By Ali McMutrie
1. Home Cooked Meal
I think every member of my family would agree that my mom’s homemade spaghetti and meatballs is something to be reckoned with – and she’s not even a little bit Italian! Every time she makes it we have a conversation around the table about how she should bottle her sauce.
My mom spends a couple of hours preparing that meal. She gathers the items she needs at Giant Eagle, and usually starts the sauce in the morning. She lets it cook to perfection on the electric stove throughout the day, checking in a few times to add the various ingredients.
Nothing in the world -no matter how much we’re craving fast food or pizza – tastes as good as a delicious home cooked meal by my mom.
In Haiti a home cooked meal is an all day affair, but looks very different from my mom’s spaghetti and meatball dinner. Women spend hours and hours gathering supplies for a meal, which 5 or 6 days of the week is the same – either rice and beans, or rice and bean sauce. Many will go to the outdoor market for small things they don’t have around the kitchen (an activity which after travel, shopping, and bartering can take several hours itself) – garlic, coconut, salt and spices. Sometimes once per week they are able to purchase a few chicken legs, which is quite a treat. They spend the rest of the day cooking over a charcoal stove.
I am thankful today for a delicious, nutritious home cooked meal.
2. Safety/Security
When I first come home to Pittsburgh after being in Haiti, I am uncomfortable at home because it is not surrounded by a retaining wall. In Haiti, every single home that can afford it has a wall surrounding it, and a big metal gate is the only way in or out. Even in the slums, people come up with ways to keep intruders out, be that barbed wire around a fence made of sticks and daggers, or broken glass bottles lining their wall.
Today, I am thankful for my safety and security.
3. Communication (technology)
If I need my mom, I can get in touch with her on the phone in less than 1 minute. If I need to tell my friend something important, I send her a text that immediately reaches her phone, waiting for her to read when she is able. If I want to talk to my grandma, and for some reason she doesn’t answer her phone, I can hop in my car and be at her apartment in about 5 minutes.
In Haiti, when we need to reach a family to tell them that we were able to fit them in for a doctor appointment for their young son suffering from heart disease, we first attempt to call. If we are unable to get in touch, we often must send an employee of HFF to hike or take a motorcycle taxi to their house, just to relay that important message. Many, many people die because in the case of an accident, or sudden sickness, the only way to reach a doctor or hospital is by foot.
I am thankful today for the incredible opportunities technology and communication provide me.
4. Shower
I just took a shower. I felt like I needed it – it’s a chilly, rainy day in Pittsburgh and I couldn’t get my hands and feet warm, so I took a hot shower. I walked into the bathroom, closed the door, pulled out the little knob on the wall and turned it far to the left, jumped in and basked in the hot water streaming from the shower head for a good 15 minutes.
In Haiti, if you are fortunate enough to live by a river or stream, this is where you bathe. Often though, at times such as last month when Hurricane Sandy passed through, this same blessing is a curse as the water levels rise and flooding occurs.
Those who do not live near rivers and streams hike miles and miles to the nearest one, often to collect muddy water, or water that is potentially contaminated with bacteria or even cholera (which since October 2010 has caused more than 7,000 reported deaths in Haiti). A popular Haitian artist sang a line in a song ‘I know some so poor, when it rains that’s when they shower’. We do too.
I am thankful today for access to clean, safe water and a shower.
5. Coffee
I drink coffee all day, every. single. day. My dad and older brother and sister inspired me to be a coffee drinker at a young age because I thought it was cool. I started out with probably 7 parts cream to 1 part coffee. Today I drink it black, and sometimes I feel like I depend on it to get me through a day.
In Haiti, coffee is one of the very few things, a luxury, that most Haitians can afford. Coffee beans are grown in Haiti. Drinking morning coffee is often an act of community engagement and interaction. If a family in a community was unable to afford coffee one morning, you better believe the neighbors will make a little bit extra to be sure they have their morning coffee.
Today I am thankful for my morning, late morning, early afternoon, late afternoon and evening coffee.
What are you thankful for today? I’d love to be inspired by the little things that make you really thankful. Please take a moment to share in the comments below.
When it comes to getting to know someone a little bit better, it’s sometimes best to ask someone who knows them well. In a special post to honor Jamie McMutrie on her birthday, we have 5 questions, answered by her sister and the co-founder of HFF, Ali McMutrie. We hope that this post will help you learn a little bit more about Jamie.
1. What’s it like being Jamie’s younger sister?
Jamie is almost 9 years older than me, so I have always looked up to her. I don’t remember specific instances, or exactly how old I was, but I know from family photos – it was clear that I was Jamie’s little, living “baby doll.” Based on that, it was clear she had a special love for kids, and especially me, ever since she was a kid herself.
2. How has Jamie inspired you?
She has always been a great role model for me, and an especially good big sister. She was kind to me, and let me hang around with her and her friends, even when they were so much older than me. The reason I got the initial idea to travel to Haiti when I was 15 stemmed from my intense curiosity, to see what she was up to down there. She inspired me, through her work and example, to join her as she works with Haitian families.
3. What’s a great moment you recall from her work, your childhood, or your recent daily life?
There were times in the past in Haiti, when we were taking care of babies who had been malnourished in the womb, babies who had gone days or weeks after being born without proper nutrition, that Jamie made me proud. There were countless times that Jamie stayed up all night, for days at a time, feeding the fragile little ones with a dropper. She has a special touch for taking care of babies in those situations. She’s never afraid, never freezes up, but always gently and lovingly cares for them. This moment continues to inspire me as it, sadly, repeats itself through our time in Haiti.
4. Where do you see Jamie in the future?
Many people might not know that Jamie’s dedication for helping others started long before her love for Haiti kicked in. During high school, she volunteered at a home for teen moms, counseling them and relating to them as only a peer of similar age really could. After high school, she was the co-owner of a Daycare Center on the North Side, which was geared specifically toward low income families. I suspect this is Jamie’s life path, that even beyond Haiti, my sister will continue to help others in the special ways that only she can.
5. What’s some words of advice from her?
At home growing up there were always extra people around, kids who needed a warm place to stay for a few nights or teenagers who were afraid to go home because of difficult living situations. Jamie has always offered comfort and shelter for people who needed it, and though her advice hasn’t always been in the form of words, she gives her advice through the example she sets.
Check out this great post over at http://beezuskiddo.com/. It’s a great summary of Ali & Jamie’s story and the importance of their continued work in Haiti through Haitian Families First.
