Thursday, June 13, 2013

Wrapping Things Up


Although I never miss a deadline or arrive unprepared to an exam, I do have a tendency to finish projects or preparations at the last minute. I am not a procrastinator, however I do take a while to arrive at a finished project as I like to ensure that I put hard work and effort to everything I do. As a result, it did not come as a surprise to me that on my last full day in Haiti I would still be finishing up surveys for my project. I had already completed the secondary school students, university students, and non-professional staff surveys, but this morning when I woke up I only had about half of the necessary professional staff surveys completed. While I had spent a great deal of time preparing to administer the survey and speaking with those that I surveyed, I realized today that I might have to speed up some of my work in order to get all necessary surveys completed before I left the country.

With this in mind, I left LCS with my translator as soon as possible this morning. By 9:00 AM we were back at the factory from yesterday, speaking with Deacon Moynihan’s friend about any remaining employees who fit the criteria for today’s survey. At 10:00 we had completed all the surveys we could at the factory, and discussed the plan for the day. One of the people who has been working closely with me on the survey and who had helped translated would go to the business that we went to last week to finish up the remaining surveys there while I travelled with Deacon Moynihan, my translator, and THP Board Member, Mark Bamford, over to Pétion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, to speak with someone from Sogebank.

Thanks to Deacon Moynihan’s connection of Robert Moscoso, Chairman and CEO of Sogebank, we were able to speak with Jean Bordes Châtel, General Controller of Sogebank. As an insider of the banking industry in Haiti, Robert Moscoso was able to answer many of my questions early on about how banks in Haiti function. He was also kind enough to defer some questions to Mr. Châtel who is also very knowledgeable. Mr. Châtel not only arrived at the meeting with typed answers to my questions, but he also brought with him some statistical data and a few presentations to reference. His preparations proved to be fruitful as I gained a clearer picture of the spending and financing habits of Haitians.

In an article written by Bill Clinton and elsewhere on the internet I have come across statements that claim that only 10% of Haitians have bank accounts. While Mr. Châtel confirmed that this may in fact be true, he pointed out that this is a percentage of all Haitians and not adult Haitians. When the category is narrowed to just include Haitian adults, the percentage is closer to 45%. This percentage was much more reassuring, and it also seemed to validate the answers that I was receiving on my survey. With almost half of the adult population having a bank account, the presence and potential for mobile banking can be viewed in a different light.

After this great meeting, we headed back to LCS’s campus. As I mentioned yesterday, the Boys’ Varsity Soccer team had their second and final match of the season today. After a quick change into shorts and a t-shirt, we left for the game. When I was in high school, I was a Referee for a recreational soccer league. I played travel soccer for about seven years, and I loved spending time around the fields watching games. As a recreational soccer Referee, I was required to be officially certified by FIFA, or the international soccer league. After about nineteen hours of a course, I knew the rules inside and out. With this experience, I offered to assist in the refereeing of today’s game. Since I left my lovely yellow uniform at home (I cannot imagine why I did not think to bring it), I was assigned to be a sideline Referee. Once at Saint-Louis de Gonzague, a boarding school in Delmas—another suburb of Port-au-Prince, I was able to meet the fellow Referees. With a little bit of a language gap, communication would be difficult, but luckily the FIFA rules are universal, along with the hand signals in order to make a call.

The game was incredibly competitive. As I mentioned yesterday, the two teams are rivals, and I could immediately sense the degree of intensity on the field. I was also glad that I do not understand Kreyól, as the boys on the opposing team were definitely trying to give me a hard time as a female Referee. From the way in which the boys carried themselves on the field and on the sidelines, it was evident that the LCS players had a better understanding of how to conduct themselves properly and of the concept of respect. The opposing team had a lot to say to the center Referee, and after a minor shoving incident on the field, there was a period of about five minutes in which members of Saint-Louis de Gonzague were arguing a call. As I had no clue what they were saying, I stayed out of it, and was thoroughly impressed with all of the LCS players for continuing to handle themselves in a respectful manner. Despite all of this excitement, LCS WON!!! The final score was 2 – 0, and I was happy that all of their hard work paid off (even though I could not show favorites during the course of the game). Definitely a great way to finish up their season!

After the game, I headed over to the Moynihan house for dinner along with another volunteer and Mark Bamford. Dinner was delicious as usual, and afterwards the rest of the Volunteers joined us for a little while. It was great to spend time with everyone one last time, but I unfortunately had to leave early to track down the remaining surveys and pack my suitcase.

I am so blessed to have been welcomed into such an amazing community, and I cannot believe that my time here is coming to an end. I will leave campus around 11:00 AM tomorrow to head to the airport, and it will definitely be a bittersweet moment. With my busy schedule here, I am shocked at how quickly these three and a half weeks have gone by. Although I am excited to return home to my family, I do not want this amazing experience to come to an end.

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