Kildare writer pens Haitian memoir
A ONETIME contributor to this very paper has published a book about her charitable work on the Caribbean island of Haiti.
is the book by former local journalist, Anne Heffernan and tells the raw facts about living in one of the poorest countries of the world.
Anne is originally from Tallaght, now living in Carbury, but who spent 21 years of her life in Clane, and so it was here that she chose to launch the book in the library there on Thursday (3 April).
Anne spent a year in Haiti from 2016 to 2017 and her book aims to raise awareness of how people live in this third-world country where daily struggles to survive and feed their children are the things that keep mothers awake at night.
“I always thought I’d do it when I was in college, but then life took over,” she said.
“Then I spent a spell in hospital, and I began to think about it again,” she said.
“Then I heard someone talking about (faith-based charity) Viatores Christi which was started in the 60s in UCD, and they’ve been running volunteers since then.
“In fact, they will celebrate their 65th anniversary this year,” she revealed.
“I ended up spending 18 months there, teaching basic computer skills to teachers,” she said.
“Even though it’s a democracy, they haven’t really got their act together.
“It was always a bit dangerous in Port-au-Prince (the capital); I wouldn’t have been able to go out on my own, but I always felt safe enough up in the north-west.
“I hadn’t got a job at the time, and was finding it hard to get one, so that’s what made me go – I needed to do something,” she explained.
All proceeds from the sale of the book which is retailing at €15 will go to fund projects in North-West Haiti.
It is available in Marron’s Pharmacy Clane, and also in parish centres in Newbridge, Naas and Clane as well as on www.buythebook.ie very shortly.
The book is already available in both Tallaght and Edenderry libraries – “because it’s the town where I do everything”.
“Haiti has a beautiful climate of around 30 degrees all year long and a fabulous coastline which should make it ripe for a booming tourist industry,” she said.
“But Haiti has suffered much interference from outside countries throughout generations divesting it of its natural resources, leaving its ordinary people to suffer starvation and poverty on a grand scale.
“Currently, gang crime is at an all-time high and politically the country has been unstable for quite some time.
“At the moment, 5.5 million people, that’s half of Haiti’s population, rely on humanitarian aid to survive, and close to 1 million are already internally displaced due to gang crime which is spreading out further and further from the capital of Port-Au-Prince, which itself has long been subjected to violence and dangerous gangs.
Despite the dangers lurking in the shadows, Anne enjoyed her time in Haiti and is keen to raise awareness about the daily lives of those she met during her volunteer placement in a remote area of the North-West of the country, close to where Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ the Americas.
Living in a Land That Time Forgot pays tribute to the Haitian people amid the ever present lack of opportunity and their never-ending hunger for daily food. Donations can also be made directly to Haiti a/c: IBAN: IE92AIBK93351142129084 BIC: AIBKIE2D.
