July, 2011

 

 I left Haiti less than a week ago, which seems both a moment and a lifetime ago. On our laundry room floor are flip-flops covered in dust from Haiti. If I wanted to, I could throw them away…and yet I don’t want to throw them away because I don’t want to forget any of the tiniest details that remind me how fortunate we are to have been born into a country abundantly wealthy in so many ways.  Over the last year, I have seen little progress towards rebuilding in Haiti. As we drove up and down hills, through crowded side streets and crowded main thoroughfares, we could still peer into buildings like full scale doll houses. Five story buildings still standing but instead, standing as eight foot tall piles of rubble. The damage, so random – three buildings destroyed, one standing untouched.  The people of Haiti are remarkably resilient. As much as possible, they have been trying to go on with life. On the sidewalk in places, you can buy fruits and vegetables, a bottle of coke, used clothing, or even a cell phone charger. Small children walk down the street with old anti-freeze bottles filled with water from a nearby river or stream. Women, often have their arms full of goods, as they balance large baskets on top of their heads weighing more than we can ever imagine lifting!

I lost track of the number of tent cities as we drove through the city of Port-au-Prince. Some of them hold hundreds, most hold thousands. They spring up everywhere that the rubble is not piled and there’s room to hang three corners of a bed sheet or tarp. Children wander – some lost, some orphaned.  In Haiti, there is a culture of passing children from family member to family member, often losing track of them or hiring them out as domestic workers and not going back to get them. Many children – even in orphanages – have parents out there somewhere, although they have not truly parented the child. The children are beautiful beyond imagination. They are regal, full of dignity and poised for greatness. Their poverty is a momentary, light affliction, because these children have a destiny. 49% of Haiti is 14 years old or younger. I see the future of Haiti in the children…… hope for a brighter future. When I grow tired and discouraged in the battle to help the children in Haiti, I have my conscience to wrestle with knowing how the people there struggle from day to day just to drink clean water and eat. I remind myself each day that we can do a small part to make a difference….one life at a time.