Today is Sunday, May 30 2010.. Unfortunately, today is our last day in Haiti, the week flew by. This morning we slept in a little bit later until about 6am. Church was at 8:00 today and it was packed. Everybody at the orphanage was there and many from the outside community attended the service. Today is mother's day in Haiti, so it was an especially nice service. Plus on Sundays everybody pretty much devotes their entire day to religion; nobody really works or does anything else. There was this gospel choir that sang that was unbelievable and the kids all sang too.
After the service, all of us (about 25 people) went in the truck to go for a ride. Our destination was to see the palace in Port au Prince. I couldn't believe the damage that was done to the building from the earthquake. The whole top of the structure was falling off. The government here is so corrupt. Kim says that the government is technically a democracy but there is really no order what-so-ever. There is a president, but the only requirement to run for the office is that one must be a citizen of Haiti and have some kind of education. 45 people ran in the last election. The government randomly turns off the electricity whenever they want to (which happened every day we were here). It also concerns me a bit that I don't see much help down here cleaning up from the earthquake. Our country has given so much money and I do not see anything being rebuilt or any others here helping. I expected to see many trucks here giving supplies or people rebuilding or cleaning up from the tragic disaster. The only thing I see are the tent cities everywhere where people live. I feel that these tent cities will be here for a long while. I have a strong feeling that the government just takes most of the money given. Many of the buildings in the area were also completely destroyed and rubble was everywhere. Such a sad sight to see.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with the kids and we had a fun day planned for them! We took the kids upstairs 5 at a time (or else it would have been completely chaotic) to get their face painted, give balloon animals, and have them each pick out an outfit, toys, and candy. I made the balloon animals and the expression on their faces were priceless, it was obvious they have never seen this done before. It was really like a holiday for them, they were all so excited and had a lot of fun.
Tonight did not go so well, which is very sad because it was our last night here. I let a man from the orphanage take my camera to load the pictures to his computer and he deleted every one of them from the entire week.. Over 500 photos. I had a bad feeling about giving my camera away in the first place and I wish I just followed my gut instinct. The pictures from this trip were priceless to me and I can't even write about it anymore because I get upset. But anyway.. After that one of the teenage boys pushed Kim and got kicked out of the orphanage. This wasn't exactly a great way to end the trip.
Before bed we threw hundreds of glows sticks down to the kids from the balcony. The older kids were angry because of the incident. However the younger kids had a lot of fun picking up the glow sticks and throwing them back and forth to us.
I went to bed pretty early because I was just upset and not feeling well either. Plus there were a million red ants in my bed so I had to find another place to sleep. The electricity went off as well, so it was extremely hot.
So right now it is 12:10pm and we are at the airport getting ready to head home. This morning was rough and I cry just thinking of it. I was still upset about all my pictures this morning, I guess I should just get over it because it's already done and there is nothing I can do... But even worse than that it was so hard to say goodbye to the kids. I was with Dolleen and Maranata (the girls I was with all week) and they were on each of my arms crying. I didn't want to leave... It's so hard to just be here for just a week and then leave. It has been just enough time to get very attached to the kids. I literally am sitting in the airport crying right now writing this as I think of the tears rolling down their face..
So we arrived at the airport at 7am and our flight is at 2:00.. We got here early because Kim warned us that you never know what can happen here. They can leave early if they feel like it or there can be a massive pile of garbage in the road that causes a traffic jam that would cause us to miss our flight (that happened to Kim before haha). So we were here 7 hours early. But I actually had a great time hanging out with everybody... We even asked people here to teach us the gayepaye dance.. We definitely made the most of our time! We board in an hour...
Despite the fact I have no pictures to show from my trip, the memories I have will last a lifetime. This experience was definitely life changing. While we were there our team accomplished so much, we..
Started a garden to help with self-sufficiency
Built a fence around the garden
Painted rooms in the orphanage
Painted cribs
Put a tile floor in the boys dorm
Took the kids to the beach
Spent $7000 to put two bathrooms in the clinic
Fed and gave supplies to two refugee camps
Provided a tent for a family
Purchased a goat to eat
Purchased bunk beds
Purchased Mattresses
Purchased Pillows
Purchased a Crib
Fixed the Sewage system
Fun day for the kids: Balloon animals face painting etc..
