Rice patties in the desert!

Jubile, the ghetto in Gonaives where my friends work, is located on the outskirts of town, very close to the sea. It's like a desert, a barren brown plain, all dust and concrete homes and tin shacks. The little greenery that can grow is stunted and rarely survives long enough to produce crops or fruit.





Some of the children took me and Kathy out to see the rice patties on a part of the plain 10 minutes from the school. I expected to see three or four shabby plots and a few gray, dying plants. Instead, we found acres full of rich, wet fields and rice growing strong and healthy thanks to a small stream that the local women say has water all year long, even during dry season. It was beautiful and very encouraging - now we know that if we can get a reliable water source to the little gardens near the school, we will be able to grow some greenery!