The Blog

Hello I was talking to my good friend James Oncys from Haiti on facebook today and it occurred to me how driven and determined  he was to succeed. Haiti is a very poor island nation and the first time I spoke with James he showed me photos of ruins from a terrible earthquake that devastated his homeland. Since our first encounter on facebook I have observed at how proud and generous he is. He is so determined to change his life.

James leaves home  James has recently been in poor health. The stress of his father’s death and the responsibility that fell on his shoulders was too much for him to bare.  At the age of 21 he has contracted tuberculosis. This meant that he could no longer stay with his family.  His mother could only afford to house him in a house 100 miles away. So for the first time in his life James was away from home all alone.

James learns to cook  He somehow managed to have free internet use and was able to chat to me through out his ordeal. He kept his spirits high and was even asking me for some cooking tips. Learning to fend for  yourself so unexpectedly is a huge learning curve. He ended up calling his mother who coached him over the phone on how to prepare his favourite recipes. The recipes were not enough he needed somebody to guide him through the process.

James’ health improves James prayed and said his self talk day after day. He eventually began to improve. The remarkable part of this story is still yet to come. James required to check in at the hospital every few weeks. This meant he had to travel some one hundred miles to check on his health. Ok so that’s about a 2 or 3 hour drive. However when you have no money it becomes  a days walk. So twice on his health retreat James had to visit the hospital. I take off my hat to his courage, passion and endurance as he journeyed the 100 miles to and from the hospital. All of this time he was on his own, with only his self talk and God to show him the way home.

James has a brush with the law.  When James was well enough to venture out he began making friends in the neighbourhood. One of his friends had a job to do. He was to deliver some products to a shop. The only problem was that he didn’t know how to drive. Of course he asked for James’s help. James could drive yet he had no licence. He wanted to help his friend so he took a a chance and delivered the products for him. On the return journey the police were waiting for them. James was charged for driving without a licence. The story has a happy ending for the owner of the shop paid the fine and vouched for James. This meant the police were lenient with him. James learnt a big lesson from this. He will be getting his licence before he drives again. When he can afford to do so of course.

James returns home.  James improved quickly, the rest and time to reflect about his life and dreams did wonders for his enthusiasm to reunite him with his family. His renewed vigour and passion to succeed against the odds was to be admired.  However the test of endurance came when James had to return home. Having used all his money to buy food and pay the rent. James’ family had no money left to take his furniture back home. So as well as walking all the way home, some one hundred miles they had to cart furniture as well. The whole ordeal took three days.

I said to him once he arrived home and recovered from the exhausting journey ” I am  amazed at how  brave and determined to succeed you are. If you can overcome such amazing hardship and still be upbeat then there is nothing you cant do.

Jame’s determination and passion to succeed against all odds is truly to be admired.