It's funny, before this summer, missions trips seemed like something other people do. We love travel and I always wanted to go, but never had the nerve.
I guess something inside of me changed. Now if only the cold and fever I have on the inside would change to! I feel yucky but know it will all be ok. All I need to do is pack. After Haiti, I already have everything Anna and I need which is great.
A new adventure, a new sense of giving back to those who have so little and knowing God is watching over us and allowing us to venture out once again. This time, no real planning, organizing, helping so many other wonderful people with the trip. It's just Compassion International and a great guy named Sean doing it all for me.
Thank you buddy for taking care of everything and in exactly one week, Anna and I will be in El Salvador, switching planes onto Guatemala City. Now for some more tylenol, hot tea and rest :)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
It's Time to switch from Creole to Spanish or Maybe Qiche?
This summer has been so incredibly different than our normal summer breaks. I used to think that resorts and nice hotels were the best thing since sliced bread. Not anymore...
Our world has opened up to us and we are beginning to realize what it means to see someone else's country through their eyes. I thought we were before but I think it was slightly limited and protected. We expect to just get away from it all for awhile. Stress, sleep deprivation, hard work are everyday problems. For some reason though, now that our family has chosen mission trips over luxury, we actually feel better over the long term. Why is that? We didn't get to sleep in. No nice beds like before. Cold showers. Unusual bugs and unsanitary conditions at times. So why is that we go away, knowing what we face and yet feel so much more alive and useful and grateful when we return? I think because it's not what looks good on the outside that matters anymore, but instead what bends on the inside of our hearts that sticks.
It's not ok anymore to just ignore the majority of people in our world who struggle to survive. It's certainly easy to allow that to happen if we wish. Many people I'm sure think we have lost our minds. Maybe so, but I will take the pure excitement of arriving in a destination where most people don't want to travel because it doesn't have the comforts of home and at the same time reap the rewards from experiencing people that give me so much more than I could ever begin to give them. It's really not about the "things" we can take back for ourselves. It's about what we can manage to pull out of our dusty minds and hearts and learn maybe once again or possibly discover for the first time just how incredible it feels to give simply our love and time and help in anyway possible to those who have less.
Throwing money at people cannot fix problems permanently. It takes more than that. You have to step out of your comfort zone and reach out and touch the people who we just occasionally hear about on a special news broadcast or article in a magazine. We are all human. We all have feelings and hopes and dreams. Each of us has felt loss and disappointment and maybe even grief. We cannot expect those who have never been taught the basics to simply do what needs to be done. And that's why the rest of us are here...to lend a hand, open an incredible book, teach cooking, sewing, math, show someone how to do more than simply survive because if we don't, than aren't we just hording all this knowledge for ourselves? How selfish of us to critisize others for something no one has ever taken the time to show them.
I know we hear this every single day and it becomes like the teacher talking on the Charlie Brown specials. We are so blessed to live where we do and have what we have and be able to accomplish what we can because of our opportunites. "Wha, wha,wha,wha,wha,wha,wha". What was that? Did you hear it? It's the sound of simple compassion for others being sucked right out the window. Don't you hear it? We are allowing everyday life to rob us of what really matters.
I can't let that happen anymore. I can only speak for myself. I'm glad I chose to break the norm this year. Now I can't wait to do more when Anna and I leave July 24th for Guatemala. It's cool guys, to do more work but somehow feel more rested, I guess in my heart, after helping others. I hope everyone one day will break the mold as well and step out to discover what an awesome world we live in filled with different people,languages,cultures and cuisines coexisting somehow in this big blue world we call home. Forget how much we think we need and instead learn how to give back more than you even thought you had in you.It's amazing what you will discover from within yourself when you do it. Not because you are forced to but simply because something just seems more complete when you can. There's someone out there just like us who at the end of the day lays down their head where ever it may be and sees the same stars at night when they look up into that vast black sky simply hoping for a better tomorrow and someone to take their hand and show them how...
Our world has opened up to us and we are beginning to realize what it means to see someone else's country through their eyes. I thought we were before but I think it was slightly limited and protected. We expect to just get away from it all for awhile. Stress, sleep deprivation, hard work are everyday problems. For some reason though, now that our family has chosen mission trips over luxury, we actually feel better over the long term. Why is that? We didn't get to sleep in. No nice beds like before. Cold showers. Unusual bugs and unsanitary conditions at times. So why is that we go away, knowing what we face and yet feel so much more alive and useful and grateful when we return? I think because it's not what looks good on the outside that matters anymore, but instead what bends on the inside of our hearts that sticks.
It's not ok anymore to just ignore the majority of people in our world who struggle to survive. It's certainly easy to allow that to happen if we wish. Many people I'm sure think we have lost our minds. Maybe so, but I will take the pure excitement of arriving in a destination where most people don't want to travel because it doesn't have the comforts of home and at the same time reap the rewards from experiencing people that give me so much more than I could ever begin to give them. It's really not about the "things" we can take back for ourselves. It's about what we can manage to pull out of our dusty minds and hearts and learn maybe once again or possibly discover for the first time just how incredible it feels to give simply our love and time and help in anyway possible to those who have less.
Throwing money at people cannot fix problems permanently. It takes more than that. You have to step out of your comfort zone and reach out and touch the people who we just occasionally hear about on a special news broadcast or article in a magazine. We are all human. We all have feelings and hopes and dreams. Each of us has felt loss and disappointment and maybe even grief. We cannot expect those who have never been taught the basics to simply do what needs to be done. And that's why the rest of us are here...to lend a hand, open an incredible book, teach cooking, sewing, math, show someone how to do more than simply survive because if we don't, than aren't we just hording all this knowledge for ourselves? How selfish of us to critisize others for something no one has ever taken the time to show them.
I know we hear this every single day and it becomes like the teacher talking on the Charlie Brown specials. We are so blessed to live where we do and have what we have and be able to accomplish what we can because of our opportunites. "Wha, wha,wha,wha,wha,wha,wha". What was that? Did you hear it? It's the sound of simple compassion for others being sucked right out the window. Don't you hear it? We are allowing everyday life to rob us of what really matters.
I can't let that happen anymore. I can only speak for myself. I'm glad I chose to break the norm this year. Now I can't wait to do more when Anna and I leave July 24th for Guatemala. It's cool guys, to do more work but somehow feel more rested, I guess in my heart, after helping others. I hope everyone one day will break the mold as well and step out to discover what an awesome world we live in filled with different people,languages,cultures and cuisines coexisting somehow in this big blue world we call home. Forget how much we think we need and instead learn how to give back more than you even thought you had in you.It's amazing what you will discover from within yourself when you do it. Not because you are forced to but simply because something just seems more complete when you can. There's someone out there just like us who at the end of the day lays down their head where ever it may be and sees the same stars at night when they look up into that vast black sky simply hoping for a better tomorrow and someone to take their hand and show them how...
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Four last things I Need to Share with You
You know me, I could go on forever but there are four things I just wanted to share with everyone.
The first is that we also went down the road from our medical clinic to a nearby orphanage for special needs children. My husband Paul wanted to also help check and treat the children and the nuns and workers there a day after our clinic closed. I had been told about what was in their building by the TV crew but was hoping I wouldn't have to see it myself. In all fairness, the nuns and workers there are overwhelmed, many are older and none of them are properly educated in how to deal with special needs children. They simply do the best they know how. But what was inside is not something I can easily accept. Paul tells me to not be so hard about this but I cannot help it. There is a girl there who when she had an eye infection in one eye years ago, the local doctors simply proceeded to remove both eyes. She also eats her mattress materials and messes herself. What they do though to keep her in one location at night was what I saw for myself when going upstairs to get some new croc sandals for the nuns with foot problems that our teams had brought them. I followed the head worker up the dark and dank stairs. There is nothing on any walls, everything is brown and yellow tiles with metal bars on all the windows. As I get to the top of the stairs, I followed the lady into the children's room to the left. Straight ahead were just simple metal beds, very orderly, not a problem. Then, to the left I saw it.There was a very large metal animal cage on legs. No mattress inside it, no blankets, no pillows, nothing. The bottom of the cage was also just cold metal bars. This is where they keep the girl with no eyes at night undressed... I can handle guts hanging out of someone, bad smells when need be, but this made my stomach turn and it took everything within me to not say a word. I wanted to take a photo of it but the woman was watching me like a hawk. I couldn't risk her catching me taking a photo. I just wanted to get as far away as possible from this building as quickly as possible but couldn't. There is also the boy they tie down with ropes behind his back and our special needs team that also came to help saw the permanent rope marks in his skin because of his seizures. There is also the older boy who they lock in a bathroom for hours while he goes to the bathroom because he smears his feces everywhere. When finally done, they just go in and clean up after him...
Also, the Voodoo temples. There is one directly behind the clinic where Paul and Andy stayed and also one down the road from the orphanage. Paul and Andy talked about the beating drums, squeeling animals and singing for hours in the middle of the nights. Anna heard the pigs squeeling near us for sacrifice through the nights. There was also the women yelling while this all occurred. It was disturbing. They say that around 80% of all Haitians also practice Voodoo. I learned something else about Voodoo. There are the zombies. The locals believe people die and then the high priests and priestesses bring people back to life. The truth is that if someone crosses those who practice Voodoo, they poison them which temporarily slows their heart rates to the point that uneducated people do not think they are breathing and also causes their muscular systems to freeze up. They then wrap the bodies in white sheets and "bury" the body. Within about 3 days, the poisoned people come back out of their misfortune and dig their way out of the shallow graves. The high priests know the timing of it all and just happen to show up to "bring them back to life". This enforces their "satanly power" that people believe they have over everyone!
The third thing is I quickly learned to do exactly what was needed to get the heck out of the airport in time before missing our plane after this HUGE corrupt scheme was setup by the local Avis rental car company at the airport.Remember the cash they fold into a tiny wad and then place in the palm of their hand as they shake on something for a bribe? Well, I won't go into the long drwan out details or how entirely incompetant many "businesses" are but Julie Berger proceeded to payoff a police officer to simply get Avis from charging us for a totally bogus charge that has no validity!! I felt like I was living inside the TV screen while in an episode of The Sopranos or something. I do not like that show about the mob, but at that moment in time, if I hadn't done something we might have still been sitting in the airport in Haiti, while 6 police officers showed up early for work in uniform just to watch the World Cup but when we needed a police report to be filled out saying the car had lost a tail light because of a slight mishap, they look right at you and tell you they have the authority to sign off on the form BUUUTTTTT, they are not on the clock yet and so too bad but no one can help you. I could give you example after example but you get the idea. I had one man throwing a pen at me because I was not the type of woman who was going to let Haitian men look me in the eye and flat out lie to me from sentence to sentence, making things up as they go along. They really don't like women like me but then again the older high school boys had no problem telling our children in their school when I went in with them to take photos how they think I would be perfect for their fathers!! Okay...
And the last is the schools that people must pay for, uniforms to purchase that they cannot afford. Old books being used with missing pages and all men teaching the classes because they are the ones who are able to get educations many times (only 33% of the population are able to attend school, so they are also the only ones who actually speak French) even though it is the official language. Go figure. Creole is the real language but President Aristead tried to change all that when he took over before the current president. You will see the photos and the classrooms are nothing more than cinder block enclosures from the ground to the walls but there are no ceilings and there are no roofs where I was. The floor is nothing more than dirty cement with mud and water to walk through in places. There is one blackboard for each enclosure. I would compare the "classrooms" to a larger size office cubicle but that's where the comparison ends.It is so sad when I looked around me on the streets later, the doorways of shacks, the kids walking with animals everywhere but none of these children even have the opportunity to ever go to school.Never a chance to know there is a bigger world out there, never believing they can be anything they want, never thinking they matter.
So, that's my thoughts about the environment set in place by those who don't care about the people around them and how much suffering surounds them. But the local Haitian people and the landscapes that have always existed since first created are like nowhere else I have seen. We must learn from the Haitians. We must understand that when a Haitian waits in line for 8 hours in the heat, no meal since they left home early that morning and never complains there is a reason we have not yet learned. When I am told that one of the mommies that works in our orphanage STILL sleeps on top of cement slabs in a tent while three of her family members below her have been buried alive and their bodies still are laying where they fell, they are the ones we must admire. When a woman is willing to give up two of her children in order to be able to work and survive even though her heart is breaking, she must not be forgotten. The stories go on but our minds seem to have left them so very long ago. I only hope that if we are ever faced with the incredibly horrendous situations as they are, we will be able to stand up just as they do and keep on wanting to live without anti-depressants, therapists, spas, airconditioned buildings with clean water or medicines to keep our family members or our own children alive. How strong are we really? Or are we merely hiding behind our fears of what it would be like if we had to face what they face? I believe in all of us and in the simple things that makes us human beings who share the same blood, no matter the skin color. We all love, we all hurt, we all want happiness and to see our children do well in life. I will hope that we can all just reach out to others and show them they matter, they are loved and they have some sort of hope to hold onto in this thing called life...
