Dèyè Mòn, Gen Mòn

Beyond mountains there are mountains.

A sentiment one will find to be true very quickly walking around Haiti… there’s A LOT of mountains here, but like most Haitian proverbs, there is a deeper meaning with a lesson to teach about life.

My name is Ashley Martin, and I’m currently climbing perhaps one of the biggest metaphorical mountains of my life so far – living and working as an engineer in the poorest country on this side of the planet: Haiti. A place that speaks a different language, eats different foods, and doesn’t have air conditioning or stable power. Yes, climbing this mountain will have some major challenges, but also, I think, some major victories and opportunities for growth.

I’ve already been on this journey for about two months now, but have just decided to start sharing my experiences in a blog. I’m not much of a writer, but I hope this will give others a glimpse of a world they may have never seen before; a world I love so much already.

One thing that I am already learning about the truth of this proverb is that each mountain we climb in life will bring into view the next. This has proven to not only be true in Haiti’s history as a country, but also in my own life. It’s important to note that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for the challenges I have had to overcome and I would guess Haiti wouldn’t be such a place of rich culture and strong people had it not struggled through some of its major setbacks. Each mountain we climb has many things to teach us, and each step only makes us stronger for the next ascent we will face.

Another important note on climbing mountains is having a strong support system around you to keep you going when things get hard. Thankfully, I think I have the best team out there encouraging me as I am on this journey. Mary Evelyn Melton, a fellow Clemson student working alongside me, my many Haitian friends who are teaching me everything I need to know, a whole class of Clemson students working on campus in support of our mission here, many advisors and faculty who have done wonders to teach and prepare me, my family and friends who give me ample encouragement, and my church family who prays for me every day. Who you climb with matters, so I am blessed to have so many who matter to me.

I’ll keep this short for now as I just wanted to introduce myself and a little bit about Haiti. Stay tuned for future posts about what I’m learning, the experiences I’m having, and (keeping with intern tradition) some more awesome Haitian proverbs.

For now, if you are interesting in the organization I am working with, check out Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries .