Today was definitely one of the most touching days we've ever experienced. We started out the day with breakfast made by the lovely Haitian ladies in the house, and our morning meeting like usual. We got ready for our first water truck day, and as first timers, we really didn't know what to expect. We all loaded up in the tap tap and got on our way to Cite Soleil, which is one of the poorest cities in the Western hemisphere. As we drove up, we saw so much trash at every corner of the streets. It made us reflect and think about how different our culture is in the United States and how blessed we are to have access to clean water whenever we need it. Also, as we drove up into the town we saw the kids yelling "hey you, hey you" and jumping around for us. As we loaded off the tap tap, the kids immediately came running up to us and jumping on us wanting to be picked up and loved on. As for those who don't know how the water truck works, it's a large truck with a hose that we use to fill up their buckets. This is the only access they have to water so they use it for bathing, cooking, washing clothes, etc. Throughout our day, we had three different water truck stops in Cite Soleil.
In between stops we were able to stop and tour Hope church, school, clinic, and Innovation Lab. The Innovation Lab was a small pod which is known to the students as the "technology pod". They have 25 Ipads, 10 Macbooks, 5 32 inch TV's, and 2 52 inch TV's all linked to an Apple TV. This Innovation Lab is the first of its kind with the best technology education in the world. This was neat to see in such a poor country. The purpose is to educate the kids here in Cite Soleil appropriately to help them be the future of Haiti. One of our other stops was at the pier. We went there to take a group picture by the ocean and to play with the children. The ocean bay wasn't clear like most ocean water. There was also trash floating on top of the water. There were kids running around without clothes. The sight of that really was heartbreaking for all of us.
To unwind after a long hot day, we went back to the guesthouse to shower. We then had the opportunity to walk over to a market set up by neighborhood artisans. Many of the things were handmade, like bracelets, necklaces, paintings, and many more items.
Ally, Ashley, & Dana
