Haiti in Focus

Scott and Kristen interview Chris Lieb, who has served as the technology and educational coordinator at Baptist Haiti Mission for the past five years.  Through out this interview, Chris shares how he worked in the computer industry making really good money, yet he was unsatisfied and wanted more from his life.  So he, his wife Kellie, and four children, gave up the American Dream  and moved to Molokaʻi “The Friendly Isle” in Hawaii, to assist in the education of the indigenous population.  After serving as a mathematics instructor and athletic director for four years, he and his family moved to Baptist Haiti Mission, in Fermathe, near Port au Prince right around the time Aristide was overthrown. He chats about issues of safety and the divine providence.  For more about the awesome work Baptist Hait Mission is involved, please visit Baptist Haiti Mission.

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The stories we tell…Jason, a big, burly construction worker, traveled to Haiti on a whim and fell in love with the kids from an orphanage.  This and the people he met during that trip in the mid-nineties caused him to return time and time again to show the kids love and to help out wherever he was needed.

The stories we tell…Mariam, who works as a physician’s assistant, saw the dire medical need in Haiti and traveled there three years ago to work in the remote villages of Haiti, meeting their medical needs.

Then there are the stories of the Haitians themselves, the people that lived there or still do, each one with a different unique perspective, on their own country.  I think of Arnold who came across on a skiff the the US, struggled the eight years he lived there, and used a forged passport to get back to Haiti.  He believes that Jesus and education are the only way to help Haiti.

And what of those stories of people like Chris Lieb, who sacrificed a six-figure salary in the computer industry to go live on a mountain in a mission that focuses on helping Haiti holistically?  Five years he has lived there with no thoughts of turning back.  He has been there in the midst of political upheaval, serving the Haitian community.  The organization he works for helps reforest Haiti, helps educate Haitians, provides a hospital with a 100 beds, and much, much more.

The stories we tell, the perspectives we share, the means and the way we all arrive in Haiti and grow to love the country are all different.  Some see the poverty and react, others go because of some religious experience calls them to go, while still others end up in Haiti because of jobs and adoptions.  Everyone’s story is different. Everyone’s story worth telling.

And we at Haiti in Focus want to tell it.  This means that we will at times have widely varying opinions and perspectives on the show.  Some will come across very religious, some will convey passionately a certain niche of work they are doing in Haiti, and some will share they way they see Haiti.  We lay out all out there, believing that some how the truth lies somewhere in the midst of all this.

We hope that such interviews will not be a deterrent to you listening to this show.  As always we welcome feedback and thoughts on all interviews we have and would love for you to share your perspective in writing or audio format to us. You can email us at haitiinfocus@gmail.com or call our listener line at (206) 600-482.

In this podcast, Scott and Kristen interview Arnold from Port-au-Prince.  We chat with him as to why he came across on a skiff to Miami illegally, what it was like living here illegally, and what made him want to go back.  We also talk about how Haiti has changed in the nine years since he had left, what he views as being some of the major issues with Haiti and its people, and what he believes can be done to correct it.  By the way, he chats about working at places called “Tom’s” and “Turkey Hill”; these are both convenience stores in the United States.

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