When we got back from our immersions, we began to get more involved in the work that we will be doing for the rest of the year. For example, Beth is doing tons of stuff at Fon Ibo School. She is helping in the computer classes, working on raising money to build several playgrounds, and coordinating with the principal to start a school library. Frankie, who is interested in mental health and social work is helping out at the "Maison du Bon Samaritain" (House of the Good Samaritan). This is a residence for mostly elderly people as well as those with other medical needs who do not have the necessary support.
And then there's me. It looks like I'm going to be working in several different fields - which is actually exactly how I wanted to spend my year here - working in as many areas as possible with the hopes that one would stick out and speak to me and help me figure out where I'm going. I am going to be doing some microfinance work (more on that later) as well as working with the 3rd Grade at Fon Ibo school to develop an art program (more on that later too!). Because of my interest in the environment as well as my background in Environmental Science, I will likely be doing some things in this area as well. For example, we are in the early stages of starting an environmental education program in some local schools. Besides this, I will hopefully get the chance to do some work with Sr. Pat, who is very involved in environmental issues in the area. Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to accompany her to a conference that was happening in Greppin, a town on the other side of the river, about a 20 minute drive from here. The topic of this conference was...goats! I knew nothing about goats before coming here, other than the fact that they make incredible cheese, but I figured it would be educational, interesting and a great way to practice Creole. Goats are also very prevalent here, and an important part of the local economy, so I thought the information may prove to be beneficial at a later date.
Goats are an integral part of the local Haitian economy and crucial for families that are living in poverty. They act as a kind of security system that grows over time. Goats can be sold to provide instant income. Breeding provides long-term stability because of the continual replenishing of food or income. They can be killed to be sold as meat, or eaten to provide nutritious meals. They are relatively easy to take care of, eat a wide variety of foods and reproduce several times a year. I believe that the coordinator of the Goat Summit, Rhoda, called goats “the Haitian bank account.”
The first two days were attended by goat farmers/experts and leaders of different community organizations. I sat in on the second day where the main themes of the Summit were discussed in great detail and presentations on these topics for the following day were organized. Four main topics were chosen by the group that were thought to be the most important for people who are raising and maintaining goats. They were food, health, management of habitat and the potential for milk consumption. Some other minor topics were discussed as well, such as how to choose healthy goats in the market and some breeding issues (I got a brief genetics lesson in Creole during this part). On the third day, people from all over Haiti joined together to learn this information with the goal that they would bring this back to their own community and reach out to others.
It was an extremely interesting experience. Although I would not consider myself to be an expert, I would say that I know a whole lot more about goats now than I did before. I was very surprised at how much I was able to understand. I would guess that I was able to get maybe 75-80% of what they were saying. The other 20%, I could kind of figure out based on the pictures that were drawn or the few words that I did understand. I could give you tons of information (in Creole of course), but I'll just give you some of the fun facts that I learned.
Fun Fact 1: There are over 50 varieties of grasses, trees, and seasonal plants that goats like to eat. These include napier grass (napye), sugar cane leaves (fey kann), avocado (zaboka), hibiscus (choublak), peanut (pistach), and corn (mayi). Their favorite food, however, is called "doliv." According to the Wikipedia page, the English names for doliv (Moringa oleifera, stenopetala) are moringa, the drumstick tree, the horseradish tree and the benzoil tree. I had never heard of it before, but I’m pretty sure if doesn’t grow in North American climates.
Fun Fact 2: When choosing goats in the market, there are many things that you should check. For example, the back of the goat should not be too slanted (do dwat), they should have pink gums (jansiv woz) and pink under their eyes (anba je li ta dwe woz). If they have white under their eyes, they are suffering from anemia. (I knew this from when I was working in the clinic. I was so excited that I was able to use information from one thing I did and apply it to a totally new situation!) You should also check the teeth to verify age and size. You can tell the age of the goat by looking at the size of the lower middle teeth (they change as they grow older), and the size of the goat should correspond with the age. If they are comparatively small, then they are likely undernourished and a bad investment.
Fun Fact 3: Goats can get a variety of diseases. Some of these are preventable with vaccinations, but some have to be treated on a case-by-case basis with antibiotics and other medications. Common diseases are tetanòs (tetanus), parazit anndan (parasites inside), parazit deyò (parasites outside), atrit (arthritis), chabon (not sure what this is in English), and klamidiya (potentially chlamydia, but I’m not sure).
Fun Fact 4: Although there are tons of female goats here, who have lots of babies, people do not often collect goat milk, either for drinking or other purposes. Several organizations are looking into tapping into this market. I learned that goat milk is very similar to human milk and is thus easier to digest and can be very beneficial and nutritious. I learned that you can milk a goat twice a day, 12 hours apart, and that dipping the utter in warm water makes the milking process much easier.
There are hopes that this information will be passed onto local goat farmers throughout Haiti for more productive farming. I believe there are plans to have a similar kind of meeting for farmers here in Gros Morne and, potentially, for some kids to start raising goats. It is also possible that the women who received micro-loans may move into goat farming after establishing solid loan repayment. I’m still not certain, but I’ll be sure to keep you all posted!
Some pictures from the Summit!
We went rummaging in the grounds to find some examples of plants goats can eat. We ended up finding a bunch.
It's a little difficult to see, but the black marks on the map of Haiti are all the places represented at the Summit.
Milking the goat!
The milk we got!
One of the classrooms when we were divided into groups.
Learning about the different habitats goats can be raised in.
The building the Summit was held in. There was a large classroom at one end and many bedrooms that some of the people attending the meeting stayed in.
Our way back into Gros Morne.
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