42, 50lb suitcases of supplies
Organized the medical clinic
Spent much quality time with the children
We definitely accomplished a lot!!
I hope to come back in either July or December when Kim comes again..
Thank you for following.. Orevwa, tout moun...
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Day 6: Beach! Interesting bus ride.. haha
Today is Saturday, May 29 2010.. Wow this week is flying by!! This morning we woke up for 5am to get ready for our field trip to the beach!! We began getting all the kids together by 6:00. They were very excited to go because many of them are never able to leave the orphanage property at all, nevermind go to the beach. There was a list of about 100 kids that were selected to go on the trip and the rest of them had to stay behind. For the most part the older kids were the ones who could come. Kim checked the list as each child came on the bus.. There were 5 people to a seat and it was so unbelievably hot on the bus.. It seemed like forever sitting there while we loaded everybody and did multiple headcounts. Just as we were about to leave, another bus pulled up for us to take. I was very happy that we didn't have to squeeze more than one hundred people on twenty school bus seats, but it took forever to get half of the kids off, reload, and get situated again. Finalllyy around 730 we were ready to hit the road! As soon as we took off we all cringed at the sound of our breaks screeching very loudly... I knew this was going to be an adventure.. Dolly (one of the orphans I have been with all week) sat next to me and slept on my lap the entire ride.. The bus flew down the narrow, dirt, bumpy roads going what seemed to be 100mph.. That may be exaggerating a bit, but we were at least going 65. We sped by other huge trucks seeming as if we would get run off the road, drove through a river, and into the countryside where we finally reached the beach. We arrived around 9:30 am. The beach was actually pretty nice. We all took shifts to go into the water with the kids. The water was very warm and there were many spots where you could see right through the blue water to the sand. Other parts weren't so clear and the bottom was very rocky. I had a lot of fun in the water with the kids. We played with beach balls and other toys and they pretty much just held onto me the whole time as I swam around. The water was definitely refreshing. After everyone was done playing in the ocean, we all came out to eat lunch and play in the sand for a bit. I danced with dolly for a while and the kids taught me some new moves haha. Then we realized it was time to go as the beach became a hang out spot for many older kids... We found a couple of our kids from the orphanage traded food and water we brought for beer from these people that came on the beach.. It was definitely time to go. We loaded everybody on the bus around 1 or 1:30.. Now it is currently 2:30 and we are dead stopped in traffic on the school bus... I can't even explain how hot it is, but I know that the heat index for today here was 110 degrees. Sitting three to a seat on this bus does not help the situation. We just pulled over because one girl had an accident and she still had to go to the bathroom. So she got off the bus to go on the pile of rubble outside of the bus.. Other kids followed.. Two kids threw up.. Oh man.. It was a fun day but I can't wait until we get back to the orphanage.. I feel that it is going to be a while...
It is now 10pm and I'm exhausted... When we finally got back from the beach around 330 or 4 I showered and hung out with the kids for a bit. Then our group rode on the back of the truck to get 'real food' at a hotel close by (seeing that we ate peanut butter and granola bars pretty much the whole week everyone was really looking forward to it). We had such a great time just relaxing and socializing for a while. I love the fact that I did not really know anybody very well before going on this trip and now I will be leaving with a great new group of friends. Everybody is so nice and so much fun to be around. When we returned we were of course welcomed by all the kids running up to the truck and very excited to see us.. I am going to miss this so much when I go home. We stayed downstairs to play a bit with the kids outside... this made my night. I am now sooo ready for bed. I can't believe tomorrow is our last full day here already..
Bonn nwi, Na demen (Goodnight, see you tomorrow)
It is now 10pm and I'm exhausted... When we finally got back from the beach around 330 or 4 I showered and hung out with the kids for a bit. Then our group rode on the back of the truck to get 'real food' at a hotel close by (seeing that we ate peanut butter and granola bars pretty much the whole week everyone was really looking forward to it). We had such a great time just relaxing and socializing for a while. I love the fact that I did not really know anybody very well before going on this trip and now I will be leaving with a great new group of friends. Everybody is so nice and so much fun to be around. When we returned we were of course welcomed by all the kids running up to the truck and very excited to see us.. I am going to miss this so much when I go home. We stayed downstairs to play a bit with the kids outside... this made my night. I am now sooo ready for bed. I can't believe tomorrow is our last full day here already..
