Sally Harwood, our new Board Chair, can’t remember exactly when she became involved in CODEP. She does have a jumble of stories about visiting Haiti in the 1990s. The first trip was with members of the Crestwood Church of Richmond to work on fishponds. Other trips included projects on cisterns and incentive houses.
Notably, she remembers the current Animators (CODEP leadership) when they were “just kids” – young men starting to be involved in the early work of organizing the workers, building nurseries, and figuring out the best planting methods. She says there was a lot of laughter. One of her stories is about a time they were sent down to Haiti with a load of shoes to distribute. “We gave out a lot of shoes and the last pair was purple high heels. I mean, how ridiculous! I gave them to Jean-Claude, and we roared with laughter.”
She also remembers how the mountains looked like a lunar landscape. “It was so bad. And the children had red hair from malnutrition. It tore me up. “
One lesson Sally holds on to from her years of involvement is that there have been other times when Haiti became too chaotic and dangerous for the Americans to stay. We have had to pull out before and wait until things were stable enough to return. It’s important to note that the Haitians kept moving forward on the work even as resources and support were squeezed. That’s a lesson to remember, particularly in these troubled times.
Despite a demanding career as a financial consultant, Sally has stayed involved with HRP and CODEP for over two decades. She says she is in awe of the commitment of CODEP people to the project and feels compelled to match that with her own commitment and time. She notes that CODEP folks demonstrate their loyalty daily but there were times when it was acutely challenged. During the earthquake, lots of aid organizations were offering short term/high-paying jobs for locals. The CODEP people did not abandon their reforestation work for that sort of flash of income. Sally uses that as an example of the depth of their commitment to their community and the long-term systemic promise of reforestation.
As for her Board work, Sally has a simple formula. She wants the HRP Board to be an effective, healthy, and generous group. While the Haitians experience so much suffering and need, we cannot fall into dysfunction or low aspirations. As she assumes the Board Chair role in January, she looks forward to bringing all we can to supporting the people who have been her friends for so long and who are shouldering the work of reforestation in Haiti.
Welcome, Sally, to the responsibilities of the gavel!
Michael Anello
Executive Director
