk of the work, before the media arrives, before the government arrives, and before the professional macho, male disaster rescuers arrive). I go to learn about and support the strength, resilience and resistance in Haiti, the country with the only successful slave revolt in history.
One final note...I have this recurring dream (once or twice a year for about 20 years) that I have to leave quickly for an international flight and I am not packed but have to leave anyway...it's always a horrible feeling. This has been a somewhat last minute trip and I'm feeling like this dream state is trying to take over my waking state...very strange. I'm almost all packed though, so no worries. I think I'll have the dream tonight, but then I will never have this dream again.
Friday, December 18, 2009
On the precipice of the holiday
It's been 3 months since my last confession...uh, I mean, blog post. I am still puzzled, ambivalent, and/or lazy about blogging's relevance. Is my life that interesting? Sometimes yes, mostly no.
Anyway, the coming holiday is a good excuse to write about greed/capitalism/desire/buying and such. It's a preoccupation of mine, in this life, it seems. I want, I don't want, I don't want or not-want. (that sentence actually made sense to me.) This is the human condition; but, this condition is transpiring in a context of predatory global capitalism. So, this already seemingly confusing state of affairs concerning my ability to be in touch with my own desires/greed is exacerbated by many external forces that seek to manipulate this situation. Ugh, what to do?
First, giving gifts to people you love is a wonderful thing, and having a ritualized time of year to do this and express our gratitude also seems like a wonderful thing. Second, the all-or-nothing approach is always a problem; maybe a fair trade gift or two, maybe a homemade card or two and maybe just cook your best friend a nice dinner for a present this year. (I don't have kids so I'm not plagued by kids desiring bad-for-the-environment plastic toys and mind-numbing video games). Third, what to do about getting stuff you don't want. I think it's better to give it away; somebody, somewhere might want it. Cluttering your house with things you don't love or need (some baseline feng shui wisdom) creates stuck energy.
And for some much needed spiritual inspiration on this subject, check out Reverend Billy's church of life after shopping...Peace on Earth, Good will to all...
Anyway, the coming holiday is a good excuse to write about greed/capitalism/desire/buying and such. It's a preoccupation of mine, in this life, it seems. I want, I don't want, I don't want or not-want. (that sentence actually made sense to me.) This is the human condition; but, this condition is transpiring in a context of predatory global capitalism. So, this already seemingly confusing state of affairs concerning my ability to be in touch with my own desires/greed is exacerbated by many external forces that seek to manipulate this situation. Ugh, what to do?
First, giving gifts to people you love is a wonderful thing, and having a ritualized time of year to do this and express our gratitude also seems like a wonderful thing. Second, the all-or-nothing approach is always a problem; maybe a fair trade gift or two, maybe a homemade card or two and maybe just cook your best friend a nice dinner for a present this year. (I don't have kids so I'm not plagued by kids desiring bad-for-the-environment plastic toys and mind-numbing video games). Third, what to do about getting stuff you don't want. I think it's better to give it away; somebody, somewhere might want it. Cluttering your house with things you don't love or need (some baseline feng shui wisdom) creates stuck energy.
And for some much needed spiritual inspiration on this subject, check out Reverend Billy's church of life after shopping...Peace on Earth, Good will to all...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
51st post
This is my 51st post on this blog. I'm not a very consistent blogger; consistency has always been a problem for me. But, hey, it's quality, not quantity. All women understand this. And, so it goes.
It's Labor Day weekend and, like every day, I strive for less labor and, well, more livin'. It's sunny and beautiful and there are pockets of red/yellow/orange leaves establishing themselves in the sea of deciduous beauty that is upstate New York. We went for a purposeful though somewhat meandering drive today on the Taconic Parkway; my husband Ted lived around that area some 30-odd years ago, in another lifetime, in a farmhouse with some musician friends. He doesn't know where the house actually was and so sometimes we drive around and just explore and dream of days of hair down past his shoulders and hippies on food stamps and hash for breakfast (of a certain kind).
