Caline In Haiti

In Haiti, there is an ancient proverb “deye mon gen mon.” It means beyond the mountain is another mountain. The proverb is one of the most prominent proverb to the people of Haiti. Everyone incorporates the proverb to their own lives, everyone except Caline: “What does the proverb truly mean?” she asked looking out the window. She looks out the window to stare at the mountains, from time to time, in hopes of understanding the meaning. However instead of observing the mountains, she catches a glimpse of the neighbors’ children walking to school. They are dressed in blue and yellow uniforms, and they all have ad-like smiles on their faces. The children always look happy walking to school. Caline sighs. She is upset because other children get

At first, Caline is sent to live with her aunt, Ma Rose, because Caline’s mother is unable to pay for Caline’s school tuition and take care of five children. Caline’s mother is a single mother with minimum income. She had no other choice, but to send Caline to live with Ma Rose in Jacmel, Haiti. Upon Caline arriving to Jacmel, Ma Rose promised Caline’s mother that she will take care of Caline. Also, Ma Rose vowed to make sure Caline receives quality education from the best school in Jacmel. “Don’t worry, my sister, Caline is in good hands,” Ma Rose said ending their telephone conversation. Nevertheless seven months following Caline’s arrival to Ma Rose’s house, Ma Rose hasn’t enroll Caline to any school. Alternately, Ma Rose makes Caline stay and do housework in her house. Every day before Ma Rose leaves for work, she instructs Caline to complete her duties and commands her to stay in the house. Caline is only allowed to

She finished polishing Ma Rose’s ornaments, fixing Ma Rose’s bed, and sweeping the floors. After sweeping, Caline grabbed a piece of cardboard piled the house trash on the cardboard, and threw the trash out the door. Moreover, Caline grabbed the first of four buckets and walked to the local water well. The walk to the local well was roughly thirty minutes, but that didn’t bother Caline as much. She enjoyed getting out of the house and seeing people in the katye. The only problem Caline has with the water well is the location. The well is on top of a mountainous area, which is surrounded by rocks. The location makes it difficult for Caline, but she doesn’t think about the difficulty of the task. She thinks about the consequences of not doing the chore. Reluctantly, she walks up the mountainous area to fill the first bucket with water and heads back to the house to retrieve the other buckets. The first three buckets Caline carried were easy to carry, but the last bucket of water she carried made her feel lightheaded. She placed bucket of water down, opened the bucket’s lid, and splashed some of the water in her face. She even took sips of the water. The taste was so invigorating; she took more and more sips. When she was ready, she placed the bucket back on her head and resumed her walk back to Ma Rose’s