It is easy to fall prey to bad news coming from Haiti. Its citizens at home and abroad practice the perverse exercise of magnifying for the rest of the world the latest incident coming from that island nation.
Haiti is not the only country in this hemisphere caught in the spiral of random violence and chaos. It seems there is a shooting every week in the United States, either in a high school or at one of the universities.
President Barack Obama finds himself a frustrated and impotent leader facing the strength of the NRA, which sees not the gun, but the man behind the gun as the culprit. The news from The Bahamas, Jamaica and Guyana is filled with crime, gross in its explosion, numerous in its multiplication.
Yet Haiti is filled with good stories. There is the story of the mothers holding bags filled with their toddlers' books, going to and coming back from school. Who knows, the Haitian mother might the best black mother in the world.
There is the story of the young children fetching water while singing and dancing, even while potable water, or at least close access to water, should be a staple provision of the government.
There is the story of the large number of young girls attending school these days. The hiccup will be how, 20 years from now, Haiti will find enough men to match these women. Maybe the government will have to visit China and import some men from the province of Hunan, where women are found wanting because of the policy of female infanticide. Because of the preference for a male child, the ratio between men and women has been skewed there.
There is the story of the famous patty cord, the ubiquitous breakfast made of fried pasta filled with cheese, one boiled egg, cod fish and cut cabbage. The patty, sold for 16 cents, is a full and sufficient meal until evening. Enterprising women all over the city capital are engaged in this business. I have been suggesting, with no result so far, that some women repeat the operation in the evening, but this time filling the patty with jam or marmalade, a beignet for a light supper, again for the same 16 cents.
And then, there is Lascahobas, a true oasis in the region called Centre, an area where the bedrock is strong, solid and not vulnerable to earthquakes.
The keen observer will note the difference in the vegetation as soon as you turn the corner from Mirebalais to enter the road toward Lascahobas. Everything is green and lush. Mature trees filled with mangoes, avocados, coconuts, baby banana and vast fields of pistachio all the way until you enter the city.
Strangely enough, the characterization of an oasis strikes you in earnest as you travel from Lascahobas toward the frontier town of Belladere. The deserted fields that were your companion on your way to Mirebalais, the town before, come back as you leave Lascahobas.
Lascahobas is located two hours from the capital city of Port au Prince on a mountain road built with the support of the European Union (EU). The city proper has a population of 41,716 people, while the catchment area with its rural villages of Petit Fond, Juampas and La Hove represent a population of 61,000 people.
The atmosphere in Haiti today is filled with the spirit of election. Amid the throng of men vying to fill the post of mayor of the city there is a mother (maire, which is 'mayor' in French, sounds like mere, meaning mother).
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have a bias in favor of a woman as mayor. It seems the city is in better hands when it is in the hands of a woman as mayor. The City of Petionville, under the leadership of Mayor Ivanka Brutus, is going through a renaissance in spite of the demographic explosion of the city.
Lascahobas is graced with a pastor from the Catholic Church, Father Desras, who takes to his role of builder of the community with a bulldog sense of achievement. With the support of President Bill Clinton, who was caught by his budding energy, he has built a magnificent secondary school, preventing the children of the town from being nomads in the capital to continue their education. Two years ago, I attended the city fiesta of its patron Saint Gabriel, celebrated on March 25, the day of the Annunciation.
Father Desras asked the Lascahobas diaspora to help him finish the youth center building. The diaspora failed to come with the funds one year later. At this year's celebration, in his sermon he labeled them "Diaspo/rien" (rien in French means null and void of significance).
Father Desras is a pioneer in rural development. I am advocating with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church to follow the model of the Brittany clergy that built the small towns in terms of education and civilization in Haiti.
It should have been the mission of the Creole clergy to reach the rural world to continue the nation building in the hinterland. I was in Lascahobas last Sunday to help the nuns from the Daughters of Marie celebrate their 40th anniversary in the town and the 100th anniversary in Haiti. One of the nuns, Sister Hugette Victor, who came as a young teacher then, is now the principal of the school. She has provided generations of young men and young women with the bread of education, formation and sophistication.
Lascahobas has its own radio and TV station due to the leadership of Father Desras. It was the Sunday of Pentecost, the feast of the celebration of St Spirit at the Episcopal Church last week. The Catholic TV station was there to broadcast the ceremony live. In fact, the pastor of the Episcopal Church, Father Desravines Jean Jacques, is joining hands with Father Desras of the Catholic Church to build the community of Lascahobas and its rural surroundings.
Lascahobas is also graced with its own community bank. My visit with the founder of the bank, Nourissant Fleurilus, struck me like a "eureka" for this essay.
Haiti has 142 small towns, some of them with a population of at least 75,000 people. Very few of them benefit from a banking facility. The reason given by the bankers is the same: there is not enough commercial activity to justify the opening of a branch. Lascahobas took the bull by the horns with its own hands. It has built its own successful bank with the participation of its citizens.
Lascahobas is close to Lake Peligre, the giant manmade lake built on the Artibonite River to produce electricity for the country. It is conducive for the raising of tilapia for local consumption and for export. I will be visiting the city this weekend with the president of a government-sponsored bank to seek to incubate the association of women entrepreneurs who produce coco oil, jam, liquor and all types of local products. They need access to foreign markets to distribute their products.
An international road is being built from the frontier town of Las Pinas, in the Dominican Republic, to the capital city of Port au Prince. Lascahobas, located at half one hour from the Dominican border, represents a true oasis to stop, rest, and become immersed in the hospitality and the culture of the city. The Haitian government is engaging in a comprehensive renovation of the infrastructure of the city, such as paving streets, potable water, electricity and a public market.
Lascahobas has several hotels. Its future should be targeted toward becoming a setting for international retired citizens. It is close to the largest hospital in the Caribbean, built and run by the internationally known Dr. Paul Farmer.
In conclusion, I was pleased to discover Lascahobas. Making that city a weekend getaway has brought to me rejuvenation, encouragement and a belief that a better Haiti is possible!
o Jean H. Charles, LLB MSW, JD, is a syndicated columnist with Caribbean News Now. He can be reached at: jeancharles@aol.com and followed at Caribbeannewsnow/Haiti.=
Published with the permission of Caribbean News Now.

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