The first is that we also went down the road from our medical clinic to a nearby orphanage for special needs children. My husband Paul wanted to also help check and treat the children and the nuns and workers there a day after our clinic closed. I had been told about what was in their building by the TV crew but was hoping I wouldn't have to see it myself. In all fairness, the nuns and workers there are overwhelmed, many are older and none of them are properly educated in how to deal with special needs children. They simply do the best they know how. But what was inside is not something I can easily accept. Paul tells me to not be so hard about this but I cannot help it. There is a girl there who when she had an eye infection in one eye years ago, the local doctors simply proceeded to remove both eyes. She also eats her mattress materials and messes herself. What they do though to keep her in one location at night was what I saw for myself when going upstairs to get some new croc sandals for the nuns with foot problems that our teams had brought them. I followed the head worker up the dark and dank stairs. There is nothing on any walls, everything is brown and yellow tiles with metal bars on all the windows. As I get to the top of the stairs, I followed the lady into the children's room to the left. Straight ahead were just simple metal beds, very orderly, not a problem. Then, to the left I saw it.There was a very large metal animal cage on legs. No mattress inside it, no blankets, no pillows, nothing. The bottom of the cage was also just cold metal bars. This is where they keep the girl with no eyes at night undressed... I can handle guts hanging out of someone, bad smells when need be, but this made my stomach turn and it took everything within me to not say a word. I wanted to take a photo of it but the woman was watching me like a hawk. I couldn't risk her catching me taking a photo. I just wanted to get as far away as possible from this building as quickly as possible but couldn't. There is also the boy they tie down with ropes behind his back and our special needs team that also came to help saw the permanent rope marks in his skin because of his seizures. There is also the older boy who they lock in a bathroom for hours while he goes to the bathroom because he smears his feces everywhere. When finally done, they just go in and clean up after him...
Also, the Voodoo temples. There is one directly behind the clinic where Paul and Andy stayed and also one down the road from the orphanage. Paul and Andy talked about the beating drums, squeeling animals and singing for hours in the middle of the nights. Anna heard the pigs squeeling near us for sacrifice through the nights. There was also the women yelling while this all occurred. It was disturbing. They say that around 80% of all Haitians also practice Voodoo. I learned something else about Voodoo. There are the zombies. The locals believe people die and then the high priests and priestesses bring people back to life. The truth is that if someone crosses those who practice Voodoo, they poison them which temporarily slows their heart rates to the point that uneducated people do not think they are breathing and also causes their muscular systems to freeze up. They then wrap the bodies in white sheets and "bury" the body. Within about 3 days, the poisoned people come back out of their misfortune and dig their way out of the shallow graves. The high priests know the timing of it all and just happen to show up to "bring them back to life". This enforces their "satanly power" that people believe they have over everyone!
The third thing is I quickly learned to do exactly what was needed to get the heck out of the airport in time before missing our plane after this HUGE corrupt scheme was setup by the local Avis rental car company at the airport.Remember the cash they fold into a tiny wad and then place in the palm of their hand as they shake on something for a bribe? Well, I won't go into the long drwan out details or how entirely incompetant many "businesses" are but Julie Berger proceeded to payoff a police officer to simply get Avis from charging us for a totally bogus charge that has no validity!! I felt like I was living inside the TV screen while in an episode of The Sopranos or something. I do not like that show about the mob, but at that moment in time, if I hadn't done something we might have still been sitting in the airport in Haiti, while 6 police officers showed up early for work in uniform just to watch the World Cup but when we needed a police report to be filled out saying the car had lost a tail light because of a slight mishap, they look right at you and tell you they have the authority to sign off on the form BUUUTTTTT, they are not on the clock yet and so too bad but no one can help you. I could give you example after example but you get the idea. I had one man throwing a pen at me because I was not the type of woman who was going to let Haitian men look me in the eye and flat out lie to me from sentence to sentence, making things up as they go along. They really don't like women like me but then again the older high school boys had no problem telling our children in their school when I went in with them to take photos how they think I would be perfect for their fathers!! Okay...
And the last is the schools that people must pay for, uniforms to purchase that they cannot afford. Old books being used with missing pages and all men teaching the classes because they are the ones who are able to get educations many times (only 33% of the population are able to attend school, so they are also the only ones who actually speak French) even though it is the official language. Go figure. Creole is the real language but President Aristead tried to change all that when he took over before the current president. You will see the photos and the classrooms are nothing more than cinder block enclosures from the ground to the walls but there are no ceilings and there are no roofs where I was. The floor is nothing more than dirty cement with mud and water to walk through in places. There is one blackboard for each enclosure. I would compare the "classrooms" to a larger size office cubicle but that's where the comparison ends.It is so sad when I looked around me on the streets later, the doorways of shacks, the kids walking with animals everywhere but none of these children even have the opportunity to ever go to school.Never a chance to know there is a bigger world out there, never believing they can be anything they want, never thinking they matter.
So, that's my thoughts about the environment set in place by those who don't care about the people around them and how much suffering surounds them. But the local Haitian people and the landscapes that have always existed since first created are like nowhere else I have seen. We must learn from the Haitians. We must understand that when a Haitian waits in line for 8 hours in the heat, no meal since they left home early that morning and never complains there is a reason we have not yet learned. When I am told that one of the mommies that works in our orphanage STILL sleeps on top of cement slabs in a tent while three of her family members below her have been buried alive and their bodies still are laying where they fell, they are the ones we must admire. When a woman is willing to give up two of her children in order to be able to work and survive even though her heart is breaking, she must not be forgotten. The stories go on but our minds seem to have left them so very long ago. I only hope that if we are ever faced with the incredibly horrendous situations as they are, we will be able to stand up just as they do and keep on wanting to live without anti-depressants, therapists, spas, airconditioned buildings with clean water or medicines to keep our family members or our own children alive. How strong are we really? Or are we merely hiding behind our fears of what it would be like if we had to face what they face? I believe in all of us and in the simple things that makes us human beings who share the same blood, no matter the skin color. We all love, we all hurt, we all want happiness and to see our children do well in life. I will hope that we can all just reach out to others and show them they matter, they are loved and they have some sort of hope to hold onto in this thing called life...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sharing the Orphans with You for a Moment
You know, I had made up my mind that I was going to try really hard to memorize the 11 children's names before arriving at the orphanage. I just thought it would be really cool for them to know that they are important enough to do that for. It has to do with dignity instead of being labeled simply a orphan that people are coming to meet. So, I had an information packet that had been given to me. It had each of their photos on it. I cut out all the photos and attached them to 3 x 5 cards with their names below. Then, I made sure to make a note of the ones who were siblings or even siblings to some of the Haitian ladies working at the orphanage.
I studied and studied them on the plane. I pretty much had them I thought except for 3 of the boys who are around the same age and looked so similar. I was determined to be able to arrive there, not have anyone introduce them by name to me and be able to tell them their names when I walked in the door.
The fiasco at the airport threw me off a little until Luz arrived to meet us there to help get all the medical luggage delivered even though we were renting a SUV as well. When I rounded the corner of her car, there was Roberde. Just like his photo. I went to hug him. I knew he loves to build things like when he took banana leaves and built a helicopter out of it and then added a mini battery and actually had the propeller rotating around so I knew he was smart. But what I didn't know was how tender and sweet he was. Almost 17 years old and one of the kids there whose mother had died and had been sold off as a child slave. He later told a few of us his story and just watching his expressions and telling it in such a tender voice made me understand why he is so quiet. I made up a questionaire for each of them so I can use it for future sponsorship information. One of the questions was if you could ask God for anything you wanted what would it be. His answer,,,that God could help the orphanage to grow bigger and stronger and that his country will be transformed into a better place for all people...
Ofcourse we didn't first arrive at the orphanage, but actually many places before that. I was fascinated by the tent cities, the incredible medical clinic and all they had done to get ready for the grand opening but I really was excited to get over to the orphanage and finally meet the kids.
When we pulled in, they were only a few children outside in the walled area. You have to remember that almost any house of any size beyond the tiny shacks have walls around them with gates to stop looting,kidnappings, etc. I knew this in advance or else it would have made me very uncomfortable. Then, the other children started coming out after a few moments. I told them to keep their names a secret and instead make me say their names.They seemed to like this. So, here goes...
There are 4 girls and 7 boys. I knew the girls would be fairly simple. The littlest is July. She is 4. Easy for my bad memory since she and I shared the same name! They are all small for their age and that is mainly because of the rampant malnutrition from their younger years. She is a cutie! Has this HUGE smile with those little teeth she clenches forward when she smiles so you see her teeth. She loves to laugh and loved Anna.She is very curious and wants to read and learn when adults are willing to work with her.
Then there is Stevenson. He just turned 8. What a fireball. I love him too. He is clearly very smart. They said they have had to keep him at the orphanage for awhile because the teachers couldn't handle him and so Mommie Kettley who works there with the kids has been homeschooling him. I just think he's bored because he's so smart. At home and school. He needs lots of stimulation and it's hard when there are so many to look after. I will later share photos with you of the most incredible kites that Stevenson made both he and I out of banana leaf veins, string and a garbage bag. Sooo cool and they do fly because we did it together. He has the greatest laugh in the world and is quite the actor!
Then there is Widlyn. She is 7 and is one determined and head strong little girl but also very sweet. She needs alot of positive reinforcement and things to keep her busy. She LOVES to talk and it has affected her work in school and her grades lately as well. She is more distant toward affection until she gets to know you but that is to be expected considering her past. I also think she lives sometimes in the shadow of the two older girls because she falls in the middle of the girls group and the two older ones excel in things that I don't think she feels she can ever do as well in. She really just wants to be loved and is craving that in any way she can think of in her own little mind. Alot of the kids are behind in school because of the ways they were living in their previous orphanage before our teams became involved.
Francois is just a great kid. He's 8 years old and not hard to deal with, pretty easy going and loves hanging in a threesome with Rogere and Jeff Allan who are all around the same age. I would say that Francois knows how to hold his own pretty well when the wrestling matches and competitive arguments come out between the three boys. He has a beautiful big wide smile and likes to write.
Rogere is just a piece of work! He is 10. The kids did some drama skits for us on two different nights and Rogere was hilarious! He could imitate others there so well. He's funny because there are times he can be very deep in thought about things and then other times he is just wide open and all boy! He also knows quite well how to push some of the others buttons but a really sweet kid. He is also the brother of Mafouna who is 12. They look just alike and both have this sense of wanting order in their lives with everything they do. It comes from not having it in their lives before. Rogere can also throw a winded moaning temper tantrum for long periods and has a lisp. I taught him a little lesson the other day when the whining wouldn't stop. I got out my cell phone with the video recorder and secretly video taped him so he could hear himself. When I played it back to him he was shocked but also I think a bit interested in how I managed to do that. He had never heard himself before and I explained to him that when he does that, it does nothing to help him since the Mommies and all of us would not be paying any attention. I gave him other ideas instead of ways to work off his frustrations quietly when he gets upset. Who knows if it may help but he did pay attention atleast for the moment.
Jeff-Alande is a sweet 8 year old. Very quiet. He is very careful with everything he does and takes his time. He wants things just so but not in a picky way. What we didn't know about him when we got there was how badly he was feeling. By day two he was laying on the ground under my bench and then began crying. I immediately told the mommies his temperature needed to be checked and he had a fever. He was crying from severe stomach cramping so I alerted Paul to look at him even though Paul and Andy were not staying there but at the clinic. I suspected appendicitis and do did Paul.It turned out not to be that but, sure enough, after giving him liquid tylenol and some lemonade for sugars he needed, he proceeded to throw up later that evening right when Paul and I were attending to him all over his bed. I felt so sorry for him. Paul became Jeff's guy to love because Dr.Paul had saved his day and made him better or so he thought lol!!
