Declan’s Haven Haiti Diary 2015 -Day 1

Haven Haiti Diary 2015 – Day 1: We are on our way! Got up at 4.15 am and with everything packed from last night we were able to get away quickly.

Last check Passport, wallet, phone! After a 35 min spin to the Airport I met up with the Haven team at T2. So many smiling faces at 5.30 am and already working as a team using up every spare Kg of space.

Great to see familiar faces from previous trips and that all are still motivated in terms of wanting to get out there ASAP to start the work.

The Haven Team as always have everything in hand and it’s only a couple of hours and we are on our way. Our cargo is safely checked in and consists of tools for the work we are to do, toys, clothes for the children and some materials for the orphanage we will be working near.

There are 32 people traveling this time of all ages and fairly evenly divided between males and females. Countries represented include Ireland, UK, U.S. and Canada. The ‘5 Towns Inn’ in New York has been designated as the meeting point for all the volunteers and we get there at about 1.30 after a pleasant flight.

This is my first time heading for Ile a Vache and I can’t wait to see it. Those who have been there before tell me that it’s a beautiful island off the coast but that the poverty is no less severe for the residents who are basically living in houses cobbled together from tin, waste wood and tarpaulin. There are 2,500 such ‘houses’ and Haven have a goal to refurbish them all. So far they have secured enough funding to have completed the first 1,000 and are now actively fundraising for funds to do another 500.

The stop off in New York is an inconvenience as it delays our arrival by a day however there is no other choice as no direct flights are a ails me. It gives time though for some catch up time with some team members that I haven’t met in a long while. There are also three new volunteers and it’s great to see that the project is capturing the minds of people who haven’t done this before and want to make a difference.

The stop in New York also gives us an opportunity to purchase any supplies that we have forgotten and after a visit to K Mart all is sorted again.

We have some dinner together in a local diner and after a couple of beers in ‘Bridie O’s’ a local Irish pub we return early as the jet lag is kicking in. Believe it or not everyone (including me!) is in bed before midnight which is really well behaved although we realize that it’s a 5am call for a 6 am departure for the airport so no one wants to delay the bus.

Tomorrows flight to Port Au Prince is about 3 hours and we don’t want to miss it.

If you would like to help support Declan and Haven in their build, log on to Declan’s Charity page where you can donate. All donations welcome.

by Declan Murphy