Trouble comes to our mountain

Katherine Harrison

June 13, 2023

Bandits have arrived

In our recent newsletter, I mentioned that Piton had welcomed families fleeing the violence in Port-au-Prince. They left everything behind, got out of town, and ended up in Piton. At first I knew of ten extra students in the Piton Community School. That number has increased to 31. Our clinic is busier than ever; not only from cholera outbreaks and cold/flu season, but because more people from other areas of the mountain are coming to our clinic. They don't want the risk of traveling to nearby Petit Goâve.

The political situation in Haiti has been deteriorating since 2019. The Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July 2021, and the government has spiraled ever since. I've been asked many times how our village is doing in the face of all the violence and government upheaval. My answer has always been the same: sometimes it's good to live on a mountaintop in an agrarian community. Things that happen in the larger cities rarely affect the day-to-day life of villagers. They've been affected by occasional riots in other towns and roaring inflation, but not directly threatened.

Until now.

Now our friends have confirmed the presence of bandits on the mountain and in the nearest village to Piton. Just last night (12 June 23), there were five policemen patrolling in and around Piton. At least one person has been arrested. Samuel has been meeting with leaders of nearby villages and organizations to work together for protection. It will be an ongoing process that is happening right now as I type and will likely end up with us hiring security for the school.

I work to post calmly and give updates in ways that aren't overly emotional or alarmist. But at this moment I'm alarmed. Perhaps the arrival of gang members to our calm area of Haiti was inevitable? Makes it no less scary. The level and ferocity of the violence around the country has been astonishing. I've allowed myself a measure of a sense of security based solely on the isolated situation of our friends. I'm afraid that's not the case any longer.

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Current Needs (will be updated):

$1,200 for lighting repairs. Currently we are in need of repairing lights on the outside of the school. We use a solar panel/generator array that provides a small amount of light in the evenings. For security, Samuel is being advised to repair the lighting on the outside of the school and likely to add more. The ATI building we built in 2017-18 is just feet behind the school. If security is hired for the village, that person will likely be based in the ATI building.
$1,100 for medication. As mentioned above, our clinic is serving more people than ever. We're covering Piton, Piton West, and now people from down the mountain are coming to the ATI clinic because they don't feel safe making the hour-long trip to nearby Petit Goâve. A majority of the problems presented to our clinic are minor issues and easy to treat. But we need medications; we are going through our supply faster than ever this year.

Aid to Infrastructure is blessed to have a core group of dedicated, engaged donors who respond quickly when I reach out for assistance. We are still here only by the grace of God and their generosity! Occasional donors, if you haven't given for a while, and you are able -- now is the time.

If you are in the medical field, please consider giving towards medication and supplies. Below are photos of recent patients.
If you're a monthly giver, can you increase your amount by 20%?
If you're not a monthly giver, and are able to become one, please do. Monthly giving - on any level - adds to consistent revenue that we can depend on to keep things running smoothly.

Regardless, please keep our mountain and the whole country of Haiti in your prayers. The future is uncertain but we'll face it together.