Bonjou Ayaiti

So I’m back in Haiti, feeling the warmth of the hot Haitian sun with open arms and a smile. It seems like so little has changed in this country since the first time I came. People here are still the friendly, charming people I first met just two years ago. Their ease to laughter and smiles, which literally stretch from ear to ear, fill me with such a joy its hard not to smile while I write this. The mountains beautifully nestle the city and the spectacular sunsets seem to make up for all the terrible tragedies these people have to endure.

But blocking much of the beauty of Haiti is the darkness which aims to destroy any light that these beautiful people try to emanate. With my return I am faced with starving children running the streets looking for food, restavecs enslaved just a few houses away and abused children left to suffer at the hands of their parents. Many of the kids at the orphanage have been subject to these conditions before entering. One of the boys in the orphanage first entered at a mere 18 pounds at 3 years old.

A particular boy’s story I would like to tell is one I still have trouble fully comprehending. His mother had two children with two separate fathers. His sister lives in America and is now in the US army while he lives in Haiti. She does not contact him and has never come to visit him. He explained that his mother and sister moved to the US with his sister’s wealthy father while he and his poor father continued to live in Haiti. To make matters worse his father beat him, told him he was not his child and that he did not care about him. He was beaten so badly one night that he ran away and found a woman who took care of him before taking him to the orphanage. While telling me this he said he became a believer in Christ through the experience and gives thanks to him everyday that he protected and continues to protect him. He now wants to earn enough money to support a family and be able to help other people in some way. His perseverance and love for others gives me hope for a better Haiti and a better world.

The first couple of days here have been hard work trying to get projects done at the transition house, teaching the kids how to do fractions and use a tape measure. Yet just being able to laugh and see the kids light up when they do something right brings me so much joy it is hard to explain. I pray that God blesses the Haitian people and that love shines through to the darkest corners of this island.