Mackson is 14 years old and one of my favorites even though I really try to not have favorites. He is very quiet also until you act interested enough in him and engage him in conversations and then he really warms up. He loves art and loved alot of the reference books I brought them. I also gave the two oldest boys quietly a small short wave radio which he loves. He is clearly bright and just needs encouragement and a pat on the shoulder occasionally to be told he is doing a good job. Mackson also has a sister Christiana who does the laundry and helps clean at the orphanage. The mommies are all very grateful to have work and are never treated as less than anyone else there. They are told how much they are appreciated and do work hard. His sister Christiana is a whole separate interesting story. As I write this, someone who visited with the team and I cannot mention who right now wants to adopt one of her children who is 4. He came over one day and is a sweetie. She cannot keep him and was ok with giving him up.The father of the boy though wants to be able to see his son however often so I don't know how that will go. Another team member is interested in adopting her baby she is carrying now. Again THAT father will have to give permission but she is open to it. A white US couple not associated with us at all approached her from somewhere else about adopting her little 1 year old girl but THAT father would not allow it. Christianna goes through relationships for survival and also knows she cannot keep her children and be able to hold a job as well, so we shall see...
Mafouna is a very tender hearted but walled in girl. She was sexually molested repeatedly before our teams came on the scene and the poor thing struggles to ever trust anyone or be able to open up.I could never blame her for feeling this way.She is so pretty and she was very thoughtful and caring to me always. Anna and I never once asked or wanted anyone to do this, but she and Marie-Victoire (the oldest girl) set up our mosquito netting by tieing them up with their hair ribbons and perfecting the bed sheets we had put on our air mattresses so they looked more neat for their standards. I was very impressed! Although Mafouna is only 12 she looks older which I think works against her as far as what others expect from her and her maturity level.
She is a very sweet girl and again, just like her brother Rogere, craves order and cleaniness because of her past.
As I mentioned, Marie-Victoireis is the oldest of the girls. At first, she comes across as a little tough but kind. Of all the kids I had no idea the special bond she and I would later share. When we left yesterday, she would not stop crying and it was extremely hard to see her this way knowing I was leaving. We just kept hugging and I wiped her tears and told her to be strong and how proud I was of her. She asked special permission from Luz to be able to write me letters through our teams when they go back and forth and then she let me know what she wanted to do. I was so deeply touched and still am... Marie-Victoire brings order to the kids. She is very mature and knows what she wants in her life. She was also a child slave and shared stories of her past. She would wake up early, crochet for awhile before breakfast or getting ready for school. Sometimes, she loved to make jewelry also before school. She is a letter writer and I found out late yesterday she had also written a long letter to Andy and given it to someone to give to him. Nothing bad or wrong just about how much she likes us being with her and asking when were we going to come back and see her. She says she wants to not get married until she turns 40 because she wants a man who will treat her right and who she has known for a very long time who she can trust. She wants to become a nurse. On the last day there, Pastor Ramon and his wife Luz were kind enough to take us all somewhere to eat outside of where we had been working.Each child had to be assigned one adult to be with always. We had to hold hands and never let go. There are kidnappings that rarely occur but have happened with orphans from American orphanages. I picked Marie-Victoire. We had such a special day that day and she told me how funny I am. I don't know about all that but we had a blast together!
Last is Rodlin who is 11. It was really special actually because his birthday fell on the week we were there so we all got to celebrate with him. Rodlin's favorite thing to do there is help wash the car. He really enjoys it and wants it just right. The car looked all shiny and clean when he was done! Rodlin is another one of the boys who I think is very bright and gets bored and then finds ways to bug the others because he has too much time on his hands. Rodlin probably runs in second place for the best whiner but it's only because he and Rogere have helped each other perfect the style of whining lol! Seriously though he is a really cool kid and I enjoyed being with him and watching him when I was teaching them about the solar system or the organs of the body and his eyes just showed me how inquisitive he really is.
These children have been through so much and are survivors. It is really hard on them when so many teams come through and then leave them. They have wonderful mommies that help them and Pastor Ramon and Luz and Carmen back here who has spent so much time with them. They also have a very solid and loving dad figure in Dave who is the house father who came from here and agreed to live there permanently to protect them and also Johhny from SC at Hope Point Church who has known the children longer than any of our teams. He has been involved since the first orphanage needed bailing out of finanacial problems with the previous woman in charge. What he wasn't aware of was how bad conditions were at that first orphanage because he trusted the woman. This is very common in Haiti. Orphanages are set up everywhere, money is being sent to help keep them running and in the mean time the conditions are completely unnacceptable and the children are not being properly cared for at all. The money in the mean time is being sifted out into the director's pockets, etc.Johhny comes across as this big bad business guy who looks all cool but deep down he is such a total teddy bear for those children with a huge heart and loves them very deeply. He comes down to Haiti alot and wants only the best for them just like Pastor Ramon and Luz and all the others.
You know, we all love the kids in our own special ways but what the kids really want more than anything in this world, is a family of their own where they don't keep losing people they fall in love with and they can get the special one on one time they need to bloom. Right now, the orphanage is not in a position to handle adoptions but maybe someday they will. Everything in Haiti takes 10 times longer to get approved and payoffs are high.
I would warn you of something. If you choose to ever look up Rescue Children Orphanage, go to Facebook to find it, not on the web. The site on the web is NOT our's but from the previous woman who gave these children up but yet refuses to delete this site. It is complicated and illegal but is being dealt with through the attorneys. People come from all over to find opportunities to take advantage of Haiti and it's people. It is wrong but is rampant throughout their country. Payoffs, bribes, threats, voodoo killings for wrongs, all kinds of things. But what you need to focus on is not the wrongs but on the incredibly resiliant people of Haiti who continue somehow to keep their faith, go get all dressed up for church in their only nice outfits early in the mornings on Sundays, sometimes 3 or 4 people riding on the back of one moped or motorcyle to get there just to go thank God for what they have. While some here make every excuse known to man of why we can't get up in time to go or are too busy, our friends in Haiti make it their number one priority....
If we have one bit of sense in our heads, we should all reflect on what this really means. It' so much more than just about going to church. It's about understanding that no matter how bad things get we can't give up. Next time things seem really bad, think about the little tiny girl Anna saw with a burned face from the boiling water during the quake when it hit her or the women with no arms or the children begging just to eat. I gave one a coke I had. Too bad. I didn't care what anyone told me to not give it to him. I have never seen a boy drink a 12oz coke in 10 seconds. If that was the only sugar he could get to sustain him since he had no food, so be it. And you know what, he said "God bless you Madame" when he finished...
I studied and studied them on the plane. I pretty much had them I thought except for 3 of the boys who are around the same age and looked so similar. I was determined to be able to arrive there, not have anyone introduce them by name to me and be able to tell them their names when I walked in the door.
The fiasco at the airport threw me off a little until Luz arrived to meet us there to help get all the medical luggage delivered even though we were renting a SUV as well. When I rounded the corner of her car, there was Roberde. Just like his photo. I went to hug him. I knew he loves to build things like when he took banana leaves and built a helicopter out of it and then added a mini battery and actually had the propeller rotating around so I knew he was smart. But what I didn't know was how tender and sweet he was. Almost 17 years old and one of the kids there whose mother had died and had been sold off as a child slave. He later told a few of us his story and just watching his expressions and telling it in such a tender voice made me understand why he is so quiet. I made up a questionaire for each of them so I can use it for future sponsorship information. One of the questions was if you could ask God for anything you wanted what would it be. His answer,,,that God could help the orphanage to grow bigger and stronger and that his country will be transformed into a better place for all people...
Ofcourse we didn't first arrive at the orphanage, but actually many places before that. I was fascinated by the tent cities, the incredible medical clinic and all they had done to get ready for the grand opening but I really was excited to get over to the orphanage and finally meet the kids.
When we pulled in, they were only a few children outside in the walled area. You have to remember that almost any house of any size beyond the tiny shacks have walls around them with gates to stop looting,kidnappings, etc. I knew this in advance or else it would have made me very uncomfortable. Then, the other children started coming out after a few moments. I told them to keep their names a secret and instead make me say their names.They seemed to like this. So, here goes...
There are 4 girls and 7 boys. I knew the girls would be fairly simple. The littlest is July. She is 4. Easy for my bad memory since she and I shared the same name! They are all small for their age and that is mainly because of the rampant malnutrition from their younger years. She is a cutie! Has this HUGE smile with those little teeth she clenches forward when she smiles so you see her teeth. She loves to laugh and loved Anna.She is very curious and wants to read and learn when adults are willing to work with her.
Then there is Stevenson. He just turned 8. What a fireball. I love him too. He is clearly very smart. They said they have had to keep him at the orphanage for awhile because the teachers couldn't handle him and so Mommie Kettley who works there with the kids has been homeschooling him. I just think he's bored because he's so smart. At home and school. He needs lots of stimulation and it's hard when there are so many to look after. I will later share photos with you of the most incredible kites that Stevenson made both he and I out of banana leaf veins, string and a garbage bag. Sooo cool and they do fly because we did it together. He has the greatest laugh in the world and is quite the actor!
Then there is Widlyn. She is 7 and is one determined and head strong little girl but also very sweet. She needs alot of positive reinforcement and things to keep her busy. She LOVES to talk and it has affected her work in school and her grades lately as well. She is more distant toward affection until she gets to know you but that is to be expected considering her past. I also think she lives sometimes in the shadow of the two older girls because she falls in the middle of the girls group and the two older ones excel in things that I don't think she feels she can ever do as well in. She really just wants to be loved and is craving that in any way she can think of in her own little mind. Alot of the kids are behind in school because of the ways they were living in their previous orphanage before our teams became involved.
Francois is just a great kid. He's 8 years old and not hard to deal with, pretty easy going and loves hanging in a threesome with Rogere and Jeff Allan who are all around the same age. I would say that Francois knows how to hold his own pretty well when the wrestling matches and competitive arguments come out between the three boys. He has a beautiful big wide smile and likes to write.
Rogere is just a piece of work! He is 10. The kids did some drama skits for us on two different nights and Rogere was hilarious! He could imitate others there so well. He's funny because there are times he can be very deep in thought about things and then other times he is just wide open and all boy! He also knows quite well how to push some of the others buttons but a really sweet kid. He is also the brother of Mafouna who is 12. They look just alike and both have this sense of wanting order in their lives with everything they do. It comes from not having it in their lives before. Rogere can also throw a winded moaning temper tantrum for long periods and has a lisp. I taught him a little lesson the other day when the whining wouldn't stop. I got out my cell phone with the video recorder and secretly video taped him so he could hear himself. When I played it back to him he was shocked but also I think a bit interested in how I managed to do that. He had never heard himself before and I explained to him that when he does that, it does nothing to help him since the Mommies and all of us would not be paying any attention. I gave him other ideas instead of ways to work off his frustrations quietly when he gets upset. Who knows if it may help but he did pay attention atleast for the moment.
Jeff-Alande is a sweet 8 year old. Very quiet. He is very careful with everything he does and takes his time. He wants things just so but not in a picky way. What we didn't know about him when we got there was how badly he was feeling. By day two he was laying on the ground under my bench and then began crying. I immediately told the mommies his temperature needed to be checked and he had a fever. He was crying from severe stomach cramping so I alerted Paul to look at him even though Paul and Andy were not staying there but at the clinic. I suspected appendicitis and do did Paul.It turned out not to be that but, sure enough, after giving him liquid tylenol and some lemonade for sugars he needed, he proceeded to throw up later that evening right when Paul and I were attending to him all over his bed. I felt so sorry for him. Paul became Jeff's guy to love because Dr.Paul had saved his day and made him better or so he thought lol!!
Mackson is 14 years old and one of my favorites even though I really try to not have favorites. He is very quiet also until you act interested enough in him and engage him in conversations and then he really warms up. He loves art and loved alot of the reference books I brought them. I also gave the two oldest boys quietly a small short wave radio which he loves. He is clearly bright and just needs encouragement and a pat on the shoulder occasionally to be told he is doing a good job. Mackson also has a sister Christiana who does the laundry and helps clean at the orphanage. The mommies are all very grateful to have work and are never treated as less than anyone else there. They are told how much they are appreciated and do work hard. His sister Christiana is a whole separate interesting story. As I write this, someone who visited with the team and I cannot mention who right now wants to adopt one of her children who is 4. He came over one day and is a sweetie. She cannot keep him and was ok with giving him up.The father of the boy though wants to be able to see his son however often so I don't know how that will go. Another team member is interested in adopting her baby she is carrying now. Again THAT father will have to give permission but she is open to it. A white US couple not associated with us at all approached her from somewhere else about adopting her little 1 year old girl but THAT father would not allow it. Christianna goes through relationships for survival and also knows she cannot keep her children and be able to hold a job as well, so we shall see...
