So we made it to Haiti just fine. Long day of travel.  Got set up in camp, had oe iner, and then a few cold beers.  just finished breakfast, and off to the build site soon.   it is overcast, and hope it stays that way!

Blackberry is really tought with blogger.  i probably won't post too much, sorry.

Ready to go!

So Tony and I made it to Atlanta; we fly out to Haiti at 6:30 tomorrow morning. bogger is not letting me upload pics, but ill try again in Haiti.  I will try to get on a pC once we get to camp. Maybe better than BlackBerry. We will see!

Well, it's that time of year again.  Back to Haiti for the second (and final) round of the Habitat for Humanity Jimmy Carter Work Project.  I was able to coerce a friend, and fellow VW colleague, Tony Cooke, to join me this year.  Hopefully he won't hate me when we get back :).

This Friday, we fly to Atlanta for orientation, and then off to Port au Prince on Saturday morning.  We begin the build the build on Sunday morning, and finish on Friday.  The final 100 homes.  Tony and I will be joined by about 600 of our closest friends, as well as President and Mrs. Carter.

This year we will bealso joined by a large group from Haven Partnership in Ireland.  Haven worked the build site last year before our arrival, and some of them stayed around for another week to staff the mess hall and continue the build.  I am thrilled to have the whole Haven group joining us this year.  We would have starved to death last year without the Irish!

I am hoping to update this blog daily, provided my camera and communication network is as good as it was last year.  If not, you get to hear all about it when I get back.  I know our team is much better prepared this year, and know exactly what to expect.  FYI, below are links to both the HfH and Haven websites that talk more about the project.

http://www.habitat.org/cwp/2012

http://www.havenpartnership.com/

All the Best,
John

Last Pics, I Promise. Be Careful, I might Drag You Along Next Year.....

OK, a Few More......

A Few More Last Pics

Home

finally getting back to my normal routine. lots of questions about my experience from friends, co-workers, etc. all of them make me think of what we accomplished while in haiti. the situation there will not change overnight, but being able to help 500 families who lost almost everything is a pretty good place to start. it will take time, money, and lots of work to get haiti back on track, and i plan to be a small part of that.

i made some great new friends in haiti. it is nice to know so many people are willing to sacrifice just a little of their time and energy for such a great cause. to my new friends from broward county habitat (and beyond, you know who you are), thanks for welcoming me into you group. It made my time there even more valuable. to linda, you were a great leader, with not the easiest task. to the irish folks from haven partnership, thanks for the great food and drink, and for just being irish. to my other friends and co-workers, thanks for the experience; it is one i will never forget. to the carter family and habitat, thanks for the opportunity; you do amazing things. and lastly, thanks to the haitian people for being such gracious hosts. i will never forget the smiles and waves, particularlly from the children. i am already planning for my return trip in 2012! attached are a few more of my favorite pics from the weeks. feel free to share if you like!

all the best,

john

Done!

wow, what a week. totally exhausted, but all houses are up! some are done, some need finishing (i.e. windows/doors installed, etc.), but they are up!

probably some of the hardest physical labor i have ever done, but very gratifying. the carters came to each house at the end of the day, and we turned over the houses to the new owners. an emotional day. here is a pic of president carter at our house.

we are all enjoying a (well deserved) beer with our irish friends from haven partnership. they did a super job of keeping us well fed all week. my hat is off to them.

we are getting up to "good morning vietnam" at 3:00 am for the journey home, four hours from now. i will end tonight with that, but will gather my thoughts and photos when home for a final post.

this is an amazing country with wonderful people. i probably got more from this than the the hatians did, and i hope you all take a minute to learn about the country, and the many ways to help. thanks again for following, and see you all soon!

One more day!

another scorcher today, but more progress. most houses now have a roof on them. one of today's pics shows the progress. busy last day friday. we leav e for the site at 5:45 am. we need to finished by 3:30 for the photos with the carters and new owners. then back to camp for a short sleep. 3:00 am wake up call on saturday for the trip home.

pics above show what the finished homes will look like (when painted), end of the day progress, and a couple of the guys (luc and mark) from a canadian-american contingent that helped with some roofing (thanks guys).

Thursday begins!

a "fairly" quiet evening back at the camp. i think yesterday really drained a lot of people (me included). unfortunately, one of our team had to head back to the usa early. hopefully, we will pick up a few extra bodies today.

attached is a picture of my friends linda and rob. linda is our build leader. she has been great to work with. i wish i had half of her energy......

also pics of our team member karen working on the house, and another of the river we pass every day on the bus ride. you can always see people bathing, doing laundry, etc. more to come!

Another day done!

and a wicked hot one it was. not a cloud in the sky, and basically no breeze. to "top" things off (wait for it....) i was up on the roof most of the day. things are moving along pretty well, but the heat continues to bring people down. the pace was definitely slower today. they say day three is typically the worst. i hope so....

today's pics are just some random photos. school children in their impecable clothes, which in and of itself is amazing. a house detroyed in the quake, abandoned. new haitian president martelly at the build site. i will post more tonight or tomorrow. thanks for reading!

Good progress today

so we were a little behind the 8 ball today. down two people with some health issues. better safe than sorry; it has been really hot! end of day, we caught up to most of the houses.

great night back at camp. a private garth brooks/trisha yearwood concert. i am not the biggest country fan in the world, but the show was great. i have a huge amount of respect for both. no showbiz; they both pound nails with the rest of us. and they served food for dinner! not your typical "a" listers.

off to sleep, but i will try and upload pics in the morning.

lunchtime!

never did i think ham and cheese on bread would taste this good. houses are coming along nicely! third pic is of claudette and willy. he will be the owner of our second house. a family of 5 in a 180 sq ft home.

Start of Day 2!!!

so i have to say, i feel better than expected this morning. slept well, and i don't hurt as much as i thought. good breakfast this morning; bacon and eggs!

lots of heatstroke yesterday. we lost one of our team members to the heat by 9:30am. so we were shorthanded pretty much all day. but we managed.

got to party with garth brooks and trisha yearwood for a bit last night. wonderful people.

attached are a few new "friend" pics from last night. the second is a lovely tarrantula (sp?) that was on the shower wall. only about the size of a softball. yay. off to the work site now. more to follow!

Day 1 Finished!!!

well, i gotta say, that was about the hardest day of physical labor i can remember. it hurts my fingers to type. only 4 days to go! the team did a great job today. today's pics include one of me and claudette, the ftutre homeowner, one shot from the beginning of the day, and one at work end. i imagine the cold can of haitian beer i plan to drink in a couple of hours will taste simply fab! talk to you soon, and thanks for reading!

The work week begins!

so i survived by first night sleeping in a mosquito net! actually slept pretty well. was up at 5:00am for breakfast (pic attached). yummy porridge. i have also attached a pic of the model house we will be buiding. i will post more after today's build.

My new friend Andres

from my miami

please feel secure.....

camp guards.....

and I can't forget the deluxe accomodations

the haiti hilton!

all checked in!

got to the camp about 2:00pm this afternoon. primitive accomodation is being generous. at least the mess hall is nice! they have a social area too, with what appears to be a pub! pics are of the camp, showers, retaurant and pub.