Notes from a one-man relief effort
Hermosa shopkeeper Bryce Toney works to rebuild a Haitian orphanage. Photo by Rebekah Jenkins
A Haitian girl relaxes on an orphanage bed. Photo by Rebekah Jenkins
Editor’s note: Bryce Toney, owner of the Curious store on upper Pier Avenue, was so moved by January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti that he raised donations from friends and loved ones and flew there, to put the money and his building skills to the best use possible.
He wound up about 20 miles from Port-au-Prince at an orphanage and school run by the Mission of Hope, in Grand Goave, where the vast majority of buildings had been destroyed. Toney has spent long days helping to rebuild and resupply the mission facility, along the way falling in love with the sunny-spirited children and adults.
He has seen birth and death, dined with Sri Lankans from the United Nations, and witnessed the buoyancy of a people, including a sky-minded boy who can make a kite out of just about anything, and an engineering-minded boy who scavenges for tiny cast-off electrical items and somehow gets them working.
Email dispatches from Toney, trimmed and lightly edited, tell the tale:
Wednesday, March 3
Wow, what a trip my friends. I have never seen such devastation, and quite honestly so much poverty. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have said the same had I arrived before the quake. I’ve met the kindest people. Little kids come up and hug me off the streets – even before they know I might have chocolate in my pocket, ha-ha.
It’s hot, around 90. The ocean is my safe haven, I can see it down a long street when necessary. I plan to jump in tomorrow. I’m here with some wonderful Germans and a guy from Massachusetts. All nice folks, but no one who knows how to play cards yet!
Tuesday, March 9
Things are going well here, these people are amazing. I’m learning so much from them, very strong willed people, and almost always a smile on their faces.
The work is hard, very hard, and without many supplies. With some of the funds I raised we built outdoor toys for the kids. You should have seen their faces. I think the tire swing was their fave, and the easiest. Wood is hard to come by, and very expensive.
I also used the funds I gathered to build a roof over the showers and toilets at the school. Where I’m staying is the Mission of Hope. They lost most everything, except the office where Renee and Lex, the founders, live with their kids Alexis and A.J.
Now they have all the workers like me, as well as most of the staff, living there. I mean it went from maybe five people to now 20 under the same roof. We actually sleep on the beach in a tent, but leave all the bags at the office.
A new baby is 3 weeks old, born a couple of weeks after the earthquake! Tiny, probably 5 pounds at best. There were also twins born the other day. The father has a very badly broken leg he got when his home fell in on him.
Believe me when I say these are not lazy people looking for a handout, they work very hard. Yesterday I helped unload 17,000 pounds of rice, beans and oil. They carry two 50-pound bags on their heads, while I barely carry one with a struggle.
Since I arrived I have experienced many overwhelming emotions that bring me to tears. I can’t really explain it, I just get this feeling that is stronger than I can control. Feelings I don’t understand that almost pain me, and need to get out. Tears are what come. I think I’ll try meditating here soon, in hopes that it relieves some of the emotions I’m experiencing. It’s not at all a bad experience, just an emotional one, one like I have never experienced.
Thursday, March 11
Today is hot, very hot. I’m taking some time off this morning to recover from yesterday. I exhausted myself pretty badly working in the sun and dust. We built windows and doors in just a few hours.
Before we even finished them, they were filling the room with 20,000 pounds of rice, beans and oil from the good old USA. Makes me proud to be an American to see all the supplies we provide.
There is very little that grows here. They produce enough to feed only 10 percent of the population. I’m not sure what the solution is for that, but I’m working on it. LOL.
Friday, March 12
Wow, where to begin. It’s been just over a week I’ve been here, and I can certainly say I’ve never accomplished so much in any other week in my life. And I keep pretty busy at home!
Today we took the kids on a field trip, which was hiking to the top of the mountain to a mango tree, and letting them play. They were so happy. They fought to see who would get carried by one of the missionaries.
…The boy with the kite is amazing. Wherever we are he’s always building a small kite and has it with him. In the middle of dust and destruction, he’ll be flying a small kite of plastic, sticks, strips of cloth and string tied together.
Another kid, Augly, takes light bulbs and batteries he finds, and somehow attaches wire and makes them work. Today he found a single light bulb off of Christmas tree lights, a blinking one, and had just enough wire to make it work and even blink, a bonus for him I’m sure.
Monday, March 15
Tonight was pretty darn special. Through the Mission of Hope I got invited to have dinner with the officers of the UN here in Haiti. Apparently the UN keeps the (volunteering) countries together, for example the segment here in Grand Goave is all from Sri Lanka.
I definitely felt like a celebrity, they seem to love Americans. I of course tried to include the servers, which are the soldiers. Here in Grand Goave they have six officers and 500 soldiers. They all come for six-month terms. At first the soldiers were hesitant to join us, but once the officers saw how much we enjoyed including them, they gave the okay to join us.
They are all Buddhist; I learned tonight that they pray all day on the full moon. That may just be when they’re away from home? They were a great group of people. You can just feel a sense of inner peace in them.
They are a very creative people. They take all the cardboard and make designs that are used around their accommodations. Kind of like molding that is decorative. Hard to explain, but easy to enjoy. They even use the trimmings from the dinners’ fruits and vegetables and carve flowers.
I haven’t seen the kids at the orphanage in a day. I’m missing them.
Next: the loss of a baby, a saltwater field trip, three palm leaf necklaces ER