Bonn nwi, Na demen (Goodnight, see you tomorrow)
Friday, May 28, 2010
Day 5: Goat, kids, and refugees
Okay well its Friday, May 28.. And it's 9am. Last night was soooo much fun. We played cards and were laughing for three hours straight. I think we were all just very over-tired. Then I went to hang out on the roof for a while with some people in the tent. When I finally decided to go lay down to try to fall asleep at about midnight, Stephanie and John came into the room and told me to get us because we were going to go feed the goat.. ha! So Steph, John, Christina, Chelsea, Jess, Joner and I went to go feed the goat his last meal. We went quietly downstairs so that we would not wake any of the kids up. We hung out with the goat for a while and then finally decided it was time for bed. We came upstairs to find that the door was locked and nobody awake had a key. One of the guards climbed up three building to open the door- he looked just like spiderman... It was sooo funny!
We were all very tired this morning because none of us got much sleep at all... After devotion Steph, Jenn and I went with the boys to watch our goat friend be slaughtered. I wanted to set it free, but this definitely did not happen. They grabbed the goat, slit it with a huge knife, and it fell to the ground (but it was still alive for a while). Then when it was dead they slit his leg and blew it up like a balloon. Then they skinned it and and slit it again (and the guts came out). Sorry for the descriptions, but trust me it could be much worse! I'm not going to lie... I shed a tear then felt a bit sick to my stomach... but it was definitely something I had to see... Dinner tonight!
Looking forward to getting a lot done today...
It is now a little after 9pm and we just got back inside. This afternoon we finally finished our painting project- what a relief! It actually came out very good- despite the fact that we had to use a few different shades of blue paint and the kids were running in and out of the rooms all day tracking paint everywhere. After we were finished we took a little bit of a break- we couldn't do too much because it was raining really hard outside anyway. Then a bit later I went downstairs to hang out with the kids. There are a few kids that I have gotten very attached to this week so far. This one girl Angilique is soooo cute. Everytime she sees me she runs up to me with the biggest smile on her face and begins singing "We Are The World." She knows I love when she sings that song because I always sing along with her. It doesn't take long for all of her little friends to run up and join her singing. A few of the girls call me 'Princess' because they were playing with my iphone and they saw pictures of me with my crown on my head... haha While I was outside, I jump roped with the kids for a while. I haven't jump roped in forever - but it was so much fun!! A girl held each end of the rope while I started in the middle and then others joined in. The kids were so good.. they got about 10 people in at one time!
5:00 is my favorite time of the day because we all sit in one room and I get to hear the kids sing. Two of the orphans always save me a seat in the middle of them. The children know every word to every song and they are not afraid to belt it out. I just sit there with the biggest smile on my face listening to them. It is just so unbelievable to see so many kids with so much happiness and spirit with what little they have. I find myself closing my eyes to just take it all in- something I don't usually take the time to do. This really helps to appreciate my own life so much more. I would be so happy to be around all these kids all the time.
At 6:00 there was a church service for everybody at the orphanage. It is very interesting to experience because the culture is so different. Everybody in this country is very religious... that is what they identify themselves with to give them hope to survive. We had a translator for most of the service, so we were able to follow along.
At about 8:00 we gave out bags of rice, beans, and oil to refugees that stay on the orphanage property. They were very greatful for the food because they have no money and nowhere to get it from. Many of the families here have small children too. A lot of people tried to sneak in line again to get more food.. We only had enough this time for about 100 people. It went very well though. It is nice to know that these families will be able to eat tomorrow..
So now I am about to go up on the roof to play cards.. Hopefully I will be getting some sleep tonight though.. Tomorrow we have a field trip to the beach!
We were all very tired this morning because none of us got much sleep at all... After devotion Steph, Jenn and I went with the boys to watch our goat friend be slaughtered. I wanted to set it free, but this definitely did not happen. They grabbed the goat, slit it with a huge knife, and it fell to the ground (but it was still alive for a while). Then when it was dead they slit his leg and blew it up like a balloon. Then they skinned it and and slit it again (and the guts came out). Sorry for the descriptions, but trust me it could be much worse! I'm not going to lie... I shed a tear then felt a bit sick to my stomach... but it was definitely something I had to see... Dinner tonight!
Looking forward to getting a lot done today...