And, then we made our way to Tivoli, to Luna 61, an organic vegetarian restaurant, in a quaint little Hudson River town. We started our meal with a pumpkin muffin and a cup of organic decaf. The muffin with toasted walnuts was a thing of beauty. Ted had the pad thai (he can never pass it up, believe me I've observed the scenario many times) and I had the sweet potato enchilada. As we shared our treats, the former was definitely superior whereas the latter was most certainly not an enchilada though it did have sweet potatoes and had some good ingredients, but I wouldn't say it came together in any kind of transcendent way that I would have hoped for. Oh, and Ted had a fresh squeezed watermelon-apple juice with local fruit that was quite sensual. And, some chocolate chip cookies of epic quality that we took with us, to-go.
And, the trip back was not quite as good as the trip there, but not too shabby really. It's just a stuningly beautiful time of year to be alive.
It's Labor Day weekend and, like every day, I strive for less labor and, well, more livin'. It's sunny and beautiful and there are pockets of red/yellow/orange leaves establishing themselves in the sea of deciduous beauty that is upstate New York. We went for a purposeful though somewhat meandering drive today on the Taconic Parkway; my husband Ted lived around that area some 30-odd years ago, in another lifetime, in a farmhouse with some musician friends. He doesn't know where the house actually was and so sometimes we drive around and just explore and dream of days of hair down past his shoulders and hippies on food stamps and hash for breakfast (of a certain kind).
And, then we made our way to Tivoli, to Luna 61, an organic vegetarian restaurant, in a quaint little Hudson River town. We started our meal with a pumpkin muffin and a cup of organic decaf. The muffin with toasted walnuts was a thing of beauty. Ted had the pad thai (he can never pass it up, believe me I've observed the scenario many times) and I had the sweet potato enchilada. As we shared our treats, the former was definitely superior whereas the latter was most certainly not an enchilada though it did have sweet potatoes and had some good ingredients, but I wouldn't say it came together in any kind of transcendent way that I would have hoped for. Oh, and Ted had a fresh squeezed watermelon-apple juice with local fruit that was quite sensual. And, some chocolate chip cookies of epic quality that we took with us, to-go.
And, the trip back was not quite as good as the trip there, but not too shabby really. It's just a stuningly beautiful time of year to be alive.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Everyday Zen
I just finished re-reading one of my favorite books - Everyday Zen: Love and Work - written by Charlotte Joko Beck. Like any good spiritual teacher, she is relentless in reminding people about their/our incessant delusions and the need for personal practice and accountability. Nothing outside of us will make us happy or lead to enlightenment or freedom; not a guru, a job promotion, a personal trainer or internet shopping. I've tried all of them, and then some.
But, we can learn about ourselves by watching the machinations. Joko Beck reminds us about working with our life, right now. Everything is grist for the mill. There is no future when everything will finally be okay, just the stuff in our life right now - the dog barfing, the crick in my neck, the pile of dirty dishes, the paper I have to write.
The practice and intelligence of bringing ourselves back to the moment is, as they say, simple, but it's not easy.
We always try to set limits on ourselves by creating a structure, a story, an ideology, closing ourselves off from being open to everything that is really happening. These stories are so deeply ingrained into our neural pathways and sewn into the fabric of our families and society, that it seems impossible to shake ourselves out of them. When the stories override the evidence in front of us, what's happening right now, we have to let them go and pay attention; and act.
But, we can learn about ourselves by watching the machinations. Joko Beck reminds us about working with our life, right now. Everything is grist for the mill. There is no future when everything will finally be okay, just the stuff in our life right now - the dog barfing, the crick in my neck, the pile of dirty dishes, the paper I have to write.
The practice and intelligence of bringing ourselves back to the moment is, as they say, simple, but it's not easy.
We always try to set limits on ourselves by creating a structure, a story, an ideology, closing ourselves off from being open to everything that is really happening. These stories are so deeply ingrained into our neural pathways and sewn into the fabric of our families and society, that it seems impossible to shake ourselves out of them. When the stories override the evidence in front of us, what's happening right now, we have to let them go and pay attention; and act.
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