DAY 5: CUTCO TEAM AND THE GIANT TRUCKS OF BOXES
After we’d rushed Lele to the hospital, we were able to turn our attention to another task at hand. Three enormous (and fantastically decorated) trucks were backing up into the CLC, nearly bursting with cargo.
Three huge trucks like this one full of boxes pulled up to Christ Love Center
The unloading efforts were massive.
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Think of how exciting it is to receive a package you’ve been waiting for in the mail. Then multiply that into 3 huge trucks the size of a house full of boxes. Understandably, the delivery was cause for great excitement. The workers’ response was celebratory and playful: assembly lines formed to move the boxes quickly and the young men were practically singing as they unloaded and organized. Boxes without breakable contents were merrily tossed and caught, and there was lots of laughter. The energy of the whole group was palatable. Andy and I were struck by the enthusiasm and energy. This crew of thirty or so young men could get massive amounts of work done with the right organization. Haiti is full of natural resources, but its best resource is unarguably its brilliant and irrepressible youth.
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The woman responsible for all this is named Isabelle. She lives in Connecticut and has been able to convince her entire town to adopt Jacmel. They focus on the town as a “sister” or “partner” town and have plans for building a school in the near future. The trucks hold 1200 boxes of supplies, and all are from Isabelle’s connections. What if more US towns would adopt Haitian towns like Jacmel?
Isabelle
The Cutco crew joined in to help.
Heather and Susan help unload the boxes
Susan and Andy
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Andy and Noah enjoy the playful attitude of the staff
Susan and one of the hired unloaders
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Noah helps unload the trucks
Susan and Heather help unload
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With the help of the Cutco team, we were able to unload more than 1200 boxes of clothing, gatorade, food, and emergency supplies into the CLC for storage and later distribution. A later post will show the distribution of some supplies in a nearby tent city in Jacmel.
Next post: more clinic work
