Finns reaching out

19/04/2010 12:00

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Life in Haiti: scout office on the soccer field

Two scout leaders from Turku, Finland, traveled to Haiti to see what scouts had accomplished in 2 months after the earthquake, which killed as many as 220,000 people.“The capital of Haiti Port-au-Prince is full of huge camps where people live. At some camps the scouts are responsible for security, and at some camps the scouts arrange meaningful activities and provide a safe place, where the parents can leave their children for care during the day. Schools have collapsed”, explains Mikko Hongell, who represents scout troop Turun Mikaelin Siniset in Finland.

Right after the earthquake the local scouts took part in rescue operations: to the best of their ability they provided first aid, helped clear the debris, and assisted in distributing food and water. And the impending monsoon season is the reason for stepping up the measures further more."Three camps where tens of thousands of people live need to be moved since they are under the threat of being flooded. Scouts are cooperating with UNICEF and safeguarding the children during the move,” continues Viljami Hätönen.

From sailing in the Caribbean to the disaster area

Sea scouts Mikko and Viljami were set to sail in the Caribbean on tall ship Helena when they heard news of the earthquake which hit Haiti. ”We had very ambivalent feelings about going on a sailing trip, when we knew that within a few hundred kilometers there was so much distress,” said the sea scouts explaining the background of their trip.In the middle of March they traveled to Port-au-Prince for a week. Together, with the National Association of Scouting in Haiti they agreed to document on video, everything the scouts have been doing and continue to do since the earthquake struck the island nation. From this material they will produce a video which will be published on YouTube for everyone to see.

It took a while to get a connection to Haiti. After various turns, Viljami and Mikko made contact with Spanish scout leader Rafael Juliá, who lives in the capital of the Dominican Republic. They agreed to call him upon their arrival in Santo Domingo.The meeting went well in Santo Domingo, after which the plans were clear: "Come to my place on Sunday a week from now at 11 am, we’ll have lunch together, and then we’ll leave for Haiti”, said Juliá. They were joined with three French scout leaders: Vincent Dalonneau, Arnaud Lansard and Etienne Wasser. Both Vincent and Arnaud already had a long experience from Haiti, whereas Etienne visited Haiti for the first time. He has signed up for a 2-year stay to do voluntary work.

In Haiti, they found the local scout office at a temporary camp on the soccer field. The office building could not be used due to risk of collapse. The Finns toured the city for a week with their video camera.

Rover Scout – can you speak French or Haitian Creole?

Even though the infrastructure and the Haitian society are in ruins, the scouts look forward to the future. This summer the local scouting association will start to build a sea scout center. As Haiti is an island country and there are plenty of coastal waters.”But there is a lack of sea scouting skills. If a rover scout group is looking for a cooperation project overseas, this is a good candiate”, the Finns encourage their peers.It would be good to have French speaking people in the team – or even better – speakers of the other national tongue in Haiti, Creole. On the other hand, Finns Hätönen and Hongell managed their trip without a word of French.

A smile is a universal language.