Thursday, April 11, 2013

Kenscoff Mountains - Pastor Pierre - Part 1

 



Tomorrow at the Christian Reformed Ministry Centre there is another 2-day seminar for Pastor Pierre and 18 other pastors/church workers on Strategies of Transformation. 15 of the 19 people who participate at these seminars live in the Kenscoff mountains. Some walk for hours to reach the road. Here are some photos from the mountains of Kenscoff.


This man was carrying a bundle of grass on his head.


Below is the end of the road! The rest of the way is on foot.


Beyond mountains are more mountains until you hit the sea!


Here is a river running at the base of a mountain. In the dry season, the river is low and dry in places. This man is cooling off in the waters of the river.


These girls and theri mother are resting before continuing their journey.


The people in the mountain areas are poor. These boys are putting mud over the sticks of their family's hut.


Houses are for sleeping in and shelter from the sun and rain. Some of them can be pretty small.


These children are helping their mothers with the beans.


Mud huts are the norm in the mountains. They are called in creole "Kay Pay" (Straw homes)


This girl is starting to apply mud to the wall of this home.


Families tend to have more children in the mountains. The mortality rate is higher as well.


A grandmother, mother and her children.


This house is a good size. If people have trees on their property they sometimes will cut them down to make boards and build houses with wooden walls.


One of Pastor Pierre's church workers talking with a mother. The smallness of the house is a good indicator of the poverty of the family.


With the greenery around them these people are doing well.


Pastor Pierre and the people of the church want to have a more solid structure for their church. Every year the church gets blown away during hurricane season.


He has started work on building a foundation.


Work is being done slowly as money is available.


They want to build the structure a little wider than the current one.


This is the toilet area. Eventually there will be walls put around it :)


Some os Pastor Pierre's exteded family.


Erosion is beginning a problem in the mountains. As people continue to cut down trees, the soil washes away during heavy rains.


A family in front of their home.


A mother and child.


Life is centred around the "Lakou", yard. Because the houses are small, people spend their time outdoors. This mother is doing her daughter's hair.


This man doesn't have any land and lives in the "lakou" of another family. Their house is one of the smallest.


The entire family sleeps in this small hut.


This young boy is cutting wood with a machete. Children learn to work at a young age.


A family in front of their home.

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