Sporadic sleep followed by beautiful and quiet sunrise with devotional.
Said farewell to 4 individuals from Georgetown University staying with us, heading back to US
Staying at Eucalyptus Guest House is a big draw for outside consultants to come in from other countries. However, they are a start-up business themselves with great plans for expansion. As such, we were thinking through "best practices" and processes for the guest house. We know that if guests feel welcome and comfortable, they are much more productive in working through their own projects. Additionally, they are more likely to return.
As such, we held a staff meeting to gather feedback from the local guest house workers as well as provide them the vision of what we want to accomplish before expansions that will double and triple their capacity.
Met 5 entrepreneurs who are making peanut butter, coffee, clothes, and recycled mattresses. All of these entrepreneurs are handpicked by the United Nations, all women (because they have proved to be more trustworthy with their profits, spending on families rather than personal pleasures). They are very proud of their work and were in very good spirit. HPCD partners with the UN as a sustainability measure to restore stability to the economy.
Went to the Iron Market, a tourist trap street fair where you can buy tourist gifts. These gifts are mostly oil paintings, woodwork, shoes, baskets, and hats. There are many messages like "Jesus Loves You" integrated into so many projects. A couple aisles over, you can see the voodoo artifacts, which are really just freaky with little significance without knowledge as to what they mean.
Drove through Cite Soleil, supposedly the poorest slum in the western hemisphere, but even here there was so much activity. Instead of the street being lined with Michael's, Kohl's, Ace Hardware, there were many, many, many local vendors selling everything from fruit to cell phone cables to bike tires. Water is also sold, but not in bottles. Picture 6-8oz packed into a plastic bag/pouch. You bite off a corner and drink. We stayed away from these, as we did not trust the cleanliness of the bags. You do see these empty bags blowing with the wind throughout the street. However, Cite Soleil is the site of much opportunity for redemption and also the location of the aforementioned entrepreneurs.
Played tennis with a man with much influence in his community and who supposedly was asked at one time to run for mayor. It was a great honor. While few words were exchanged, the experience and opportunity to share time together was enough.
photos: https://www.facebook.com/mikepstaub/media_set?set=a.10152902729710591.1073741825.845985590&type=3
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