It is now a little after 9pm and we just got back inside. This afternoon we finally finished our painting project- what a relief! It actually came out very good- despite the fact that we had to use a few different shades of blue paint and the kids were running in and out of the rooms all day tracking paint everywhere. After we were finished we took a little bit of a break- we couldn't do too much because it was raining really hard outside anyway. Then a bit later I went downstairs to hang out with the kids. There are a few kids that I have gotten very attached to this week so far. This one girl Angilique is soooo cute. Everytime she sees me she runs up to me with the biggest smile on her face and begins singing "We Are The World." She knows I love when she sings that song because I always sing along with her. It doesn't take long for all of her little friends to run up and join her singing. A few of the girls call me 'Princess' because they were playing with my iphone and they saw pictures of me with my crown on my head... haha While I was outside, I jump roped with the kids for a while. I haven't jump roped in forever - but it was so much fun!! A girl held each end of the rope while I started in the middle and then others joined in. The kids were so good.. they got about 10 people in at one time!
5:00 is my favorite time of the day because we all sit in one room and I get to hear the kids sing. Two of the orphans always save me a seat in the middle of them. The children know every word to every song and they are not afraid to belt it out. I just sit there with the biggest smile on my face listening to them. It is just so unbelievable to see so many kids with so much happiness and spirit with what little they have. I find myself closing my eyes to just take it all in- something I don't usually take the time to do. This really helps to appreciate my own life so much more. I would be so happy to be around all these kids all the time.
At 6:00 there was a church service for everybody at the orphanage. It is very interesting to experience because the culture is so different. Everybody in this country is very religious... that is what they identify themselves with to give them hope to survive. We had a translator for most of the service, so we were able to follow along.
At about 8:00 we gave out bags of rice, beans, and oil to refugees that stay on the orphanage property. They were very greatful for the food because they have no money and nowhere to get it from. Many of the families here have small children too. A lot of people tried to sneak in line again to get more food.. We only had enough this time for about 100 people. It went very well though. It is nice to know that these families will be able to eat tomorrow..
So now I am about to go up on the roof to play cards.. Hopefully I will be getting some sleep tonight though.. Tomorrow we have a field trip to the beach!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
day 4: 7 hour errands
Today is Thursday, May 27 2010. This morning we woke up bright an early again for the 5am service. Afterwards we had breakfast and began painting by 7 am. We had a lot of work to do to finish all of the rooms downstairs at the orphanage. We worked non-stop until about noon.
Then at 1:00 Kim, Shirley, Elizabeth, two men from the orphanage and myself went out to run errands... Boy, was this an adventure! What would have been a simple 5 minute Wal*Mart run in the U.S.. took us over 7 hours here just to get rice, beans, water, shelves, and a couple books. We didn't even get everything that we had to get. The streets were so crazy with traffic going in every direction.. We had to bargain for everything with each merchant, which took a very long time. The prices were actually extremely expensive; although I think that was partly because we were Americans. The driver and our "body guard," Pierregi, were stuck shopping with us four girls and we would not let them go back until we got everything we set out to get. We drove them crazy.. It very interesting driving through the streets. We even were able to drive by the palace in Port au Prince and the top half of the structure was falling off because of the earthquake. Kim was saying how it is almost impossible to find anybody here. She told us how we sent a letter to the states and the adress to the orphanage translated 'to near a main street and close to the entrance of the gas station'... haha
We were all very tired when we got back to the orphanage. Although, I immediately had a smile on my face when the kids ran up to the truck to greet us as we got out. Right now I am sitting in a chair as a girl from the orphanage is braiding my hair. I have to be brief tonight because there are many people who want to use the computer.. I'll be back tomorrow!!
Then at 1:00 Kim, Shirley, Elizabeth, two men from the orphanage and myself went out to run errands... Boy, was this an adventure! What would have been a simple 5 minute Wal*Mart run in the U.S.. took us over 7 hours here just to get rice, beans, water, shelves, and a couple books. We didn't even get everything that we had to get. The streets were so crazy with traffic going in every direction.. We had to bargain for everything with each merchant, which took a very long time. The prices were actually extremely expensive; although I think that was partly because we were Americans. The driver and our "body guard," Pierregi, were stuck shopping with us four girls and we would not let them go back until we got everything we set out to get. We drove them crazy.. It very interesting driving through the streets. We even were able to drive by the palace in Port au Prince and the top half of the structure was falling off because of the earthquake. Kim was saying how it is almost impossible to find anybody here. She told us how we sent a letter to the states and the adress to the orphanage translated 'to near a main street and close to the entrance of the gas station'... haha
We were all very tired when we got back to the orphanage. Although, I immediately had a smile on my face when the kids ran up to the truck to greet us as we got out. Right now I am sitting in a chair as a girl from the orphanage is braiding my hair. I have to be brief tonight because there are many people who want to use the computer.. I'll be back tomorrow!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Day 3: Painting
Today is Wednesday, May 26 2010. This morning I was a bit tired because I stayed up late with John, Stephanie, and Jenn to play a haitian card game that we just learned. But we were still able to make 5am devotion.
