My name is M.L. and I’m a 25 year old woman from the village of Fond Blanc.  My parents are both living.  My mom lives in Fond Blanc and my dad is in another country.  I have 2 sisters and 1 brother.  One sister lives in Fond Blanc.  My other sister and brother live in other countries.  My mom, sister, my niece (from the sister in another country) and I live in Fond Blanc in my mom’s house.  It’s made of rock and cement with a tin roof.  I haven’t lived here in Fond Blanc for a long time.  I went to high school in a larger village about an hour away and lived in that area for several years.  Then, I moved to Port-au-Prince to go to nursing school.  I’m done with three years of classes and now I’m doing clinicals.  I don’t have my diploma or licence yet.  I’m kind of in a waiting period until my next clinical assignment, so I came back to see my family.  We are far apart alot so I’m enjoying spending time with them.

Most of the kids and young adults like to play soccer or swim in the river.  I don’t like to swim in the river because I learned about bacteria in nursing school.  I like to listen to the radio, especially talk programs.  Sometimes they have ones that discuss health problems or diseases and I like to listen to them to understand health things.  I want to always be learning and improving my mind to be a good nurse.  Most people like to eat boiled plantains with sauce, rice dishes, or spaghetti.  Most of the gardens in the area grow beans, grains, plantains, or yams.  Most of the houses are like my mom’s house – rock and cement with a tin roof.  The houses are close together and the village is along the river.  There are several churches and schools in the area.  Our market is on Fridays and many people come from others villages to buy and sell.  There are no stores or restaurants or bakeries.  There is an orphanage.

After a flood in 2008, the government came in with heavy equipment and built a road.  This was an amazing time in the village.  Everyone was so happy because this was the first road and the first time any trucks to come to our village.  The small path that was there before only allowed for people, horses, and motorcycles.  More construction materials could be delivered and more produce could be taken out to other markets.

Living here is much harder than living in Port-au-Prince.  There isn’t much to do and travel is more difficult.  There are no jobs and I’m not sure what I’ll do when the time comes for me to get a job.  The common jobs in Fond Blanc are teacher, commerce, health agent, carpenter, pastor, voodou worker, midwife, farmer, orphanage worker, and motorcycle taxi driver.  I think better health and more education would make this place better.  I think that Fond Blanc really needs to work on cleaning up the roads and common areas.  Good hygiene will lead to good health.  This village has a problem with violence too.  Many people don’t know how to control their anger and get very physical very quickly.  It is much different in the other areas that I’ve lived.  I see the difference and hope that one day this village will understand that the way that they live is not normal.  Many of the people here have never left so they don’t know any other way to live.  I’m trying to get used to living here again, but I think that if I had a specific activity to do here, I would feel better.  I want to teach prevention of illness so that people in my village will have better health.  I want to promote good health and save lives.  I go to a church called The body of Christ and I’m a Christian.  I ask that you pray with me for peace in this area and so that I can find a job when the time is right.