On the Other Side of the Tracks

Jean-Philippe in front of a local boutique in Souray.

Only inches above sea-level, Souray is a very dangerous place to live in an area where frequent flash-flooding can kill and destroy without warning.

Jean-Philippe is an average looking Haitian man living in a very extraordinary place called Souray.  Souray means "on the rails" since it was built over the site of Haiti's former railroad line used to transport sugarcane.  When the sugar business soured, squatters began to build their homes across the rails in Port-au-Prince's densely populated Carrefour municipality.  Souray is only inches above sea-level and is made up of everything from one-room masonry houses to shelters made from plywood and tin.  Instead of roads, paths run through Souray and water comes from several hand-dug open-air wells.  Despite being in the middle of the capital city of Haiti, Souray has no electricity, no sewage, and no potable water.  Souray's residents are vulnerable to floods and gang activity.  Several years ago Jean-Philippe attended a deacons' training program we funded through our ministry partner, the Program for Diaconal Formation (PWOFOD).  After three years in the program, Jean Philippe and his community "graduated," meaning that they successfully completed training in micro-credit, literacy, and poverty-awareness.  Despite our best efforts, many participants in training programs forget the lessons they learned and return to "business-as-usual."  This, however, was not to be the case with  Jean-Philippe.  He was convinced that God had called him to make a difference in Souray.  Jean-Philippe responded to the call by moving his family out of their small home and turning it into a school for the disadvantaged in his community.  Today his wife and children teach in and administer the school, while living and sleeping in what Jean-Philippe characterizes as "yon ti kwen" or "a small corner."  Jean-Philippe has been working tirelessly to find sediment water filters for the residents of Souray since they are afflicted by numerous water-borne ailments.  Jean-Philippe led Zach and a group of visitors from Lakeside CRC through Souray last week.  We wouldn't be surprised if we are some of the only foreigners ever to see this community.  Despite Souray's physical poverty, we saw evidence of God's grace in the smiles of the residents, in the joy of the children playing in the alleys, and the efforts of seamstresses and merchants in the to provide for their families.  Most obviously, we see God's grace in Jean-Philippe's passion for his neighbors.  However, the question still haunts us--"How can we as foreigners show God's love to the people of Souray?"  This is a question which bears much prayer and consideration in a context where good-intentions are not enough.