Letter from Renate Schneider, US long-term volunteer in Fondwa Dear Friends, Tankou wozo nou pliye, men nou pa kase. Like reeds we bend, but do not break.  (Haitian Proverb) It has been two months since the crisis, and things are beginning to return back to normal.  But what is normal in a country where the majority of the people do not have access to clean drinking water, where the average income is about 400 US dollars a year, and where the lack of money and opportunity results in a way of life for the majority of people that leaves little room for dreams of a better future. In terms of living conditions, life in Port au Prince has gotten worse these past two months.  The garbage on certain street corners is piled 5 feet high with vendors selling fruit right next to it, while pigs and dogs have made these mounds of garbage their home.  Electricity in the capital is scarcer than ever.  Some sectors of the city have been doing without electricity for weeks. The international aid that has been promised has not materialized yet, and an emergency appeal by the United Nations for 35 million dollars has barely brought 9 million dollars. In fact, some people in the current government are now openly saying that they do not see how Aristide was able to keep the government afloat.  One current official commented that it had to be by the sheer force of his will. In Fondwa life continues, albeit with a bit more difficulty. We too are holding the university together by the sheer force of our wills, something our Haitian neighbors teach us so well. One of my Haitian friends had suffered a miscarriage and had to go to the hospital to see a doctor. The doctor performed a D&C, and then sent her home.  Once she got off the public bus, she still had a two-hour walk ahead of her before she reached her home.  She did this without complaint, and even joked and smiled - sheer force of will!  It is often sheer force of will that allows one family to move forward with the support of neighbors and friends.  One of our neighbors had begun to construct a new home for himself and his family, one made out of bricks and not wood. All that was left to do was to pour the cement for the flat roof. One day the women’s group of Fondwa got together, and all the women carried water in buckets on their heads to the construction site so the cement could be mixed and poured to complete the roof.  Even the children helped by carrying jugs of water - sheer force of will in the face of so many obstacles.  Because of it the dream for a new home could be realized. The University of Fondwa 2004 operates in the same manner. Fr. Joseph and I have recently returned from a week-long visit to Cuba. Our Cuban professors will return in August.  We are also preparing to receive a second group of students in September. Construction has picked up again to prepare for their arrival. The longer I am here in Fondwa, the more I realize that it is the combined courage, determination, and sheer force of will of this community to have a university in their midst, the first university in the mountains of Haiti, that will allow this project to stay on its feet.  May God bless you, and bless you real good! Love, Renate