Orphanage

I'm going to follow up one of the most beautiful things I witnessed with one of the hardest.


After spending most of the week with Heartline in Port Au Prince, we traveled to Gressier, a town off the beach.  When I think of the beach I think of a flat area.  This was mountains right next to the beach.  It was gorgeous.  We went here to visit Megan Boudreaux's organization Respire Haiti, to see how SafeWorld could assist them.  I don't like saying organization though, because I know what you're picturing and it's not that.  Heck, I don't really work for what you're picturing either.  It's just people.  I'll talk more about Megan later though.  


While in Gressier we visited an orphanage.  I have never been to one before.  I have never met a child without parents.  I don't even think I've consciously met foster children.  This was the hardest thing for me in Haiti.  Once we got off the tap-tap, the children swarmed on us.  I think they were literally claiming us, like "this white-girl will be mine while she's here.  She's holding ME.  Stay away from her!"  I was claimed by nine year-old Esther and three year-old Jessica, who could not keep her pants over her tush to save her life.  They pulled us under, what I gather, is their common area.  It was a tent you would tailgate under with some ratty plastic tables and chairs underneath.  

Here we are- pretty Esther on the left with goofball Jessica on my lap.  Notice the details.  I am pretty sure this is equivalent to their living room.  The children move chickens and puppies out of their seats, never washing their hands.  Their carpet consists of dirt, more than likely with animal feces here and there.  Look at Esther's shoes.  They're terrible.  Jessica couldn't hardly walk in hers, excluding the fact she was lookin' like a fool with her pants on the ground.  There are photos on the pole behind Jessica but no frames.  I wonder if they would even know what something like a frame is.  For awhile we all sat there.  There was nothing to do.  They have a little playground but it's smack in the sun all day.  No one plays on it.  I was remembering the day-care I worked at this past year.  The kids have more toys than they know what to do with.  We taught children things like cooking and photography.  They raced remote control cars and swam in a pool.  From what I saw there were NO toys at this orphanage.  

Megan told the kids they should show us their new school that was built.  We walked across a field to a cement building.  There was nothing inside yet.  

It was really tricky with the language barrier.  If we all just spoke the same language I could have easily organized races, games, JUST CONVERSATION.  As a kid I remember how much I loved someone older asking me about my interests/dreams.  I couldn't do that with them. :(  Esther did teach me some hand games.  I wanted to tell her I wasn't good at them even at her age.  Eventually she figured it out and let me watch her do it with other girls.  The girl sitting in my lap is six year-old Daphnis.  She was really sweet too.  I think the boy behind me is six year-old Djoervensky.  Look how he just LONGS to be near an adult, how he NEEDS human touch.  No boy that age at the day-care needed/wanted that from me.  

This is what they played with: rocks.  I think the point of the game was to see how many you could pick up while one was in the air.  Notice how some kids don't have shoes and puddles accumulate. 

The kids LOVED watching videos of Jordana's children on her iPhone.  It could have been the first time some had ever seen white children.   

I think this photo is gorgeous and says so much.  (Most of the photos from Haiti are by Sarah.)  The girl is sitting in the most bare/basic of windows, wearing simple clothes, looking so bored.  I don't know her name or her story.  I know she must have a big one though because she had awful scars on her arm, chest, and neck.  It looked like she'd been burned somehow.  She mostly stayed in the window the whole time watching everyone.  I don't know if she was shy or what.  I felt sorry for the shy kids.  We hung out with the outgoing ones who were constantly at our side.  If you wanted any attention you fought for it.  

                                         

This is 12 year-old Venise, she was looking through a math workbook.  She wasn't studying.  She just had nothing else to look at or do.  All my years of french did help a little, being so similar to creole.  Numbers in creole are exactly the same as in french.  Once the girl figured out I knew all of them she started asking me math problems!  She would get so excited when I answered and say, "correct."  When I was slow, I think she thought I didn't know how to say the answer in creole, so she would go straight to the next one, when really I was just having trouble doing the math in my head.  It was really cool being able to "speak" (I mean, it was so minimum.) in another language.  I was able to get children's' names and ages.  I kept pointing to things and saying, "en creole?" and Esther would tell me how to say it in creole, then I would teach her how to say it in english.  Esther knew a good bit of english.  You could tell she wanted to learn too.  She would repeat stuff I said, practicing the pronunciation.

Megan says the children are really smart.  The Korean UN is close by and has been teaching the children Korean too!  The Koreans had covered a poster board with pictures of them hanging out with the children and had it hanging in the common room.  It said, "Remember you are always loved."  I hate that these children have to be reminded!  If they were in a home with moms and dads they would just KNOW they were loved.  

The sad thing is a lot of these children have biological parents still living who DO love them.  They love them so much they put them in an orphanage because they know they'll eat better there.  Sometimes economics are the reason a child becomes an orphan.  It's heartbreaking.

This is me again with Daphnis and then the girl on the left is  three year-old Minaura.  A woman who went with us to the orphanage was interested in adopting Minaura and her ten month-old sister.  Megan said she knew their mom visited the orphanage every two weeks though.  They had to meet with her.  The whole time we were at the orphanage Minaura just wanted to be held by her potential future mommy, however once her real mom arrived she ran for her.  She knew that was her real mommy.  Megan asked the mom, "if you could keep your girls with you, would you do it?"  The mom replied, "but I can't."  Megan said, "I didn't ask that.  I said if you COULD, would you?"  The mom still said she had no way to keep them.  Megan had to ask her several times.  Finally the mom said she would keep them if she had the means.  With that, they knew they couldn't go through with an adoption.  Instead, now they are figuring out a way to help this mama get her babies back.

It's crazy to me that this orphanage is a step-up for this woman's children.  The children are lucky there if they get to eat every day.  Us girls wanted a water break at one point, when we realized there was no water for the children to drink.  Jordana filled a water bottle up from her own and passed it around to the children.  You could tell immediately they felt better.  The poor things just need a little water!  This orphanage doesn't have a lot of money, but it is run by a couple who actually care, giving these children a huge advantage.  So many orphanages have child trafficking and other atrocities.  There is no protection around the compound to keep people out who may want to steal children for these purposes.  The owner therefore has bells hidden around the property and if he hears anything throughout the night, he goes out with his gun.  Haiti's government is crazy, however he saves up so he can register the orphanage and make it legal and legitimate.  It's so sad the government puts them through this.  The money is needed for food.  Megan is trying to find a church to be a permanent sponsor for this orphanage.  I am looking at ways YOU could personally help.  Stay tuned.

But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.  For we wanted to come to you--certainly I, Paul, did, again and again-but Satan stopped us.  For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?  Is it not you?  Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20