Day 4: A Hitchhiker's Guide to Titanyen

Forty five minutes in a vehicle that equals a school bus plus and iron cage plus a motion sickness machine. That is how we began our Thursday morning as we headed up the mountains to Titanyen, the home town of Grace Village. That was our first stop. Here we toured the school and medical center.

Starting with the feeding center, a building that feeds over 450 people, and is decorated in exactly 5000 fish paintings, we went through the various structures and classrooms that are part of the school. We went through the transition homes, which help teach kids how to assimilate into adult life once they are eighteen. We visited the aquaponics center, where we learned how the combination of fish, tomatoes, and PVC pipe can equal a self-sustaining system of gardening, that produces both good crops and good fish. Fish happen to be very expensive in Haiti.

The entire place was amazing. Compared to Port-au-Prince, Grace Village was a paradise. I, for one, was blessed by the huge amount of work put into this place, and what joy it was bringing the Haitians there.

After moving the tap-tap very slowly down the hill that is the driveway, we headed into town to visit some elderly people who live there and are served by Grace Village. We sang to them and prayed for them, and washed their feet and hands. We then headed over to Shalom Orphanage, also in town, where we discovered how to entertain Haitian kids by blowing huge bubbles. 

Sufficiently tired, we headed back on the tap-tap to the guest house. If it weren't for the bumpiness of the ride, I am sure that most of us would have fallen asleep. Having returned to the guest house, we had a delicious meal of local Haitian food, and prepared for a long relaxing evening.

Good night, Haiti.   

-Aiden & Collin