We spent the majority of the day today painting and doing work around the orphanage. We first began to paint the baby cribs. The cribs are very old and worn and they had chipped paint. They were afraid the babies would eat the led from the paint. While we were painting, it started pouring rain so the guys helped us to bring the cribs inside.
During the rain storm we did arts and craft with the kids. They actually were all excited about the project and sat still long enough to complete it. They even decided to glue their craft to the walls.. . haha.
Then we all worked to paint the walls of the downstairs of the orphanage. We used baby blue paint to match the cribs. We even had some of the kids help us paint, which meant there was a huge mess that we had to clean up after. The place is really starting to look great!
While we were painting one room, I noticed a child in a crib all curled up in a ball. She looked like an infant, maybe a few years old... I knew something was wrong with her because she could not move from her position with her legs up to her chest and she kept hitting herself and could not speak or communicate at all. There were flies landing all over her body. She stayed in this crib pretty much all day, everyday. I found out that she was 21 years old. I was in absolute shock and did not believe it. I am unsure what was wrong, but it was a very sad sight to see- she was my age...
We spent the rest of the day playing with all of the kids... again, so much fun! A few of the kids sang "We are the World" with me, which was so nice. I hung out with my friend Emmanuel for a while to work on my creole and french..haha.. and of course I had a million other little friends attached to my side the whole day :)
In the back of the orphanage there are refugees staying in tents. One woman came up to me and was talking to me for a while... she was very nice. She asked for some money for her family because they were hungry. I don't really think I am suppose to give money when they ask, but I could not say no. She was very greatful. It was great having a conversation with her.
Before I went inside I watched the most beautful sunset. I felt like I was in a movie watching it with the refugee tents and palm trees below.
I have also been taking my video camera along everywhere and camera... can't wait to share this experience with you all...I'm sure I will be creating another documentary of this experience to share.
We spent the majority of the day today painting and doing work around the orphanage. We first began to paint the baby cribs. The cribs are very old and worn and they had chipped paint. They were afraid the babies would eat the led from the paint. While we were painting, it started pouring rain so the guys helped us to bring the cribs inside.
During the rain storm we did arts and craft with the kids. They actually were all excited about the project and sat still long enough to complete it. They even decided to glue their craft to the walls.. . haha.
Then we all worked to paint the walls of the downstairs of the orphanage. We used baby blue paint to match the cribs. We even had some of the kids help us paint, which meant there was a huge mess that we had to clean up after. The place is really starting to look great!
While we were painting one room, I noticed a child in a crib all curled up in a ball. She looked like an infant, maybe a few years old... I knew something was wrong with her because she could not move from her position with her legs up to her chest and she kept hitting herself and could not speak or communicate at all. There were flies landing all over her body. She stayed in this crib pretty much all day, everyday. I found out that she was 21 years old. I was in absolute shock and did not believe it. I am unsure what was wrong, but it was a very sad sight to see- she was my age...
We spent the rest of the day playing with all of the kids... again, so much fun! A few of the kids sang "We are the World" with me, which was so nice. I hung out with my friend Emmanuel for a while to work on my creole and french..haha.. and of course I had a million other little friends attached to my side the whole day :)
In the back of the orphanage there are refugees staying in tents. One woman came up to me and was talking to me for a while... she was very nice. She asked for some money for her family because they were hungry. I don't really think I am suppose to give money when they ask, but I could not say no. She was very greatful. It was great having a conversation with her.
Before I went inside I watched the most beautful sunset. I felt like I was in a movie watching it with the refugee tents and palm trees below.
