Major Internship Report
By: Rev. Karen Speicher

INTRODUCTION
I interned with DOA/BN, which stands for Delegasyon-Coordinating groups from all over the world for an unique & diverse experience in Haiti; Oryantasyon-Helping foreign visitors or residents understand the historical, cultural and sociopolitical context of Haiti; Atizana-Promoting local production from local artwork to agricultural products; Bluntschli-Carla Bluntschli, Co-founder of DOA/BN in 1992; Nicolas-Ari Nicolas, Co-founder of DOA/BN and in addition Djalo`ki, Carla and Ari¹s associate in DOA/BN. I spent a month in Haiti learning about and experiencing Haitian culture; the development of cities; Haitian economics, Haitian history; Haitian spirituality; Creole language; social changes in the past 10-15 years; Haitian and U.S. public policies affecting Haitians. This learning was accomplished through personal encounters and interviews; living with Haitians on a daily basis; accompanying DOA/BN (Carla, Ari and Dja) on orientations they did for various visiting groups; travel from Port-au-Prince to the cities of St. Marc, Jacmel, Cap Haitien, Petionville, Kenscoff; time spent in Gwojan, a mountain community; research at Bureau of Haitian Statistics and US AID; books and videos recommended and provided by DOA/BN (including "The Uses of Haiti", "The Haiti Files", "Dangerous Crossroads", "The Black Jacobins", "The Rainy Season" and the video documentaries "Bitter Cane" and "Rezistans."

I learned as much Haitian Creole as I could and practiced greeting everyone I met in Haiti with a big Bonjou or Bonswa. About three weeks into the internship, I lead a visiting United Methodist group working with ICC (International Child Care) on a day trip to the Petionville market via public transportation (without any Haitian guide or interpreter). I was also able to get to know people who were involved in the overthrow of Jean Claude Duvalier and risked their lives in resistance to the de facto military regime that took power in September 1991 through a military coup that ousted democratically and popularly elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide.

LESSON LEARNED
"Be`l bonjou se Paspò` W" "A Beautiful Greeting is your passport." "A Beautiful Greeting is Your Passport" is an often-used colloquialism in Haiti and it is a symbol, an expression, of the cultural tradition of hospitality, respect, and dignity. This Haitian saying is utilized in the promotional materials of the organization with which I interned, DOA/BN. "A Beautiful Greeting is your passport" is utilized more that just in promotional materials. It is the foundation upon which DOA/BN operates. I learned that the saying is true literally in that if you learn the simple words of greeting like Bonjou (good morning), Bonswa (good afternoon), Bonnuit (good night) and Koman ou ye? (How are you doing?) and speak them with a smile you will see the physical demeanor of the people you meet soften and you will receive a pleasant greeting back and/or some giggles (because you are a Blan, a foreigner) and in general people will be eager to assist you with any questions or needs you might have.
As I practiced this Haitian tradition I realized how often in my own life in the United States I neglect to truly greet people before I begin talking with them or asking them questions or stating my needs. However, the saying points to something much deeper than common courtesy, it speaks to the value and priority of relationship building above any other type of exchange or transaction. It is the vision of stripping away all pretenses and beginning a relationship as one human being interacting with another human being. Sure there may be roles that one has and must interact with but before shifting into those roles there must be a human-to-human interaction.
Foreigners, especially Americans, have a great deal to shed before the human-to-human interaction can begin. This need is due to the history of Haiti and the United States including U.S. participation in the slave trade; the 58 years between Haiti¹s independence and U.S. recognition of it as an independent nation; U.S. invasion and occupation of Haiti from 1915-1934; U.S. foreign policies toward Haiti and other parts of the world; The School of Americas; CIA involvement in the military coup overthrowing president Aristide; U.S. harboring and protection of members of the defacto military regime that murdered, raped and tortured thousands of Haitians; the Governor's Island Accord and the good intentioned but culturally and economically destructive efforts of many non-profits. In a profound way, "A Beautiful Greeting is your passport", challenges Americans who visit to work at being human. Requiring them to shed the image of arrogance, control, hatred, and violence created over centuries and to step out of the role of savior, authority, premier problem solver, father dispensing allowances, international policeman, and bossman. I learned that it is possible to become more of a human being and in doing so gain access to the hidden treasures of meaningful, vital and essential relationships that if respected, can be a powerful medium of personal, communal and international change.