Mafouna is a very tender hearted but walled in girl. She was sexually molested repeatedly before our teams came on the scene and the poor thing struggles to ever trust anyone or be able to open up.I could never blame her for feeling this way.She is so pretty and she was very thoughtful and caring to me always. Anna and I never once asked or wanted anyone to do this, but she and Marie-Victoire (the oldest girl) set up our mosquito netting by tieing them up with their hair ribbons and perfecting the bed sheets we had put on our air mattresses so they looked more neat for their standards. I was very impressed! Although Mafouna is only 12 she looks older which I think works against her as far as what others expect from her and her maturity level.
She is a very sweet girl and again, just like her brother Rogere, craves order and cleaniness because of her past.
As I mentioned, Marie-Victoireis is the oldest of the girls. At first, she comes across as a little tough but kind. Of all the kids I had no idea the special bond she and I would later share. When we left yesterday, she would not stop crying and it was extremely hard to see her this way knowing I was leaving. We just kept hugging and I wiped her tears and told her to be strong and how proud I was of her. She asked special permission from Luz to be able to write me letters through our teams when they go back and forth and then she let me know what she wanted to do. I was so deeply touched and still am... Marie-Victoire brings order to the kids. She is very mature and knows what she wants in her life. She was also a child slave and shared stories of her past. She would wake up early, crochet for awhile before breakfast or getting ready for school. Sometimes, she loved to make jewelry also before school. She is a letter writer and I found out late yesterday she had also written a long letter to Andy and given it to someone to give to him. Nothing bad or wrong just about how much she likes us being with her and asking when were we going to come back and see her. She says she wants to not get married until she turns 40 because she wants a man who will treat her right and who she has known for a very long time who she can trust. She wants to become a nurse. On the last day there, Pastor Ramon and his wife Luz were kind enough to take us all somewhere to eat outside of where we had been working.Each child had to be assigned one adult to be with always. We had to hold hands and never let go. There are kidnappings that rarely occur but have happened with orphans from American orphanages. I picked Marie-Victoire. We had such a special day that day and she told me how funny I am. I don't know about all that but we had a blast together!
Last is Rodlin who is 11. It was really special actually because his birthday fell on the week we were there so we all got to celebrate with him. Rodlin's favorite thing to do there is help wash the car. He really enjoys it and wants it just right. The car looked all shiny and clean when he was done! Rodlin is another one of the boys who I think is very bright and gets bored and then finds ways to bug the others because he has too much time on his hands. Rodlin probably runs in second place for the best whiner but it's only because he and Rogere have helped each other perfect the style of whining lol! Seriously though he is a really cool kid and I enjoyed being with him and watching him when I was teaching them about the solar system or the organs of the body and his eyes just showed me how inquisitive he really is.
These children have been through so much and are survivors. It is really hard on them when so many teams come through and then leave them. They have wonderful mommies that help them and Pastor Ramon and Luz and Carmen back here who has spent so much time with them. They also have a very solid and loving dad figure in Dave who is the house father who came from here and agreed to live there permanently to protect them and also Johhny from SC at Hope Point Church who has known the children longer than any of our teams. He has been involved since the first orphanage needed bailing out of finanacial problems with the previous woman in charge. What he wasn't aware of was how bad conditions were at that first orphanage because he trusted the woman. This is very common in Haiti. Orphanages are set up everywhere, money is being sent to help keep them running and in the mean time the conditions are completely unnacceptable and the children are not being properly cared for at all. The money in the mean time is being sifted out into the director's pockets, etc.Johhny comes across as this big bad business guy who looks all cool but deep down he is such a total teddy bear for those children with a huge heart and loves them very deeply. He comes down to Haiti alot and wants only the best for them just like Pastor Ramon and Luz and all the others.
You know, we all love the kids in our own special ways but what the kids really want more than anything in this world, is a family of their own where they don't keep losing people they fall in love with and they can get the special one on one time they need to bloom. Right now, the orphanage is not in a position to handle adoptions but maybe someday they will. Everything in Haiti takes 10 times longer to get approved and payoffs are high.
I would warn you of something. If you choose to ever look up Rescue Children Orphanage, go to Facebook to find it, not on the web. The site on the web is NOT our's but from the previous woman who gave these children up but yet refuses to delete this site. It is complicated and illegal but is being dealt with through the attorneys. People come from all over to find opportunities to take advantage of Haiti and it's people. It is wrong but is rampant throughout their country. Payoffs, bribes, threats, voodoo killings for wrongs, all kinds of things. But what you need to focus on is not the wrongs but on the incredibly resiliant people of Haiti who continue somehow to keep their faith, go get all dressed up for church in their only nice outfits early in the mornings on Sundays, sometimes 3 or 4 people riding on the back of one moped or motorcyle to get there just to go thank God for what they have. While some here make every excuse known to man of why we can't get up in time to go or are too busy, our friends in Haiti make it their number one priority....
If we have one bit of sense in our heads, we should all reflect on what this really means. It' so much more than just about going to church. It's about understanding that no matter how bad things get we can't give up. Next time things seem really bad, think about the little tiny girl Anna saw with a burned face from the boiling water during the quake when it hit her or the women with no arms or the children begging just to eat. I gave one a coke I had. Too bad. I didn't care what anyone told me to not give it to him. I have never seen a boy drink a 12oz coke in 10 seconds. If that was the only sugar he could get to sustain him since he had no food, so be it. And you know what, he said "God bless you Madame" when he finished...
Friday, June 25, 2010
Finally going out to see Love A Child
For the most part, Wednesday until a little after lunch was pretty uneventful. Other than playing with and doing projects with July and Stevenson,which is always so much fun and I learn so much from just watching them. They teach us how things are done here in Haiti and then we just help them to understand and reinforce house rules and keep showing them ways to divert temper tantrums and how to behave. Before our teams got really involved and took over, there was very little structure and behavioral problems were rampant. Alot of healing has already been going on but there is still more to do with them and everyone is aware and working hard at it. I will tell you more about our orphans at Rescue Children Orphanage after my daily blogs.
Then, I had a chance for Anna,Andy and I unexpectedly to head out in the afternoon to Love A Child with Pastor Randy, Michelson and the TV crew to finally see the place, meet the founders Sherry and Bobby Burnette, Carole the nurse who heads up their clinic and ofcourse Dukens and Clepson! So, with 5 minutes notice we left again, hoping for no more trouble from 2 days before with the rioting. Pastor Randy was so nice to take us out there and he drives like a local Haitian as though he's lived there is whole life lol! He's great and got around people and animals and tap taps like nobody's business.
As I had mentioned before, when you leave Port au Prince and head almost due east, the landscape really changes. Beautiful mountains, green this time of year. Still extreme poverty but atleast they can have farms and more animals to survive. It was cool because Michelson has never been out there before. He fell in love with the area and said he will one day marry Geralda, have 2 children and build a house to live in beauty and peace...
So we turn into the Love A Child compound and almost immediately in front of us was a dead donkey sprawled across the dirt road which had clearly been there for some time. Very hard to see considering we were within inches of driving over it's legs just to get around. Not pretty. But after that we drive down a long curvy dirt road and to the left was the medical clinic. There were people gathered around under a tree. One person I recognized right away was Carole the nurse who Paul had worked closely with. And there, sitting on the wall just smiling (remember they didn't know we were coming at all that day) was Dukens! I recognized him even before Andy! I cannot tell you how happy I was to see him! He and Andy immediately hugged, slapping each other on the backs and then he came up to me. Oh the hug he gave me was so strong and so, so good to have after so long. It was another precious moment.
Then I met Carole and we asked where the Burnette's were. Carole explained they were off taping for some Christian broadcasts about the new homes going up for the earthquake victims down the road in Camp Hope. It turns out Love A Child is not in charge of the victims currently but will be when Love A Child finishes building all 380 homes.
All of the sudden though, a truck pulls up and there they are, the Burnette's on their way somewhere else. In the back of the open truck were all these young guys holding on. We came right up to the truck and I introduced ourselves to the Burnette's. They were very kind. They stopped everything they were doing to do interviews with the TV crew and then we talked more. I asked where Clepson was. He had been behind me in the truck for atleast 10 munutes and never said a word! They pointed to him in the truck and I couldn't belive it was him. I gave him a big hug and asked him why he hadn't told me he was there. He told me because he did not want to interupt and had to wait. Manners, to the extreme!
So I here I was standing in Haiti with Michelson, Dukens and Clepson, Anna and Andy all together. Words will never describe how happy I felt. The trip would have never been complete without seeing, talking and hugging my 3 guys with my two own beautiful children as well. It was such a happy time to bring everyone together. If on;y Paul could have joined us but he was still working his tail off over at the clinic and couldn't leave.
Sherry and Bobby then invited us to follow them down the road to the property to see the new site where the framework on the first two homes were being built for the earthquake victims. Very, very cool stuff. One of the guys there working had flown down from our church in another team to help work and live at Love A Child and volunteer his time toward these efforts. Pastor Randy as well went out there later for a couple of days to do the same.
Then, Sherry offered to take us in the back of her truck (donation from Joyce Meyers Ministries) and go back into Camp Hope. I would say that out of the 9 days there and all we saw, this was probably the second most heart wrenching time there for me personally. As we drove back down this dusty, dry road with large cactus trees blooming around us and walls of cactus growing that keep animals in, the tents started to appear. Tents and more tents. Wheelchairs parked out side the tents like cars in our driveways. Amputees, little children, pregnant women. As we got further back in, I saw 2 children pumping water from a drilled well so they could carry clean water back to what they call home now since January. Remember it rained there each day and you can't help but think of these displaced families when the rains are heavy as the mud builds up and they pray the posts will stay standing. Many people around Port au Prince are not so fortunate to have tents like in Camp Hope. Sheets, plastic bags and even clothes are being used to try and create shelter with just sticks. I have always thought quilts are pretty but what I saw there were quilts of extreme poverty being made to find shelter and I couldn't find anything of beauty in them at all. Only sadness.
We got out of the truck and began splitting up into little groups, walking around between the tents. It was not flat surfaces to walk on. More like standing in a stall of a barn but it did not smell so that was nice. I went off with Andy, Anna and Michelson. I would greet them in Creole, always wave to those down the rows and rows of tents and take photos after always asking in Creole first. There were a few times when people came up to me and asked for food and diapers. Michelson explained we were only there to visit and not to deliver goods. You have no idea how hard this was. It bothered me deeply that they kept asking for food. Why? Why was this a problem? Wasn't Love A Child taking care of that? I decided I wanted Michelson to ask a woman how often they receive food. I was told every 21 days....Was this correct? How? I later learned that the oganization ARC is in charge of the people there until the new homes are built and then Love A Child will move them all and take over helping with food, etc.? **Take note everyone next time you donate money. ARC stands for American Refugee Committee. Another large organization making promises and doing nothing. Disgusting. I found out that the Burnette's have been appauled as well and had a confrontation with ARC earlier that very day. They will be continuing to push this organization until the food and supplies are delivered. What about in the mean time? Don't know...
The funny moment was when we walked up to one tent. It was all women who were amputees. I had no notice before we left to go out to Fond Parisien and was wearing a dress (bad move on my part). All of the sudden as I'm standing in front of the women and with Andy and Michelson, mind you, the wind kicked up and blew my dress straight up!! The women all laughed hysterically and so I laughed along with them! If I could bring them a little moment of making fun of me and hearing them laugh like they did, so be it! The one lady as she kept laughing, stood up and was trying to show me how I should put my dress between my legs to keep it down! It was so cool that even though we were from two very different worlds and circumstances, it just didn't matter because we were both women, mothers, sisters and knew what it meant. I will always treasure what she and I shared. We must have all laughed for 5 minutes and then I took their hands to say goodbye and walked away.
I know we all talk about and hear how we should appreciate what we have. You can hear it all you want and I can tell you over and over we should, but the reality is that until you decide you need to need to do more and your heart makes it happen, you won't really be able to fully understand just what God had blessed us with.The smells, the sounds, the sights are what makes us wake up to what exists all around us and right now we are oblivious to it all. A guy my husband Paul knows who does missionary work all around the world said it best," We here are asleep to God and His true glory. In other countries, they have no choice. They are always awakened by the darkness that exists around them so they have no choice but to seek Him.They have nothing else to distract them from God like we do here." So well said....
