About

Ted and Katharine Oswald. Our rooftop in Haiti. (Photo: Hope Photographie)

We are a family of four living in the Sacramento area. A few words about what you'll see on this blog:

Once called "One Life in Philly," this blog became "Stories to Tell: A Journal from Haiti" five years ago, but still contains the Philadelphia content.

The title banner for "One Life in Philly" blog (circa 2012-2014.)

Our blog from Haiti (2014-2016) which can be found by clicking on the "Haiti" tab above

From 2014-2016 we lived in Haiti and worked for Mennonite Central Committee, an international relief, development, and peace-building organization. MCC has a presence in over 40 countries worldwide. It has worked in Haiti, implementing projects alongside community groups and local civil society organizations for over 50 years. We served as Policy Analysts and Advocacy Coordinators with MCC.

What does this mean?

We partnered with Haitian human rights groups to promote more just policies in certain target areas. The policy areas we worked on were: 

Housing. The right to dignified housing for all Haitians. Learn more at our site www.haitihousingdc.org

Mining. Monitoring plans for mining in the north of Haiti and advocating for transparency and community involvement. Learn more at haitimining.weebly.com 

MINUSTAH & cholera justice. Collaborating with organizations seeking to call the UN to account for their responsibility in starting Haiti's cholera epidemic in 2010, which has since killed 9,000+ Haitians and infected 800,000. See www.facejustice.org 

Aid transparency. Pushing for greater transparency and efficacy in bilateral, international aid to Haiti.

Justice system. Working to form a network of Haitian Christian attorneys and judges to provide legal services and advocate for reform within the criminal justice system.

You will find my more "raw" posts from our life in Philly, as well as my African writings at my older blog, Common Grace. (2006-2012)

Mési!