LEADERSHIP EXAMPLE
I am going to reflect upon Carla, Ari, and Dja. As a leadership team, they were effective. I identify them together because I had the opportunity to live with them and watch them as they worked side by side. When I first arrived in Haiti, I wondered which one of them was the real leader of the bunch, of the organization and as I experienced them individually and together, I began to see how they interacted in a very organic, creative way. While I will attempt to discuss them individually, the leadership flows much more seamlessly amongst them and they each share in the leadership qualities discussed in the others. I will try to highlight the leadership attributes that are particularly strong in each one.

From my observations I would say Carla is definitely the key manager of the group. In that she handles the majority of the nuts and bolts of organizing, sending official correspondence, maintaining formal relationships within the community and abroad, problem solving in regards to the details of a visiting group's stay etc. (noting the differences in the text between management and leadership roles). However, she is also a leader. Carla's leadership shines in the area of developing and maintaining informal relationships within the community in which she takes genuine delight and through which she is up to date on all the latest social/political happenings. She has a way about her that welcomes all and when she is talking to a person, they truly can feel they are all she is focused on at that moment. She has a way of letting others know they are important. Her sense of humor and care puts others at ease and they readily share themselves and what they know with her. Part of her ability to do this in the setting she is in -- even though she is an American -- is due to the fact she has lived in Haiti for seventeen years, speaks fluent Creole and has adopted the manners, mannerisms and life of a Haitian. Carla does the interpretation into English when Dja and Ari are speaking to a visiting group (or individuals) in Creole. She is the living bridge, link through which ideas and feelings travel back and forth between the visiting group and Haitians. I say living because at times when thoughts are traveling through her she sends them back, clarifies them, transforms them, and adds to them. Strict translation might be a management skill but what she does is leadership because she engages in the process of "aligning people" in thought and emotion.

Dja's leadership shines in the spiritual direction of the organization. Others look to him for a calm, meditative response. He brings with him the direction of the ancestors and shares it. He houses the mystical and focuses on the energy of a gathering or group. He helps align people on a spiritual/energetic level. People are drawn to him because he elicits, brings to light, their inner searching and assists them in tapping into their gifts and purposes in life. He is a master of encouragement and motivation.
Ari's leadership shines as an example of one who risked his life by putting his values of truth, justice, and equality into political and social action. Ari lives out his principles and leads by example in his community. For example, he chooses to wear predominately Haitian made clothing, which is hard to come by and is commonly seen as lowlier than American second hand clothing that floods the Haitian streets. Since Ari is educated and has a vocation people would expect him to be more Americanized but he lives his life showing that Haitian products and traditions are not inferior to those of the Americans and therefore rebuilds the self-esteem of his people and motivates them engage in Haitian enterprises and pass on their traditions to the children in the village. Anything his family has that others in the village do not have, he and his family share it with the rest of the village, not playing favorites. Ari shows leadership in that he recognizes others watch him, look up to him and therefore he is very self-reflective and intentional about all his actions.

The interplay between Carla, Dja and Ari and I do mean interplay -- because their serious work is infused with play which is contagious -- is very effective. I witnessed positive transformations in young and old, Haitian and American (and Canadian) alike through true cultural sharing beginning human-to-human. In my own case, they sought out my input and feedback in regards to orientations with visiting groups, they encouraged my efforts to learn Creole and my way around Port-au-Prince -- so much so that three weeks into my internship I volunteered and was supported in taking responsibility for leading a visiting group on a day trip to the Petionville market.
In What Leaders Really Do, John P. Kotter asserts, "Most discussions of vision have a tendency to degenerate into the mystical. The implication is that a vision is something mysterious that mere mortals, even talented ones, could never hope to have. But developing good business direction isn't magic. It is a tough, sometimes exhausting process of gathering and analyzing information. People who articulate such visions aren't magicians but broadbased strategic thinkers who are willing to take risks." Carla, Dja and Ari definitely engage in the "tough, exhausting process of gathering and analyzing information" during their daily meetings with one another when they share what they have been reading, thinking, dreaming; who they have been talking to and what about; what feedback they have gotten from visiting groups and local communities; and develop written communications in regards to their vision and mission etc. They also engage in informal conversations with one another in regards to growth areas and sticky points within themselves and the organization and they take risks.

However, I must admit there is more than just a bit of the mystical in action in regards to the organization's vision and articulation of it. It is not "mere mortals" that have the vision but mortals who are in touch with the mystical source of life and give the Spirit a lot to work with. This I understand and this I am thankful for. I am not afraid of conversations about leadership "degenerating" into the mystical but rather conversations that never acknowledge the power of spirit, the mystical in leadership.