Then, I had a chance for Anna,Andy and I unexpectedly to head out in the afternoon to Love A Child with Pastor Randy, Michelson and the TV crew to finally see the place, meet the founders Sherry and Bobby Burnette, Carole the nurse who heads up their clinic and ofcourse Dukens and Clepson! So, with 5 minutes notice we left again, hoping for no more trouble from 2 days before with the rioting. Pastor Randy was so nice to take us out there and he drives like a local Haitian as though he's lived there is whole life lol! He's great and got around people and animals and tap taps like nobody's business.
As I had mentioned before, when you leave Port au Prince and head almost due east, the landscape really changes. Beautiful mountains, green this time of year. Still extreme poverty but atleast they can have farms and more animals to survive. It was cool because Michelson has never been out there before. He fell in love with the area and said he will one day marry Geralda, have 2 children and build a house to live in beauty and peace...
So we turn into the Love A Child compound and almost immediately in front of us was a dead donkey sprawled across the dirt road which had clearly been there for some time. Very hard to see considering we were within inches of driving over it's legs just to get around. Not pretty. But after that we drive down a long curvy dirt road and to the left was the medical clinic. There were people gathered around under a tree. One person I recognized right away was Carole the nurse who Paul had worked closely with. And there, sitting on the wall just smiling (remember they didn't know we were coming at all that day) was Dukens! I recognized him even before Andy! I cannot tell you how happy I was to see him! He and Andy immediately hugged, slapping each other on the backs and then he came up to me. Oh the hug he gave me was so strong and so, so good to have after so long. It was another precious moment.
Then I met Carole and we asked where the Burnette's were. Carole explained they were off taping for some Christian broadcasts about the new homes going up for the earthquake victims down the road in Camp Hope. It turns out Love A Child is not in charge of the victims currently but will be when Love A Child finishes building all 380 homes.
All of the sudden though, a truck pulls up and there they are, the Burnette's on their way somewhere else. In the back of the open truck were all these young guys holding on. We came right up to the truck and I introduced ourselves to the Burnette's. They were very kind. They stopped everything they were doing to do interviews with the TV crew and then we talked more. I asked where Clepson was. He had been behind me in the truck for atleast 10 munutes and never said a word! They pointed to him in the truck and I couldn't belive it was him. I gave him a big hug and asked him why he hadn't told me he was there. He told me because he did not want to interupt and had to wait. Manners, to the extreme!
So I here I was standing in Haiti with Michelson, Dukens and Clepson, Anna and Andy all together. Words will never describe how happy I felt. The trip would have never been complete without seeing, talking and hugging my 3 guys with my two own beautiful children as well. It was such a happy time to bring everyone together. If on;y Paul could have joined us but he was still working his tail off over at the clinic and couldn't leave.
Sherry and Bobby then invited us to follow them down the road to the property to see the new site where the framework on the first two homes were being built for the earthquake victims. Very, very cool stuff. One of the guys there working had flown down from our church in another team to help work and live at Love A Child and volunteer his time toward these efforts. Pastor Randy as well went out there later for a couple of days to do the same.
Then, Sherry offered to take us in the back of her truck (donation from Joyce Meyers Ministries) and go back into Camp Hope. I would say that out of the 9 days there and all we saw, this was probably the second most heart wrenching time there for me personally. As we drove back down this dusty, dry road with large cactus trees blooming around us and walls of cactus growing that keep animals in, the tents started to appear. Tents and more tents. Wheelchairs parked out side the tents like cars in our driveways. Amputees, little children, pregnant women. As we got further back in, I saw 2 children pumping water from a drilled well so they could carry clean water back to what they call home now since January. Remember it rained there each day and you can't help but think of these displaced families when the rains are heavy as the mud builds up and they pray the posts will stay standing. Many people around Port au Prince are not so fortunate to have tents like in Camp Hope. Sheets, plastic bags and even clothes are being used to try and create shelter with just sticks. I have always thought quilts are pretty but what I saw there were quilts of extreme poverty being made to find shelter and I couldn't find anything of beauty in them at all. Only sadness.
We got out of the truck and began splitting up into little groups, walking around between the tents. It was not flat surfaces to walk on. More like standing in a stall of a barn but it did not smell so that was nice. I went off with Andy, Anna and Michelson. I would greet them in Creole, always wave to those down the rows and rows of tents and take photos after always asking in Creole first. There were a few times when people came up to me and asked for food and diapers. Michelson explained we were only there to visit and not to deliver goods. You have no idea how hard this was. It bothered me deeply that they kept asking for food. Why? Why was this a problem? Wasn't Love A Child taking care of that? I decided I wanted Michelson to ask a woman how often they receive food. I was told every 21 days....Was this correct? How? I later learned that the oganization ARC is in charge of the people there until the new homes are built and then Love A Child will move them all and take over helping with food, etc.? **Take note everyone next time you donate money. ARC stands for American Refugee Committee. Another large organization making promises and doing nothing. Disgusting. I found out that the Burnette's have been appauled as well and had a confrontation with ARC earlier that very day. They will be continuing to push this organization until the food and supplies are delivered. What about in the mean time? Don't know...
The funny moment was when we walked up to one tent. It was all women who were amputees. I had no notice before we left to go out to Fond Parisien and was wearing a dress (bad move on my part). All of the sudden as I'm standing in front of the women and with Andy and Michelson, mind you, the wind kicked up and blew my dress straight up!! The women all laughed hysterically and so I laughed along with them! If I could bring them a little moment of making fun of me and hearing them laugh like they did, so be it! The one lady as she kept laughing, stood up and was trying to show me how I should put my dress between my legs to keep it down! It was so cool that even though we were from two very different worlds and circumstances, it just didn't matter because we were both women, mothers, sisters and knew what it meant. I will always treasure what she and I shared. We must have all laughed for 5 minutes and then I took their hands to say goodbye and walked away.
I know we all talk about and hear how we should appreciate what we have. You can hear it all you want and I can tell you over and over we should, but the reality is that until you decide you need to need to do more and your heart makes it happen, you won't really be able to fully understand just what God had blessed us with.The smells, the sounds, the sights are what makes us wake up to what exists all around us and right now we are oblivious to it all. A guy my husband Paul knows who does missionary work all around the world said it best," We here are asleep to God and His true glory. In other countries, they have no choice. They are always awakened by the darkness that exists around them so they have no choice but to seek Him.They have nothing else to distract them from God like we do here." So well said....
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The First Official Day of Life Clinic in Haiti
Anna and I were supposed to stay with the children on Tuesday and work with them all day. I knew Paul would be the first doctor coming in to open the clinic and my son Andy was over their also.This was an important day for the community of Santo 19 and I needed to have the orphanage understand I really felt my heart being pulled to go over there and help however I could. I made sure to also bring my camera and what a blessing that was.
There were I believe 11 of us as volunteers over there. Some of the team were local Haitians which they try so hard to hire whenever possible.They were supposed to begin at 7am and end at 3pm. Being the first day and so many things to iron out as a brand new clinic, I think everything went really, really well considering all that was involved.
The clinic didn't open at 7am because we first had a small moment of prayer as a team inside. Ofcourse the doors are always open to everyone outside and as we prayed together,the beautiful singing began outside. The patients had arrived by foot, bike and tap-tap (they are the coolest things-old trucks which they add tops to and paint over the entire vehicle with vivid colors and it ranges from paintings of Jesus to Merceded Benz symbols side by side.They are completely covered from one end to the other). The patients are never told when clinics open until one day before. All it takes is a blow horn and someone walking around the neighborhoods and word spreads like wildfire. If you announce it too early, instead of getting 100 or 200 you will get 1,000.
The patients were lined up all the way down the high cement walls that surround the clinic and gate. There was a huge mango tree which helped to shade the patients. They are in the process of building more shaded areas and a playground for the children waiting. All day Pastor Ramon's local guys just kept building more and more wooden benches for patients to sit on as the crowds continued.
The one thing I have always found is no matter where we travel in other countries, what brigs people together is that simple act of smiling to them and saying hello in their native language. It opens up the barriers that exist between people of different tongues.
Many Haitians do not smile at you even when you smile at them. That has never stopped me. I love people and know they all have tender hearts and loving personalities. My camera became my gateway to some of my most treasured memories that will last forever. Not only in the photos I take home but in how my camera became the tool that allowed me to break the walls between the beautiful Haitian people and myself.I found that although they may stare at you and not really trust you, if you just say hello in Creole, then ask them "photo, wi?", they will nod in agreement of allowing you to photograph them. I then take their photos and immediately show them their picture. Ahhh,,,the reactions are priceless! Smiling,laughing, showing how shy they are but it brings them this small sense of knowing I mean them no harm. I would go down the rows of people, 3-4 at a time and take a photo, then show them. They then all wanted their own photos taken and it was wonderful! Laughing together and just sharing that sweet little moment with them. For most, they have never in their lives had their photos taken and some had not even seen themselves before. Hard for us to imagine but true.
There was so much work done that day, not only in treating people's medical conditions but also in showing the people that what has been established there is meant to stay and for Haitians, that is something almost hard to imagine. NGO's and other organizations many times come and go but our teams have shown them through the time since before the quake that if they are told something, we will do everything humanly possible to follow through. It's hard to gain trust in these corrupt, war ravaged, poverty strickened countries after all they have lived through, but with time, the hope is to have them know that we do believe they are important and are loved and do matter. That is all they are really looking for. Compassion from people who are sincere in their words by the actions towards others.
There were I believe 11 of us as volunteers over there. Some of the team were local Haitians which they try so hard to hire whenever possible.They were supposed to begin at 7am and end at 3pm. Being the first day and so many things to iron out as a brand new clinic, I think everything went really, really well considering all that was involved.
The clinic didn't open at 7am because we first had a small moment of prayer as a team inside. Ofcourse the doors are always open to everyone outside and as we prayed together,the beautiful singing began outside. The patients had arrived by foot, bike and tap-tap (they are the coolest things-old trucks which they add tops to and paint over the entire vehicle with vivid colors and it ranges from paintings of Jesus to Merceded Benz symbols side by side.They are completely covered from one end to the other). The patients are never told when clinics open until one day before. All it takes is a blow horn and someone walking around the neighborhoods and word spreads like wildfire. If you announce it too early, instead of getting 100 or 200 you will get 1,000.
The patients were lined up all the way down the high cement walls that surround the clinic and gate. There was a huge mango tree which helped to shade the patients. They are in the process of building more shaded areas and a playground for the children waiting. All day Pastor Ramon's local guys just kept building more and more wooden benches for patients to sit on as the crowds continued.
The one thing I have always found is no matter where we travel in other countries, what brigs people together is that simple act of smiling to them and saying hello in their native language. It opens up the barriers that exist between people of different tongues.
Many Haitians do not smile at you even when you smile at them. That has never stopped me. I love people and know they all have tender hearts and loving personalities. My camera became my gateway to some of my most treasured memories that will last forever. Not only in the photos I take home but in how my camera became the tool that allowed me to break the walls between the beautiful Haitian people and myself.I found that although they may stare at you and not really trust you, if you just say hello in Creole, then ask them "photo, wi?", they will nod in agreement of allowing you to photograph them. I then take their photos and immediately show them their picture. Ahhh,,,the reactions are priceless! Smiling,laughing, showing how shy they are but it brings them this small sense of knowing I mean them no harm. I would go down the rows of people, 3-4 at a time and take a photo, then show them. They then all wanted their own photos taken and it was wonderful! Laughing together and just sharing that sweet little moment with them. For most, they have never in their lives had their photos taken and some had not even seen themselves before. Hard for us to imagine but true.
There was so much work done that day, not only in treating people's medical conditions but also in showing the people that what has been established there is meant to stay and for Haitians, that is something almost hard to imagine. NGO's and other organizations many times come and go but our teams have shown them through the time since before the quake that if they are told something, we will do everything humanly possible to follow through. It's hard to gain trust in these corrupt, war ravaged, poverty strickened countries after all they have lived through, but with time, the hope is to have them know that we do believe they are important and are loved and do matter. That is all they are really looking for. Compassion from people who are sincere in their words by the actions towards others.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday Was a Little Bit of a Reminder
So the plan was to drive out to Fond Parisien from Port au Prince to finally meet our other Haitian son Dukens. We had driven so very,very close to finally arrive at Love A Child compound where everything first began for my husband Paul and son Andy 5 days after the quake when they came down to Haiti to help. The UN had used this compound as a central fly in area for the injured to be treated and also patients off of the USS Hope ship.
