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We set out on the 20-minute drive to Raboteau, one of the most impoverished areas of Gonaives. In this seaside village, connected to the world by a thin ribbon of rocky road with small fishing boats bobbing in the distance, families live in thatched or blocked homes slightly larger than the size of a typical office elevator. Most of the people I saw owned only the clothes on their backs, and those were frayed and grimy. Most did not wear shoes. In terms of their other material possessions, many only owned a few tin dishes, a frying pan and a bed. The look in the people's eyes reflected the struggle of their daily lives.
 | | A girl stands in front of her home in Raboteau.
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For the people of Raboteau, life is a constant struggle. Malnutrition is a chronic problem among children. A trip to a clean water source is generally a time-consuming daily chore. In the recent past, worsening sanitary conditions were causing more and more cases of severe diarrhea among pre-school children. According to Yvon Messeroux, CARE's infrastructure manager, "Raboteau needed and continues to need serious help."
Three years ago, CARE offered to help the community of Raboteau. The first issue addressed was the severe drainage problem. The community accepted. Since then, CARE has built a strong presence and trust within Raboteau.
"The smell of sewage was unbearable, and dengue and malarial mosquitoes were everywhere," Messeroux said. "Conditions were terrible, even by Haiti's standards. No one should have had to live like that."
 | | Raboteau resident Joel Constant and his family. |
Messeroux, who has worked with CARE for 12 years, led me to a town meeting where 26-year-old Raboteau resident Joel Constant stood up and explained that the whole area used to frequently flood with waist-high waters. Vehicles couldn't make it to town. Locals often were cut off from the outside world with no work and little food and supplies. "My daughter couldn't even go to school because it was flooded," said Constant in a deep, flat voice.
Working with CARE, some 70 members of the local community have been participating in a rehabilitation effort to build up the town's roads and install drainage canals. Among them is Constant, who has been given rations of food for himself and his family in exchange for his work. Like most of the community, Constant did not have a job. The food-for-work program, however, provided him with training in masonry, a trade that he now uses to modestly support his family.
As we walked through town, we came upon a group finishing the construction  | | Raboteau locals participating in CARE's food-for-work program work on a drainage canal. |
of a drainage canal. They worked quietly as a team to lay a reinforced steel frame to support concrete. Even though the old stench of waste still filled the air, the streets were dry and the children were in school.
Leaving Raboteau that night, we drove about five hours into the country to CARE's office in Lafond. The roads were terrible. At times I thought I would bounce through the roof. There was no electricity so it was pitch dark with an occasional spark of fire in the distance. The Lafond office also serves as a guesthouse and was where we spent the night. Continue to Day 4.
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