Unsettled....settling in

The first volunteer group that I will be helping coordinate arrived today.  So I figured I better get a post in tonight knowing that my next few days might be a little busy.

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my room....no, the AC does not work

I didn't like to admit it to myself, but my first day here was a mix of emotions.  Exciting.
Overwhelming.  Enjoyable.  Nervous.  Excited and eager for this amazing experience I
am about to have working in Haiti for a year.  Nervous for and overwhelmed by the start
of a new job, living in a new place, not knowing the language well enough.  While I have
been to Haiti many times before, it has always been to the same location.   I have stayed
in the same area.  Worked with the same people.  And developed strong relationships in
those areas.  But now I am in a new area, with a new organization, having to meet new
people, contribute to a new organization.  It seemed a little overwhelming to think of it
all at once.  I didn't want to admit it to myself, but at the end of the day I felt unsettled. 

But amid all of this worry, the comfort that I have become so familiar with has begun to
grow.  Eating the fried plantains I love so much.  Going for my morning runs.  Starting to
feel like "home" again.

However, there are many differences between Jacmel and Thomonde - the place where
I usually stay.

There is more development.  More people.  More infrastructure.  More foreigners.

One major difference is the beach.  In Thomonde, located in the mountains, you forget
that Haiti is even an island.  However, here in Jacmel, I am in a coastal city.

On Sunday night we were invited to eat at a beach-front restaurant that you most
certainly won't find in most areas in Haiti.  I had been told by many that Jacmel was
beautiful, but I don't think I was ready to experience it in this fashion.  I had mixed
emotions the beauty, the "voluntourists" and the luxury, all mixed in with the extreme
poverty.  Best I could, I reminded myself that part of my experience here is to show how
beautiful Haiti can be and is.  I just don't think I was quite ready to see it on day two.  

But after just a few days here, I feel like I am already beginning to thrive.  Starting to
build relationships with the staff.  Starting to feel like home.

I feel like my input is extremely valued by all fellow staff members of Community
Coalition for Haiti - I am truly grateful to have that.  While most of these first few days 
have been observing, learning, listening and asking questions, I am already doing things 
I didn't necessarily think I would be doing - reviewing blueprints, determining work-site 
activities for volunteer groups, etc.... but I love it.    

future home for local CCH employee

Touched down in Haiti

I am officially down in Jacmel, Haiti.  I don't think I have fully absorbed it yet, but I will be living here for the next year, working as the Resources Coordinator for Community Coalition for Haiti.

I am so grateful for this opportunity and thankful for all of the support I have from family, friends and co-workers.  My "farewell tour," as one of my friends put it, was very humbling.  It was another reminder that while I may be the one living here in Haiti, I could not be here without the support of my family, friends and former co-workers, whom I now call friends.

So how did I end up down here....

In June 2011, I made my first trip to Haiti.  I didn't know it at the time, but my life would be forever changed.

Originally from Connecticut, I went to undergrad at Merrimack College (North Andover, MA) and graduate school at California University of Pennsylvania (no, it's not in California…it's in a town in western PA called California).  At both schools, I majored in Athletic Training, with a focus on performance enhancement and teaching during my graduate studies.  I then went on to work in sports medicine and higher education for three years.  During this time I had the opportunity to go to Haiti in 2011 to start and develop the Haiti Service Learning Initiative at Merrimack College.  As my involvement and commitment to Haiti increased, I realized that there was no better feeling than being in the service of others.   I realized I needed  to help people in need on a full-time basis.

I set off to go to become a physician, left my job at Merrimack and started working as a trauma technician in an emergency department.  However, during this process, I realized that being a doctor was not what I truly wanted.  I realized that I needed to be immersed in the field of global health and development.  I wanted to spend all of my time working to with people in need to better their health and life outcomes.

four-seater flight into Jacmel

And that is how I ended up here in Haiti.  I absolutely love being here.  There are many challenges, yet so many rewards.  And it is all worth it.  In my role here as Resources Coordinator, I will be helping to support and develop the many areas that CCH has been working with the community to sustainably improve health and life outcomes - healthcare, education, development and outreach.  I am so excited and grateful for this opportunity, and I am looking forward to working with the CCH staff and members of the Jacmel community.

Kevin, 6/22