Driving around in Port au Prince is kind of like playing in a video game where you travel back to some wore torn, shelled out, surreal landscape. It honestly almost doesn't seem real. You look out the car windows and you feel like you're in a slow motion movie that can't be real,,,,,but it is. And the movie wasn't shot after the quake either. It was filmed way before that. The only difference between before and after the quake is two things. The rubble used to be delapidated, poorly built structures that were made with too much sand in the cinder blocks.The second is all the people who are now missing limbs. EVERYTHING else has never changed. None of it. Still a corrupt government, still extreme poverty, still women washing their clothes in muddy water in the roads after it rains, still the orange hair, still no school for 67% of the children, still no clean water or proper medicines of any kinds what so ever. I also looked at our orphans school books the other day. Last editions were from 1990, pages missing and torn...
So, when we headed out of Port au Prince and almost directly due East it was actually really beautiful. Yes, the people were still just as poor but they weren't packed in like dogs in caged kennels. I have seen animal shelters that are 50 times better than what is here. People have no running water, they must walk many times very far to pump clean water and always carry it back on their heads.
It was the landscape that is simply amazing. Incredibly beautiful mountains surrounding you and lakes as you drive toward Love A Child. Then, up ahead, we notice large billowing smoke but really don't know what we are looking at. Then, we see young men.Many young angry men carrying machetes and long sticks and they are burning tires. They are completely blocking the road up ahead and there are many large trucks blocked behind them coming into Haiti from the Dominican Republic because we are now so close to the border where Fond Parisien is located.
We immediately all realize something is very wrong and we must quickly turn around in the road and get out of there quickly before something much more dangerous occurs. We do find out from one of our Haitian team members that the buring tires are always a sign of the revolts as well as the machetes and long sticks. The TV crew never had time to shoot it even though they tried but I was squished in the very back of the car with my camera and got only one shot of it before we sped back the way we came. The only time I felt truly concerned, was when we turned around and another Haitian guy, Andy and myself all in the way back of the vehicle, saw the men begin to run faster towards us once they realized we were not one of them. They were probably 40 men sprawling the length and depth of the road with one thing on their minds and wouldn't be stopping for much to vent their anger.
Today, when our medical clinic opened for the first time, Bobby Burnette (the head pastor and missionary with his wife Sherry who founded and run Love A Child)later showed up at our new clinic. I had told the others in the car yesterday I wondered if these riots were connected to Love A Child because it was the first day of them building up to 380 homes on property down the road from their main compound for earthquake victims still there. I remember we had 2 team members coming from our church to go for 1 month to help build these structures and they weren't going to necessarily be using all local Haitians to build them. Sure enough, it was a land dispute riot and those same men had gone to Love A Child and burned up a bunch of their equipment that was to be used for just this very purpose.
So, my eyes were opened to just another facet of all the tragedies and also struggles that exist each and every day here in this beautiful but beaten down and destroyed country called Haiti.Will I get there at all to finally meet Dukens in person and give him his gifts? I guess I will just put that one in God's hands now...
Driving around in Port au Prince is kind of like playing in a video game where you travel back to some wore torn, shelled out, surreal landscape. It honestly almost doesn't seem real. You look out the car windows and you feel like you're in a slow motion movie that can't be real,,,,,but it is. And the movie wasn't shot after the quake either. It was filmed way before that. The only difference between before and after the quake is two things. The rubble used to be delapidated, poorly built structures that were made with too much sand in the cinder blocks.The second is all the people who are now missing limbs. EVERYTHING else has never changed. None of it. Still a corrupt government, still extreme poverty, still women washing their clothes in muddy water in the roads after it rains, still the orange hair, still no school for 67% of the children, still no clean water or proper medicines of any kinds what so ever. I also looked at our orphans school books the other day. Last editions were from 1990, pages missing and torn...
So, when we headed out of Port au Prince and almost directly due East it was actually really beautiful. Yes, the people were still just as poor but they weren't packed in like dogs in caged kennels. I have seen animal shelters that are 50 times better than what is here. People have no running water, they must walk many times very far to pump clean water and always carry it back on their heads.
It was the landscape that is simply amazing. Incredibly beautiful mountains surrounding you and lakes as you drive toward Love A Child. Then, up ahead, we notice large billowing smoke but really don't know what we are looking at. Then, we see young men.Many young angry men carrying machetes and long sticks and they are burning tires. They are completely blocking the road up ahead and there are many large trucks blocked behind them coming into Haiti from the Dominican Republic because we are now so close to the border where Fond Parisien is located.
We immediately all realize something is very wrong and we must quickly turn around in the road and get out of there quickly before something much more dangerous occurs. We do find out from one of our Haitian team members that the buring tires are always a sign of the revolts as well as the machetes and long sticks. The TV crew never had time to shoot it even though they tried but I was squished in the very back of the car with my camera and got only one shot of it before we sped back the way we came. The only time I felt truly concerned, was when we turned around and another Haitian guy, Andy and myself all in the way back of the vehicle, saw the men begin to run faster towards us once they realized we were not one of them. They were probably 40 men sprawling the length and depth of the road with one thing on their minds and wouldn't be stopping for much to vent their anger.
Today, when our medical clinic opened for the first time, Bobby Burnette (the head pastor and missionary with his wife Sherry who founded and run Love A Child)later showed up at our new clinic. I had told the others in the car yesterday I wondered if these riots were connected to Love A Child because it was the first day of them building up to 380 homes on property down the road from their main compound for earthquake victims still there. I remember we had 2 team members coming from our church to go for 1 month to help build these structures and they weren't going to necessarily be using all local Haitians to build them. Sure enough, it was a land dispute riot and those same men had gone to Love A Child and burned up a bunch of their equipment that was to be used for just this very purpose.
So, my eyes were opened to just another facet of all the tragedies and also struggles that exist each and every day here in this beautiful but beaten down and destroyed country called Haiti.Will I get there at all to finally meet Dukens in person and give him his gifts? I guess I will just put that one in God's hands now...
Monday, June 21, 2010
I Have Heard About The Orange Hair but Had Not Seen it Until Now
Sunday was the day I would say was so far the hardest for me as a mother...
We had to drive back down to the airport to return the car with the break fluid leak and also pick up another member of our team flying in today. I really didn't want to have to go down into that crowded area again if I didn't need to but had no choice.
I had been warned by some here about what would happen. The children who beg, of which there are way, way too many come not up next to the cars and literally sprawl themselves with their arms spread out wide like an eagle across your side of the windows and their faces are pushed against the glass. They cannot speak anything but Creole but the actions speak for themselves. They take their right hand and make a signal to you toward their mouths and then rub their bellies. Myself and another guy had to wait with the car parked for about 30 minutes while my husband Paul, Michelson and 2 TV crew wanted to go back in with them to the entrance to wait for our incoming team member. You know here to always lock the doors and always keep the windows up.
7-8 boys, maybe 5-10 years old, very thin, dirty kept coming right up beside me pounding on the glass for food and money. God made me a mother and I have my own children, but I also have always loved all children. I sponsor 8 children, I am a Compassion International Advocate. To have these children standing there, pounding on my windows was too much. It was just too much. You learn you must look away. But even then, they keep coming back relentlessly. My instincts are to feed, nuture and love those who have less or who cannot defend themselves. I just kept asking God why must I hold back this way and be so cold? The problem is there are too, too many and it also promotes this behavior. But what other options do they have? None. Absolutely NOTHING...
We also ate at a gas station that had a little side restaurant. I know, I know, be careful what I eat. Well, let's see, the menu had probably 10 things on it. Each time I tried to order something, they don't have, they don't have. 2 things only. The lady at the register laughed at me when I tried to order pizza fron the menu and just shook her head basically saying, "Pizza? Do you know the last time we had pizza here? The menu is a joke". So we go to sit down. We had booths. I was right beside the window. Again, a boy, maybe 12 lays down on the pavement sprawled out right below me, using his right hand motion to his mouth and then rubbing his stomach. His eyes, his eyes were like a looking glass where you can see through to the other side. I could see through his eyes and I will never forget those light brown beautiful eyes just staring into mine asking for food and money. His hair was orange. Not brown but orange. This is a distinct sign of malnutrition.
Again, when we were driving and one of the TV crew wanted to film a boy with his lips pressed against the window. That bothered me honestly. It's too harsh. Please I am thinking. Please stop filming him. He had no expression, bright orange hair and was weak from the lack of food.
We then left there after getting our team member and stopped in front of a tent city. The TV crew wanted to film. Akward, very, very hard to sit their in the car as I looked down the hill at the tents. Standing at the bottom right below us were very small children. Very dirty, no adults anywhere to be seen just wandering and staring up at me in the car. The TV guy got his shot he needed but my heart didn't get what it was looking for. I wanted to run down that hill and take those children into my arms and save them all. Save them from this life which is nothing short of simply existing in a world of corruption and poverty.
I need to mention that here is NO ASSISTANCE here now. It is almost non-existent. What we are told and what is happening are two very, very different things. Yes there are UN cars around, a handful of Columbian soldiers but other than that, it's a lie and the money is no where to be seen except in the high ranking officials pockets.
As we headed back to the clinic, we drove down hilly, bumpy dusty roads. EVERYWHERE you turned, no matter how poor, they would have TV'S set up under tarps somehow watching The World Cup. Usually anywhere between 10-50young boys to men motionless watching their beloved Brazilian team. Our Haitian team member asked then the score. Brazil was playing Cote de Ivoire. Haitians always will love Brazil and Argentina.They are the underdogs and they feel that is just like what they are here in Haiti. They say, "the score is 0-0 but Brazil is winning! LOL!
When we stopped by the clinic, we were standing up on the balcony of the second floor. All of the sudden you could hear a HUGE screaming and applause because Brazil had scored! The tents, the shacks, it didn't matter. They were gathered together as fellow Haitians to route for the guys like them.
We stopped to photograph an area. If you know anything about Haiti, over the years they have stripped all the mountains bare of trees to sell off. That results in mud slides, no wood for building and a lack of charcoal to cook with. There was a mound of dirt with just cut grasses piled up smoking. Michelson told us that it in about 2 days, that pile would become charcoal. I never knew they could do it this way. Houses that had fallen from the quake were now worse. Tents are set up not only in large areas but also in 2-3 tents at a time where there are fewer people around. My son Andy's friend he met last time who translated was living in a tent where we stopped. Andy had bought a pair of shoes and 3 shirts for him. He is gone now we were told and they are not sure where he went...
The rest of the day went more smoothly back here at the orphanage but the next day, Monday changed all our plans in a split second that no one knew was coming....
We had to drive back down to the airport to return the car with the break fluid leak and also pick up another member of our team flying in today. I really didn't want to have to go down into that crowded area again if I didn't need to but had no choice.
I had been warned by some here about what would happen. The children who beg, of which there are way, way too many come not up next to the cars and literally sprawl themselves with their arms spread out wide like an eagle across your side of the windows and their faces are pushed against the glass. They cannot speak anything but Creole but the actions speak for themselves. They take their right hand and make a signal to you toward their mouths and then rub their bellies. Myself and another guy had to wait with the car parked for about 30 minutes while my husband Paul, Michelson and 2 TV crew wanted to go back in with them to the entrance to wait for our incoming team member. You know here to always lock the doors and always keep the windows up.
7-8 boys, maybe 5-10 years old, very thin, dirty kept coming right up beside me pounding on the glass for food and money. God made me a mother and I have my own children, but I also have always loved all children. I sponsor 8 children, I am a Compassion International Advocate. To have these children standing there, pounding on my windows was too much. It was just too much. You learn you must look away. But even then, they keep coming back relentlessly. My instincts are to feed, nuture and love those who have less or who cannot defend themselves. I just kept asking God why must I hold back this way and be so cold? The problem is there are too, too many and it also promotes this behavior. But what other options do they have? None. Absolutely NOTHING...
We also ate at a gas station that had a little side restaurant. I know, I know, be careful what I eat. Well, let's see, the menu had probably 10 things on it. Each time I tried to order something, they don't have, they don't have. 2 things only. The lady at the register laughed at me when I tried to order pizza fron the menu and just shook her head basically saying, "Pizza? Do you know the last time we had pizza here? The menu is a joke". So we go to sit down. We had booths. I was right beside the window. Again, a boy, maybe 12 lays down on the pavement sprawled out right below me, using his right hand motion to his mouth and then rubbing his stomach. His eyes, his eyes were like a looking glass where you can see through to the other side. I could see through his eyes and I will never forget those light brown beautiful eyes just staring into mine asking for food and money. His hair was orange. Not brown but orange. This is a distinct sign of malnutrition.