I have also been taking my video camera along everywhere and camera... can't wait to share this experience with you all...I'm sure I will be creating another documentary of this experience to share.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Day 2: Refugees
Today is May 25, 2010. We began our day today bright and early at 4:30am to be at morning devotion by 5. It was a great way to start the morning. The service lasted for about an hour. Then, we ate breakfast and organized all of the supplies and donations that we brought. We had so many items; ranging from medicine, dental supplies, other health care items, shoes, chothes, toys, and a lot of candy!
Then we headed out to a refugee camp where we planned to spend our day. On the way there the school bus got stuck in the middle of the road (Yesterday our bus got pulled over, so I wasn't too surprised something else happened). Inside the bus was very hot, so we decided that all of us would sit on the back of a pick up truck to drive the rest of the way. We all sat on the ledge of the bed of the truck. I can't really explain how people drive in Haiti, but let's just say that drivers go very fast, stop abrubtly, drive within centemeters of each other and really follow no road rules what-so-ever. It was an exciting ride.. ha. Finally we got to the camp. Well, I don't really know if it's technically a camp, but Doctor Franco owns the land and after the earthquake people began to settle on it with tents and creating tarp homes and he gave permission for them to stay.
This definitely was an emotional experince. Even being here, seeing these life conditions with my own two eyes, I cannot believe and comprehend what these people go through. Each day these families are struggling to stay alive. They were very excited to see us come and immediately they came to greet us. We looked at their "homes" and also the school they had- which was a tarp held up with long sticks. The children and a few adults all gathered in this one room and we sang with them and put on a puppet show for a while. Then we handed out some toothbrushes, clothes, shoes, and other supplies to them. It was unbelievable to see how the kids rushed to us to get a toothbrush. It was difficult to even keep them under control after a while because they all wanted a share of the supplies. Then our team worked for a while to put together bags of rice and beans to hand out to the refugees. There were many huge bags of rice and beans but we all worked together to get it done. Then we went to hand the food out to the people. This was very sad to see the despiration just for food. As soon people saw we were giving food away there was a very long line waiting at our truck. Elders, women, and children went first in line. We tried to keep order as we gave everything away, but as soon as people noticed that we were running low there was a mad rush to grab anything and everything that was left. People were climbing on the truck and going absolutely crazy just to get some rice. The crowd of people was uncontrollable. This was very sad to see. I wanted so badly just to go to the store and get more food for these people so that they could eat dinner tonight. You don't realize how lucky you are just to have the basic necessities in life...
After we left the refugees we headed back to the orphanage. I was exhausted by this point; it had been a long day already. When we got back we hung out with the kids for a while and listened to them sing again at 5:00. It's amazing to see how happy and spirited these children are with what little they have in life. After the 5pm singing session the kids all ran up the stairs to where we were staying (They aren't suppose to go up where we stay, but somehow the door got unlocked) and they took all of the sandals we had brought that were donated. They were scolded for coming upstairs, but for the most part we let them keep the shoes; they all wanted a pair.
I love the constant crowd of kids that swarm around me as soon as I walk down the stairs. They all know my name and they love to play with my cameras haha. They just love to have a little bit of attention. We played all night until around 8pm...
I am really having an amazing time so far. The group I am here with is so great and everybody we encounter is so nice. I am enjoying every moment of being here.
Then we headed out to a refugee camp where we planned to spend our day. On the way there the school bus got stuck in the middle of the road (Yesterday our bus got pulled over, so I wasn't too surprised something else happened). Inside the bus was very hot, so we decided that all of us would sit on the back of a pick up truck to drive the rest of the way. We all sat on the ledge of the bed of the truck. I can't really explain how people drive in Haiti, but let's just say that drivers go very fast, stop abrubtly, drive within centemeters of each other and really follow no road rules what-so-ever. It was an exciting ride.. ha. Finally we got to the camp. Well, I don't really know if it's technically a camp, but Doctor Franco owns the land and after the earthquake people began to settle on it with tents and creating tarp homes and he gave permission for them to stay.
