Day Three in Haiti started with the sound of children
playing at the school next door. The entire school experience in Haiti is
different than in the United States. Students have to buy uniforms and pay
various fees. Those who cannot afford it are unable to attend. Forty percent of
children across Haiti will never attend school at all. Others will attend for a
few years. Few will make it all the waythrough school due to the financial
challenges. Several people told us that the greatest thing we could do to help
Haitians was to sponsor a child to help them attend school. Just as education
in America is important to getting a good job, so is education in Haiti.
After a terrifying ride in the truck down the mountain, we
played with 85 kids in the morning at the "Toddler House." At this
particular orphanage, toddlers are age 3-12. It was amazing how many kids they
had squeezed into such a tiny area, but somehow, they all fit as they played
games and enjoyed being outside.
They normally only have 60 children at a time in the home
due to space issues. But recently another orphanage was shut down by the
government due to appalling conditions (rats were in the cribs biting the
children and one child died from this) and all the children from that other
orphanage were sent to GLA. Though GLA did not really have the room for all
those children from the other orphanage, they took them all in anyway, that’s
what love does. Love finds a way regardless of space, money, comfort,
convenience. The staff at GLA overflowed with a deep and abiding commitment to
love children no matter their circumstances or situations. Americans could
learn a lot from the example GLA set.
After a Haitian lunch of beans and rice (which would be our
daily lunch menu for the rest of the week), we helped care for 40 infants over
at the Main House. GLA actually started as a baby orphanage and after it kept
growing they added the Toddler House for the older children. GLA is one of the
few orphanages in Haiti that will accept babies that are born pre-mature. Such
babies often have a wide variety of health issues and require an extra-ordinary
level of care.
They showed us the "preemie" room. It was about
the size of a small bedroom. It had 6-8 cribs in it and two incubators with
babies in it. Most of the equipment looked ancient. It is unlikely that any
hospital in America would have been that crowded or under-equipped. However,
that particular preemie unit is considered the most advanced in the nation of
Haiti.
Each volunteer is assigned a certain number of babies for
the week and part of their job is to spend one hour of personal time with that
child each day. Because we had a large number of ladies on our team, there was
only one little guy for me to play with. That little fellow and I had a lot of
fun in the swing and playing with toys. And yes, I even changed a diaper, my
first diaper change in 15 years, and I still remember how to do it. Let’s just
say that it looked like honey Dijon mustard, but smelled MUCH WORSE!!!! I hope
that little fellow remembers that he is greatly loved by the Father and that
the Father sent a few earthly fathers to demonstrate that love until he can be
placed in a permanent home.
After an intense day with the children, it was time to get
back in the truck for another terrifying trip up the mountain. I do not understand
why all the drivers in Haiti are in such a hurry when they get behind a wheel.
Maybe they think they are race car drivers? When you consider that the “road”
consists of a string of potholes perched on to the side of a cliff, the wild
speeds and excessive horn blowing makes for quite the trip!
Back at the compound where the guys were staying, we had a
relaxing evening around a campfire. Our security guard, Sergio, entertained us
with great stories. We laughed so hard our stomachs hurt as he told us stories
about his interesting diet. He said he likes to eat goat, chicken and cat. But
he does not like cow. He said beef was too fatty. Interestingly enough, he said
he could never eat a dog; they are too "nice." After listening to his
stories, we decided we were glad he was not our cook! To our American mindset,
it may sound terrible to eat some of the things people in Haiti eat, but when
you are hungry, you do what you have to do to survive. Perhaps it is time for
Americans to realize just how good we have it and stop complaining so much.
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