Again, when we were driving and one of the TV crew wanted to film a boy with his lips pressed against the window. That bothered me honestly. It's too harsh. Please I am thinking. Please stop filming him. He had no expression, bright orange hair and was weak from the lack of food.
We then left there after getting our team member and stopped in front of a tent city. The TV crew wanted to film. Akward, very, very hard to sit their in the car as I looked down the hill at the tents. Standing at the bottom right below us were very small children. Very dirty, no adults anywhere to be seen just wandering and staring up at me in the car. The TV guy got his shot he needed but my heart didn't get what it was looking for. I wanted to run down that hill and take those children into my arms and save them all. Save them from this life which is nothing short of simply existing in a world of corruption and poverty.
I need to mention that here is NO ASSISTANCE here now. It is almost non-existent. What we are told and what is happening are two very, very different things. Yes there are UN cars around, a handful of Columbian soldiers but other than that, it's a lie and the money is no where to be seen except in the high ranking officials pockets.
As we headed back to the clinic, we drove down hilly, bumpy dusty roads. EVERYWHERE you turned, no matter how poor, they would have TV'S set up under tarps somehow watching The World Cup. Usually anywhere between 10-50young boys to men motionless watching their beloved Brazilian team. Our Haitian team member asked then the score. Brazil was playing Cote de Ivoire. Haitians always will love Brazil and Argentina.They are the underdogs and they feel that is just like what they are here in Haiti. They say, "the score is 0-0 but Brazil is winning! LOL!
When we stopped by the clinic, we were standing up on the balcony of the second floor. All of the sudden you could hear a HUGE screaming and applause because Brazil had scored! The tents, the shacks, it didn't matter. They were gathered together as fellow Haitians to route for the guys like them.
We stopped to photograph an area. If you know anything about Haiti, over the years they have stripped all the mountains bare of trees to sell off. That results in mud slides, no wood for building and a lack of charcoal to cook with. There was a mound of dirt with just cut grasses piled up smoking. Michelson told us that it in about 2 days, that pile would become charcoal. I never knew they could do it this way. Houses that had fallen from the quake were now worse. Tents are set up not only in large areas but also in 2-3 tents at a time where there are fewer people around. My son Andy's friend he met last time who translated was living in a tent where we stopped. Andy had bought a pair of shoes and 3 shirts for him. He is gone now we were told and they are not sure where he went...
The rest of the day went more smoothly back here at the orphanage but the next day, Monday changed all our plans in a split second that no one knew was coming....
Sunday, June 20, 2010
First Day Continued....
Sorry I wasn't able to finish yesterday's thoughts sooner. We are all over the place and if I don't keep up now, I will never be able to remember it all!
So, yesterday, we leave the airport after all the waiting, heat, a rental car with a cracked windshield, broken bumper etc. I know it would be manual transmission but that's ok since Paul and I have driven stick shift before.
The moment you drive out, the extreme poverty hits you like a knife in your heart. It's all about survival here. Plain and simple. Hanoffs of cash are the key to everything. I saw how it works. They do a hand shake like a clasp of their fists and as they let go, there is always cash folded up in a tiny bunch which is then transferred over. That is a unofficial agreement to put them ahead of someone else, do a better job for someone, etc.
Do you remember the baby I posted on Facebook a awhile back that was found alive in the trash? Pastor Ramon said that a man found the baby, knew he was a pastor and told him he could buy her from him. One of the hardest things in the world to face, but he knew he couldn't agree to that because child restaveks are everywhere here. By buying that baby to save her, he would only be promoting child slavery even more.This is life in Haiti.It is not the small percentage guys, it's rampant, truly everywhere you turn.
I only saw 1 traffic light here so far and that was a total joke. It's just about who drives faster, they go on sidewalks to drive around you to your right and also in between 2 way traffic like what would be on our yellow dotted lines. That just becomes a third avenue.
So, then we first go to our clinic. What an amazing place! It will officially be open for the first time since under tarps Tuesday with my husband Paul as the first doctor. The work they have done is beyond belief when you realize how difficult it is to accomplish anything here. The clinic is downstairs and the living quarters are upstairs.They have taken a leased building that is structurally sound and created a reception area, triage, pharmacy and treatment rooms. Now they are building structures outside in the walls where the people can wait in the shade, clean water for them, a playground for the children while they wait and a station for locals to charge their cell phones since they have either no power or very little at all. It is going to change so many lives and it is here to stay no matter what!
Them we drive to a Catholic orphanage for handicapped children. When our teams first found it, the 24 children had soiled diapers they had been wearing for 2 weeks. There was only 1 large bag of rice for their food and there are also 20 some nuns there as well. The Catholic church is not financially supporting them. The only money they receive is from the congregation from another church. We met all the children and all the sweet nuns. Humbling. There are always young guys also with guns at these places as well as at every gas station to keep people from stealing. Those guys were also at the Avis rental place when we had to return our car for another one today because it had a break fluid leak.
So, Paul offered to come back to that orpahanage Friday to treat the nuns and children there. We also have a team from our nondenominational church coming in tomorrow I believe, with special ed teachers to assess the kids and teach the nuns how to properly handle things.
Then, we arrived at our orphanage. Wow! Beautiful, loving, organized, thought out, nurturing,,,,The children are so, so incredible. I am slowing learning each of their personalities. Faith is a priority here and they want to bring these children up to stay here and be able to take over their own country some day to teach others what is right and just. Two fo our children were child slaves as well.
Then,,,after so much sweating and dry, dry dirt roads, the sky turned black and thunder began. It had not rained here in 6 days and they needed the rain. I will tell you, there are very few mosquitos. I have only seen one so far.
The storm brought not only heavy rain but also a true picture as to the kids. They were playing out in the storm in the pouring down rain, thunder and lighting, laughing, running, sticking their heads directly under the down spouts as the water hit their heads, filling buckets and buckets and buckets of water to throw on Andy and Anna. I have great photos which I will try to share with you guys soon.Michelosn got out there too playing basketball with Mackson who is one of our older boys, soaking wet, but having a ball!
Then came dinner, incredible food made by the ladies who work here. Followed by the girls helping Anna and I setting up our mosquitos nets over our air mattress on the floor we are sharing as they are singing in Creole. Awesome stuff!!
I stayed up late talking to Luz until about 11:30pm outside on the benches. We were the last ones up but it was really nice. And when I headed upstairs, Anna and the 4 girls were fast asleep under their nets, some snoring but all content and that was just as it should be :)
So, yesterday, we leave the airport after all the waiting, heat, a rental car with a cracked windshield, broken bumper etc. I know it would be manual transmission but that's ok since Paul and I have driven stick shift before.
The moment you drive out, the extreme poverty hits you like a knife in your heart. It's all about survival here. Plain and simple. Hanoffs of cash are the key to everything. I saw how it works. They do a hand shake like a clasp of their fists and as they let go, there is always cash folded up in a tiny bunch which is then transferred over. That is a unofficial agreement to put them ahead of someone else, do a better job for someone, etc.
Do you remember the baby I posted on Facebook a awhile back that was found alive in the trash? Pastor Ramon said that a man found the baby, knew he was a pastor and told him he could buy her from him. One of the hardest things in the world to face, but he knew he couldn't agree to that because child restaveks are everywhere here. By buying that baby to save her, he would only be promoting child slavery even more.This is life in Haiti.It is not the small percentage guys, it's rampant, truly everywhere you turn.
I only saw 1 traffic light here so far and that was a total joke. It's just about who drives faster, they go on sidewalks to drive around you to your right and also in between 2 way traffic like what would be on our yellow dotted lines. That just becomes a third avenue.
So, then we first go to our clinic. What an amazing place! It will officially be open for the first time since under tarps Tuesday with my husband Paul as the first doctor. The work they have done is beyond belief when you realize how difficult it is to accomplish anything here. The clinic is downstairs and the living quarters are upstairs.They have taken a leased building that is structurally sound and created a reception area, triage, pharmacy and treatment rooms. Now they are building structures outside in the walls where the people can wait in the shade, clean water for them, a playground for the children while they wait and a station for locals to charge their cell phones since they have either no power or very little at all. It is going to change so many lives and it is here to stay no matter what!
Them we drive to a Catholic orphanage for handicapped children. When our teams first found it, the 24 children had soiled diapers they had been wearing for 2 weeks. There was only 1 large bag of rice for their food and there are also 20 some nuns there as well. The Catholic church is not financially supporting them. The only money they receive is from the congregation from another church. We met all the children and all the sweet nuns. Humbling. There are always young guys also with guns at these places as well as at every gas station to keep people from stealing. Those guys were also at the Avis rental place when we had to return our car for another one today because it had a break fluid leak.
So, Paul offered to come back to that orpahanage Friday to treat the nuns and children there. We also have a team from our nondenominational church coming in tomorrow I believe, with special ed teachers to assess the kids and teach the nuns how to properly handle things.
Then, we arrived at our orphanage. Wow! Beautiful, loving, organized, thought out, nurturing,,,,The children are so, so incredible. I am slowing learning each of their personalities. Faith is a priority here and they want to bring these children up to stay here and be able to take over their own country some day to teach others what is right and just. Two fo our children were child slaves as well.
Then,,,after so much sweating and dry, dry dirt roads, the sky turned black and thunder began. It had not rained here in 6 days and they needed the rain. I will tell you, there are very few mosquitos. I have only seen one so far.
The storm brought not only heavy rain but also a true picture as to the kids. They were playing out in the storm in the pouring down rain, thunder and lighting, laughing, running, sticking their heads directly under the down spouts as the water hit their heads, filling buckets and buckets and buckets of water to throw on Andy and Anna. I have great photos which I will try to share with you guys soon.Michelosn got out there too playing basketball with Mackson who is one of our older boys, soaking wet, but having a ball!
Then came dinner, incredible food made by the ladies who work here. Followed by the girls helping Anna and I setting up our mosquitos nets over our air mattress on the floor we are sharing as they are singing in Creole. Awesome stuff!!
I stayed up late talking to Luz until about 11:30pm outside on the benches. We were the last ones up but it was really nice. And when I headed upstairs, Anna and the 4 girls were fast asleep under their nets, some snoring but all content and that was just as it should be :)
The Best Thunderstorm Ever!
Hi all, sorry for not posting yesterday. There really just wasn't an opportunity. So much to share in just the first day here! Wow, what stark contrasts as I look around me. When flying into Haiti, the landscape is sooo beautiful! Truly. Incredible mountains surrounding us, lakes, the blue ocean waters with their beaches. As you fly in lower, you begin to see all the tents cities. When I say tent cities, I don't mean like what we see on TV. It is overwhelming how many are living under tents and sleeping on the sides of the dirt streets. I was not able to take any photos coming in because I was advised against it. People can become defensive about it or sometimes even threatening in the very worst of areas. We did not drive through the worst areas by any stretch, they're further away from us.
Let me back track a little, the flight was perfect. Going through customs with over 500 pounds of medicines and all our tiny carry on luggage was a breeze (we had been warned we may have to grease some palms getting it in) but nothing like that occurred. It was when we hit the door coming out of the tiny airport building that I could see the men waiting in droves to help us. I'm used to wheeling and dealing in NYC and getting around as a clothing buyer in my past. I remember flying into Puerto Vallarta Mexico and them waiting to help you to earn money, but the amount of guys desperate for money here surpassed that by ten fold. I honestly was never afraid. I haven't felt that way once since arriving. But us having 10 large army duffles and hard plastic containers was an easy target. And so the circus began! There were approximately 15 men, some amputees, crowding around us and they immediately grab hold of the 3 carts we paid for to haul the stuff. The problem was our friends who were supposed to meet us at the aiport, were no where to be seen. So I decided to make the call to keep moving and get over to the Avis rental car tiny building which meant walking with these carts and all the guys. You can tell them 20 times, fairly firmly no thank you, I'm am ok, we have some one coming, etc. but they are relentless.
So, we get over to the tiny Avis building and there is one guy working it along with other stands in it like God's cars, Inc. The small TV was on up in the corner and about 10 guys were speechless, maybe would glance at you when you open the door, hopefully breathing, because of their intensity to make sure and watch every single moment of the World Cup going on.
And then the reality of life in Haiti began. One group in front of me,100 degree weather this whole time with no air conditioning and the sweat is pouring down my entire body. The group in front of me were Haitian but now live in NJ. They were very upset because their credit card wouldn't go through. The one woman, very scantily dressed,was definitely in charge (or thought she was) of all the men. The arguing continues for atleast 30 minutes. In the meantime, none of our cell phones are working as Paul is outside with his 15 guys hanging on, trying to call the orphanage and find out where anyone is. I, in the mean time, am negotiating with the guys in that group inside, trying to get the woman to chill out and pay up or move on. Ofcourse after 30 minutes, one of the guys with her guy pulls out a wad of $100 US bills and pays the $1,100 immediately. All I am thinking is couldn't you have done that a little sooner?
