Meet Robinson Michelot, an invaluable member of our team on the ground in Haiti. Robinson aka Robi has been working with Heliotrope Foundation since 2011. Proficient in English, French and Haitian Creole, Robi was initially hired for the role of translator. His vast array of skills proved to be essential and his role soon expanded to become Operations Assistant, working closely on construction sites with Konbit Shelter's Program Director and Architect, Joana Torres. He always presents a positive attitude to adversity and unpredictability, finding creative solutions to everyday challenges in a versatile and engaged way.

Our Founder, Caledonia Curry aka Swoon recently sat down with Robi for an in-depth interview on his background, his response to the 2010 earthquake and his work with Konbit Shelter. We are pleased to share Part One from her interview. We hope it will give you good insights as to the incredible friends and colleagues we collaborate with in Haiti.

CALEDONIA CURRY’S INTERVIEW WITH ROBINSON MICHELOT:

C: Can you tell us a little bit about your experience of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti? 

R: I was in a cyber cafe with a co-worker friend and I was very surprised because it was the first time I ever experienced computers tremble and just continue shaking. I knew it was something that was happening but I didn’t know what it was. To tell you the truth I never saw anything like that but the person who was with me knew what it was! “Robinson! Robinson get out now it’s an earthquake!” I went out right away. We were standing in the middle of the street, but the strange thing is that while we were standing, I could see how houses and cars, and power lines kept swaying back and forth. It was very dangerous. My friend keeps telling me what an earthquake is and what I should do when it happens to protect me and my community. I was shocked after hearing and seeing that the earthquake caused over 300,000 deaths. The houses of the majority were destroyed, mainly in Port-au-Prince, Léogâne, Jacmel… but in the city from where we come there was not too much damage. What was so shocking was that my uncle Enock and his family disappeared in the earthquake. We still do not know where they are because we unfortunately did not find their bodies to find out if they exist. There was not much activity after the earthquake because all the cities, streets, roads, shops, banks, houses, fields, all these things were destroyed.  It was very sad for me and for my big family too. Almost everyone lost someone or was the victim of the terrible earthquake. 

It is true that I experienced a lot of bad things before the earthquake and then the whole country suffered from the same cause and effect.  There was no drinking water, no food, no electricity, no traffic at all. But as I am a very positive young man who believes in the future, I say in my thoughts that I cannot remain inactive and dejected because I wanted to continue to help others by using what I had learned working with organizations after the flood of 2008.

C: And so you decided to try and help? 

 R: I’m always trying to make the difference to improve the situation in my community. Because my town wasn’t too affected after the earthquake, my friends and I got motivated. We decided to get together to help the other cities that needed our help. There were a couple of Canadians who had stayed in my city after the flood in Gonaives in 2008. We formed an organization called Shelter International Disaster Response (SIDR), and we organized to go to Jacmel. When we arrived in the city of Jacmel, we had nowhere to go. Finally we found an empty land next to the airport and the UN base with some mango trees and grass. We built a shelter under the mango trees and that was the place where we stayed. It was really hard because we didn’t have everything we needed. We suffered a lot in many ways like when it rained the place we stayed was like a river bed. But we did not get discouraged, we keep on going and doing the volunteering in the community.  

We have worked in several projects like cleaning, rubble removal, demolition in hospitals, homes, schools, churches, streets… we had good times and bad times, and worked hard as volunteers. During the volunteering time in the city we started having people come to us and ask questions like why don’t we hire people in the community instead doing volunteering work, and how they could be part of the project. Then we started signing up some people in the community and some international volunteers. There were several international organizations that came to assist all over the country as well as in Jacmel. We began attending meetings at the United Nations because of the work we were doing in the city as a volunteers. We were the only voluntary organization at that moment. Most of the NGO’s had funds like IOM, The Salvation Army, Unicef , Welthungerhilfe …but they didn’t have human resources. At that time, as we were already there in town and we’d already done the evaluation, they agreed to work with us in partnership. We came up with different projects like a cash for work program and shelter prototypes in Grand-Goave and Petit-Goave. We were able to hire a lot of people in the community which is what they were all waiting for and needing. 

As a volunteer with All Hands I had worked on various projects, such as demolition of houses, schools, cleaning, building schools, sanitation, organic sand filters, assisting small entrepreneurs, cash for work, cholera projects, teacher training, playgrounds, and distribution - which the communities needed the most at the time.   I did all this because I am a dedicated person to help others in need and because we have begun to understand that we are the ones who can improve the environment in which we live.

C: What helped you keep going in those initial months doing such difficult work? What gave you strength?

R: In Haiti, we have a Creole proverb that says "Many hands the load is light" I find good positive inspiration in this proverb, and the understanding to see how in collaboration with each other we can succeed, even if things seem difficult. 

While I was working with the Heliotrope Foundation and Konbit Shelter we came up with a proverb that says” Lavi pa fasil men li bèl” Life is not easy but it’s beautiful. We can make it work together if we work together. These are ideas that I had and continue to have. 

In Gonaives which is where I come from, in order to help my community, as I am a translator, teacher, and musician - every time some kids used to  hear that I’m speaking English and playing my instrument, they would come to me and ask to know how to play the trumpet or speak in English.  My friend and I decided to come up with some activities for them. We came up with Teach Haiti Shares, which is a school where we teach computing, English, and music.  It’s a free school, but as a free school where we aren’t getting any financial benefit, we are wiling to receive any kind of donations like old or new laptops, dictionaries, reading and exercise  books and funds to continue helping my community. We can make life pretty if we could keep helping each other. If we could send all children to school, create a professional school, clubs like Klub Obzèvatwa, and universities. I am someone who always likes to share with everyone because I live in a country where the majority of  people are unemployed, and so it’s very important to help each other. 

As I believe in the future of the country, children and youth, I understand that it will not be easy but I must be motivated to have principles. Continuing to build my school helps me find more strength to fight the difficulties of this life, and to help the others to do the same. 

The other thing that strengthened my resolve and my dedication is that during my time working with organizations, I have met with many people who give me more strength when I see that they left their families, jobs, and friends to come to work with us in these difficult times.  They included artists, architects, doctors, engineers, business people, teachers. I have a lot of respect for all these people.