This definitely was an emotional experince. Even being here, seeing these life conditions with my own two eyes, I cannot believe and comprehend what these people go through. Each day these families are struggling to stay alive. They were very excited to see us come and immediately they came to greet us. We looked at their "homes" and also the school they had- which was a tarp held up with long sticks. The children and a few adults all gathered in this one room and we sang with them and put on a puppet show for a while. Then we handed out some toothbrushes, clothes, shoes, and other supplies to them. It was unbelievable to see how the kids rushed to us to get a toothbrush. It was difficult to even keep them under control after a while because they all wanted a share of the supplies. Then our team worked for a while to put together bags of rice and beans to hand out to the refugees. There were many huge bags of rice and beans but we all worked together to get it done. Then we went to hand the food out to the people. This was very sad to see the despiration just for food. As soon people saw we were giving food away there was a very long line waiting at our truck. Elders, women, and children went first in line. We tried to keep order as we gave everything away, but as soon as people noticed that we were running low there was a mad rush to grab anything and everything that was left. People were climbing on the truck and going absolutely crazy just to get some rice. The crowd of people was uncontrollable. This was very sad to see. I wanted so badly just to go to the store and get more food for these people so that they could eat dinner tonight. You don't realize how lucky you are just to have the basic necessities in life...
After we left the refugees we headed back to the orphanage. I was exhausted by this point; it had been a long day already. When we got back we hung out with the kids for a while and listened to them sing again at 5:00. It's amazing to see how happy and spirited these children are with what little they have in life. After the 5pm singing session the kids all ran up the stairs to where we were staying (They aren't suppose to go up where we stay, but somehow the door got unlocked) and they took all of the sandals we had brought that were donated. They were scolded for coming upstairs, but for the most part we let them keep the shoes; they all wanted a pair.
I love the constant crowd of kids that swarm around me as soon as I walk down the stairs. They all know my name and they love to play with my cameras haha. They just love to have a little bit of attention. We played all night until around 8pm...
I am really having an amazing time so far. The group I am here with is so great and everybody we encounter is so nice. I am enjoying every moment of being here.
Day 1: Arrival in Haiti!
Today is Monday, May 24, 2010. We began our day at 2:30am meeting our group of about 20 people at the church to get ready for our journey. We packed our 36 suitcases full of supplies and donations onto the school bus and headed for JFK airport. We arrived around 6am, had a 9am flight, and landed in Port au Prince at about 1pm. It was absolute craziness as soon as we stepped foot off the airplane, but Kim and Doctor Franco were both there to help us out. The 85 degree weather felt like well over 100 degrees. It took us a long time to gather all 36 suitcases that we brought. Then we got on another school bus to drive to the Christian Hatian Outreach Orphanage, where we would be staying for the week. The ride there took around 2 hours and during that time we were able to get a taste of what this third-world country was like. The city was a complete disaster. The damage from the earthquake quickly became apparent, but even before the quake I feel the area had many of the same qualities. Buildings were falling apart, heaps of rubble and garbage cluttered the streets everywhere, there were sites where hundreds of tents/tarp houses were set up- many even lined the median in the road, the streets were chaotic, wild pigs were in the rivers and garbage piles, and many begged for money.
When we finally reached the orphanage the kids ran up to the bus smiling, waving, and jumping up and down in excitment. We hung out with the kids for the rest of the day and night. They showed us around the orphanage and we listened to them sing for a while. Two girls became attached to me right away and they did not leave my side all day. I danced with the kids and taught them some new moves. Then, a teenage boy named Emmanuel taught me some Creole.. I learned how to say what is your name - Ki jan rele ..and how are you -Komanouye.. and beautiful -bel'.. and I like you- Mwen renmen ou! I told him I would keep practicing.. I couldn't believe how many kids were at the orphanage and the range of ages that were here. They were all so welcoming and so much fun. Before bed Doctor Franco met with us to tell us about what we will be doing all week.. It will be eventful, that's for sure! I can't wait..
When we finally reached the orphanage the kids ran up to the bus smiling, waving, and jumping up and down in excitment. We hung out with the kids for the rest of the day and night. They showed us around the orphanage and we listened to them sing for a while. Two girls became attached to me right away and they did not leave my side all day. I danced with the kids and taught them some new moves. Then, a teenage boy named Emmanuel taught me some Creole.. I learned how to say what is your name - Ki jan rele ..and how are you -Komanouye.. and beautiful -bel'.. and I like you- Mwen renmen ou! I told him I would keep practicing.. I couldn't believe how many kids were at the orphanage and the range of ages that were here. They were all so welcoming and so much fun. Before bed Doctor Franco met with us to tell us about what we will be doing all week.. It will be eventful, that's for sure! I can't wait..
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