Then I get our car. Cracked windshield, bumpers falling off but at this point in this heat after paying off the guys outside several times without realizing it because Paul was giving them too much and they were hitting me up on the side begging since they "helped" me with all the luggage, it was time to just get out of there. Paul had borrowed a Haitian's cell phone and was able to call Luz, our mission pastors wife to come. When she and Michelson and Roberde (one of our orphans) arrived, it was the best site I had seen in several hours!
Then, we leave. The moment we drive out of the airport gates, it hits you, And it hits hard. It's right in your face and you can't avoid it. I wouldn't call it poverty because that would be our term for it in the states. Yes,,, we do have people in our countries who have so little but it cannot compare to what exists here.
I need to go now. Too much to do but I'll continue later tonight hopefully with yesterday's adventures and eye opening visits around the communities. Oh yeah, the thunderstorm,,,just wait and I'll get to that later on. Julie
Let me back track a little, the flight was perfect. Going through customs with over 500 pounds of medicines and all our tiny carry on luggage was a breeze (we had been warned we may have to grease some palms getting it in) but nothing like that occurred. It was when we hit the door coming out of the tiny airport building that I could see the men waiting in droves to help us. I'm used to wheeling and dealing in NYC and getting around as a clothing buyer in my past. I remember flying into Puerto Vallarta Mexico and them waiting to help you to earn money, but the amount of guys desperate for money here surpassed that by ten fold. I honestly was never afraid. I haven't felt that way once since arriving. But us having 10 large army duffles and hard plastic containers was an easy target. And so the circus began! There were approximately 15 men, some amputees, crowding around us and they immediately grab hold of the 3 carts we paid for to haul the stuff. The problem was our friends who were supposed to meet us at the aiport, were no where to be seen. So I decided to make the call to keep moving and get over to the Avis rental car tiny building which meant walking with these carts and all the guys. You can tell them 20 times, fairly firmly no thank you, I'm am ok, we have some one coming, etc. but they are relentless.
So, we get over to the tiny Avis building and there is one guy working it along with other stands in it like God's cars, Inc. The small TV was on up in the corner and about 10 guys were speechless, maybe would glance at you when you open the door, hopefully breathing, because of their intensity to make sure and watch every single moment of the World Cup going on.
And then the reality of life in Haiti began. One group in front of me,100 degree weather this whole time with no air conditioning and the sweat is pouring down my entire body. The group in front of me were Haitian but now live in NJ. They were very upset because their credit card wouldn't go through. The one woman, very scantily dressed,was definitely in charge (or thought she was) of all the men. The arguing continues for atleast 30 minutes. In the meantime, none of our cell phones are working as Paul is outside with his 15 guys hanging on, trying to call the orphanage and find out where anyone is. I, in the mean time, am negotiating with the guys in that group inside, trying to get the woman to chill out and pay up or move on. Ofcourse after 30 minutes, one of the guys with her guy pulls out a wad of $100 US bills and pays the $1,100 immediately. All I am thinking is couldn't you have done that a little sooner?
Then I get our car. Cracked windshield, bumpers falling off but at this point in this heat after paying off the guys outside several times without realizing it because Paul was giving them too much and they were hitting me up on the side begging since they "helped" me with all the luggage, it was time to just get out of there. Paul had borrowed a Haitian's cell phone and was able to call Luz, our mission pastors wife to come. When she and Michelson and Roberde (one of our orphans) arrived, it was the best site I had seen in several hours!
Then, we leave. The moment we drive out of the airport gates, it hits you, And it hits hard. It's right in your face and you can't avoid it. I wouldn't call it poverty because that would be our term for it in the states. Yes,,, we do have people in our countries who have so little but it cannot compare to what exists here.
I need to go now. Too much to do but I'll continue later tonight hopefully with yesterday's adventures and eye opening visits around the communities. Oh yeah, the thunderstorm,,,just wait and I'll get to that later on. Julie
Friday, June 18, 2010
Why so Calm?
Well, thanks to my sweet friend Michelle,I now have an official blog up and running! Thank you Michelle for helping me in the midst of trying to get so many other things ready before we leave on this medical and educational missions trip of a lifetime :)
I really don't remember ever feeling so at peace about travelling before. We've been to lots of countries but never one that compares to Haiti. I know that there are not enough photos or shared stories from others to ever prepare me for what lies ahead.But I do truly feel this sense of peace in my heart about the journey which will begin tomorrow morning at 3am.
I have grown so close simply through emails and Skype and Facebook to our 2 "sons" in Haiti. Some of you may think that we have 3, but I will explain that at another time.
First there is Michel-son, almost 25. Paul and Andy first met him when they were there 5 days after the quake. Michel-son provided translation to our medical team and almost immediately, Paul knew he was someone very special. Very bright, polite and a true gentleman. When Paul returned the first time, he quickly told me all about how Michel-son was in his first year of his masters program in college until he lost everything. The university is gone now and all of Michel-son's hopes and dreams to continue in Environmental Chemistry and be able to clean up the water in Haiti for his people had been stolen from him. Paul was determined to help him find a college here in the states to allow him to continue this dream he had. Unfortunately, as of this writing, not one college will help. A very sad statement about how we view things here sometimes. Anyway, in the mean time, Michel-son and I have become like son and mom. I call him my Haitian son from another mother! We always joke about it and he loves his mom very much, but there is this special bond that we have formed. Sharing about girl questions (his girlfriend Geralda is sooo sweet), things about growing up, talking about politics, our faith, you name it.Before the quake, Michel-son did not have a drivers license. Most don't there. It is extremely expensive by Haitian or US standards for that matter. $250.00 US dollars! That would take the average Haitian YEARS AND YEARS to accumulate, if that. So my son Andy stepped up and decided he needed to help out. He paid the fee and now Michel-son has his license. No car, but a license. One step closer to a sense of security, accomplishment, a job.
Then, my other "son" Dukens. Just turned 20.How can I ever begin to tell you about Dukens...My son Andy first got to know Dukens while staying at a compound there in Haiti where people were being shipped in from all over to be treated by my husband and others. You know how we all have multiple aspects of our personalities? Some people we connect with because we may share a sense of humor and we like to mentor? That would be Michel-son. With Dukens, it's our love for art and my deep inner pain I feel knowing of his past but also realizing how not only resiliant but also tender he really is. Dukens came from a troubled past but none of which was his fault. He was given up by his mom when he was 6 and until the age of 17, suffered tremendous abuse and hurt beyond belief. He was street smart and figured out a way to run away from that horrendous "orphanage" if you wish to call it that. He was later found by a couple who took him in and he currently lives with them on this compound in Haiti. You could never find a more sweet spirit than Dukens. He has been so broken over the years, but they didn't manage to take away his faith or his love for beauty all around him. Dukens also has the most soft and tender voice when he speaks. It is that way because for too long, others tried to steal his own voice from him and with it, attempted to take away any self esteem along with it.
You know, when the abuse was so bad, the only refuge Dukens had in his life was his art. He paints. Sadly, when he fled from that orphanage, he also had to leave behind all his beautiful artwork which was truly a part of him. It was never to be seen again because the American woman who ran that orphanage, fled from Haiti immediately after the quake back into Florida somewhere never be seen again. Proscecuted? Guess again. This is rampant in Haiti and beyond belief what goes on.
So, all the stories of fear in Haiti, bring em on! I guess God has armored me with his grace and protection? I'm not sure. All I can tell you is I am ready and willing to go serve the beautiful and brave people of Haiti. We are going to do medical work at our church's clinic that is just now opening in a real building instead of under tarps. And, we are going to share fun ways to learn with our orphans in the church's orphanage down the street. My daughter Anna and I will stay at the orphanage and my husband Paul and son Andy will stay at the clinic. I am not going to "teach" others already there because I know that is not my place. I believe that once I arrive, they will be the ones teaching me and I just need to sit back and thank God for the opportunity to observe and open my heart to the wonders around me. This country called Haiti may be substandard to ours as far as political, environmental and educational but what it provides in faith and bravery far exceeds any of us by a long shot!
So, I will try if able, to blog each evening. Can't promise anything but I will do my best. Miss you guys already but know that each of you, just like me, can and will be able to do these things if you want it badly enough ;)
I really don't remember ever feeling so at peace about travelling before. We've been to lots of countries but never one that compares to Haiti. I know that there are not enough photos or shared stories from others to ever prepare me for what lies ahead.But I do truly feel this sense of peace in my heart about the journey which will begin tomorrow morning at 3am.
I have grown so close simply through emails and Skype and Facebook to our 2 "sons" in Haiti. Some of you may think that we have 3, but I will explain that at another time.
First there is Michel-son, almost 25. Paul and Andy first met him when they were there 5 days after the quake. Michel-son provided translation to our medical team and almost immediately, Paul knew he was someone very special. Very bright, polite and a true gentleman. When Paul returned the first time, he quickly told me all about how Michel-son was in his first year of his masters program in college until he lost everything. The university is gone now and all of Michel-son's hopes and dreams to continue in Environmental Chemistry and be able to clean up the water in Haiti for his people had been stolen from him. Paul was determined to help him find a college here in the states to allow him to continue this dream he had. Unfortunately, as of this writing, not one college will help. A very sad statement about how we view things here sometimes. Anyway, in the mean time, Michel-son and I have become like son and mom. I call him my Haitian son from another mother! We always joke about it and he loves his mom very much, but there is this special bond that we have formed. Sharing about girl questions (his girlfriend Geralda is sooo sweet), things about growing up, talking about politics, our faith, you name it.Before the quake, Michel-son did not have a drivers license. Most don't there. It is extremely expensive by Haitian or US standards for that matter. $250.00 US dollars! That would take the average Haitian YEARS AND YEARS to accumulate, if that. So my son Andy stepped up and decided he needed to help out. He paid the fee and now Michel-son has his license. No car, but a license. One step closer to a sense of security, accomplishment, a job.
Then, my other "son" Dukens. Just turned 20.How can I ever begin to tell you about Dukens...My son Andy first got to know Dukens while staying at a compound there in Haiti where people were being shipped in from all over to be treated by my husband and others. You know how we all have multiple aspects of our personalities? Some people we connect with because we may share a sense of humor and we like to mentor? That would be Michel-son. With Dukens, it's our love for art and my deep inner pain I feel knowing of his past but also realizing how not only resiliant but also tender he really is. Dukens came from a troubled past but none of which was his fault. He was given up by his mom when he was 6 and until the age of 17, suffered tremendous abuse and hurt beyond belief. He was street smart and figured out a way to run away from that horrendous "orphanage" if you wish to call it that. He was later found by a couple who took him in and he currently lives with them on this compound in Haiti. You could never find a more sweet spirit than Dukens. He has been so broken over the years, but they didn't manage to take away his faith or his love for beauty all around him. Dukens also has the most soft and tender voice when he speaks. It is that way because for too long, others tried to steal his own voice from him and with it, attempted to take away any self esteem along with it.
You know, when the abuse was so bad, the only refuge Dukens had in his life was his art. He paints. Sadly, when he fled from that orphanage, he also had to leave behind all his beautiful artwork which was truly a part of him. It was never to be seen again because the American woman who ran that orphanage, fled from Haiti immediately after the quake back into Florida somewhere never be seen again. Proscecuted? Guess again. This is rampant in Haiti and beyond belief what goes on.
So, all the stories of fear in Haiti, bring em on! I guess God has armored me with his grace and protection? I'm not sure. All I can tell you is I am ready and willing to go serve the beautiful and brave people of Haiti. We are going to do medical work at our church's clinic that is just now opening in a real building instead of under tarps. And, we are going to share fun ways to learn with our orphans in the church's orphanage down the street. My daughter Anna and I will stay at the orphanage and my husband Paul and son Andy will stay at the clinic. I am not going to "teach" others already there because I know that is not my place. I believe that once I arrive, they will be the ones teaching me and I just need to sit back and thank God for the opportunity to observe and open my heart to the wonders around me. This country called Haiti may be substandard to ours as far as political, environmental and educational but what it provides in faith and bravery far exceeds any of us by a long shot!
So, I will try if able, to blog each evening. Can't promise anything but I will do my best. Miss you guys already but know that each of you, just like me, can and will be able to do these things if you want it badly enough ;)
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