Thomazeau

Thomazeau is by far the largest village we serve.  It is only 24 miles from Port Au Prince, but once you leave the paved road, it is a long, bumpy 30 minute ride over very rough and broken road. It is listed as a municipality with 52,017 inhabitants. This number references the population estimate of the whole 4 Sections of Thomazeau, not the "ville of Thomazeau".   The village is a community of a few thousand surrounded by small communities in all directions.  Some communities blur into one another; others are separated by some distance.

The street in front of the church is always bustling with activity.  Starting early in the morning often before dawn, hundreds of people will walk by with their goods for market, either carried on their heads or loaded onto their donkey. Children will lead goats out to graze or for sale.  Chickens, pigs, and dogs roam free. There is much scooter, motorcycle, and truck traffic accompanied by nearly constant honking horns throughout the day.  Along the street, vendors will set up stalls to sell their products. The ice man has the most popular stand.

  Homes range from beautiful 2 story stucco homes, to small one room homes made with sticks held together with mud. Some may be very sparsly furnished, others grand, but most are very clean.  Even the homes with a dirt floor are swept clean, dishes arranged neatly, clothing put away.

  Night life in Thomazeau is quite active.  Many people are out in the streets to socialize.  There is laughing, shouting, singing, loud music.  Vendors will be out cooking food to sell.  There is even a Disco for dancing. 
 
Clinic is set up on the ground floor of the social hall, and the team sleeps on the second floor. Besides seeing a doctor, patients can also be seen by a dentist to have infected teeth pulled, or get their vision checked to see if they would benefit from reading glasses.  Over 1400 patients were seen in April 2010.  In addition, 58 fluride treatments were done at an orphanage. Two patients were transferrd to Medishare field hospital in Port au Prince. At night, the volunteers can sit at table and talk about the day's work.  This helps, as sometimes the medical issues are devastating-the child with intractable seizures, hydrocephalus, the severe burns.

Much of Friends of Haiti education activities are in Thomazeau.  Funds provided means to have a safe, locked room, so that One Laptop per child would place laptops in the school. Funds for lunches, teacher training and supplies help improve progress. In May 2010, a Clean Water for the World water purification system was installed for St. Therese School. This will improve overall health. Since the earthquake, many of the classes are being housed in tents. 
What might seem like insurmountable challenges to most of us, do not hinder the people of the area from trying for better lives.

Click here to view photos taken in Thomazeau on one of our many mission trips.