Progress in Haiti

Yesterday morning, I heard yet another news report about how so much money has been spent in Haiti, and how there is nothing to show for it. I think we all share the same frustration, but I also wish that journalists would come and visit our project and see the hundreds of kilometres of soil conservation barriers that have been built on hundreds of hectares of land, the thousands of trees that have been planted and are thriving, hear the stories of the thousands of families who have received crops seed, tools, and jobs. It's not nothing. Lives have (it may be going too far to say 'saved') been stabilized, vulnerable land protected, farms have been made productive. Yes of course I'm defensive, because I have been a part of the earthquake response effort, but I just feel that the press is looking at this thing the wrong way. I challenge any journalist who was there in the early days after the quake--and I know there were swarms of them, I saw them myself--to recall just how grim and overwhelming those days were. Personally, I think the relief response was pretty incredible. In those early days, the country was at a tipping point, and things could have easily been much worse. In fact there was no major starvation, no collapse of the transportation or communication system, no widespread violence, and no major disease outbreak (cholera came later and is non-earthquake related). All of these were predicted, and none happened. So in fact journalists claiming that nothing has happened in Haiti is in a sense, a good thing. Of course, it is hard to prove a negative, but I think the relief efforts contributed significantly to ensuring that nothing happened. Yes, we've still got a long long way to go, and I too am frustrated, but I invite any journalist or other skeptic to please come and visit our project and still go home and say that nothing has been done. We are small, granted, but there are hundreds of efforts just like ours all across the country, that are doing something, and at least set the stage for families to build a better future. (assuming there is not another Biblical-scale plague)

A work crew in Fonds Verrettes, Haiti, posing next to a soil erosion barrier they had just built.

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So here's the full story on the baboon in Tarangire:

There is a specified lunch spot where all the park visitors eat, and each tour typically provides box lunches. At this particular site there are picnic tables set up along the edge of an a beautiful outlook from where you can see a river below and a large section of the park. The guides were just beginning to set out the white cardboard lunch boxes when I noticed that there was a rather large baboon (like the one in the picture, but not that one), sort of slowly making his way up the incline at the edge of the outlook toward our table. At this point he was still on the other side of the chest-high fence at the edge of the outlook. So I then said to the guide, "There's a baboon coming." and by the time I had finished that sentence, the baboon had suddenly sprung from gradual mode, and was on the picnic table, a distance of about 4 metres, with a lunch box in his hands. The guide, out of reflex probably more than anything, made a grab for the lunch box, and the baboon bared his very scary and large teeth with much hissing. All of us, inculding the baboon took a leap back, but the baboon maintained hold of the lunch, and quickly retreated back over the fence and back down the incline beyond the edge of the lookout. The whole incident was over in probably less than 5 seconds. I was amazed at how quickly the baboon could move. Not only that, but also the cleverness of his approach. He moved as slowly as possible as he edged up the incline so as not to be noticed, but as soon as I started to speak, it was like he recognized he had been discovered and knew he had to strike quickly. It's a good think he wasn't intent on attacking people, because I don't think anyone would have much chance against something so fast and intelligent, armed with those sharp teeth. Everyone had a good laugh after about our 'Tarangire Experience', a story which I am certain will improve with age.

A different, but similarly large baboon eating pods of the sausage tree, a natural alternative to tourist lunch boxes.

I regret not having been able to post more often on this trip. Been lots to share, but just no access. Probably my favourite story so far is the baboon that stole a lunch box from us in Tarangire National park. The details of this are worth expanding on, and I will share with you as per your interest, but suffice it to say that the staff here are now referring to it as the "Tarangire Experience"

Wheels off

I thought we had dropped into the ditch, except that the landcruiser was still on the road. The driver managed to bring it to a stop without losing control as we watched the left rear wheel go rolling by into an open field. This is a first time for me. Not just a blow out, but all the bolts on the axle shearing off and the the entire rim and tire leaving the vehicle. None of us could really come

up with a totally satisfying explanation.

Wheels down (?)

So is the opposite of wheels up, wheels down. It was an uneventful, (and therefore good) flight, where the highlight was trying to figure out how you pronounce the name of the airport in Amsterdam...

Wheels up

I'm really liking the phrase 'wheels up', which seems to have migrated from the military to civilian life. Or at least you hear it in movies and on TV: "Wheels up at 0300 hours" etc. I like it so much I resolve to start using it in regular speech, beginning with this post, since I go wheels up this afternoon. Destination Africa. Or would that be the LZ?...