This was my second visit here, but the first time that I got a tour of the workshops. It was so awesome to see the workers creating jewelry. I said as we walked through... "I would give anything to get paid to do arts and crafts all day long!" Seriously, if I lived in Haiti, I'd want to work there.
After a tour and some shopping, we headed on over to Juno's orphanage. This is my favorite stop! There is just something about the kids at this orphanage that give me so much joy.
Earlier this year when I came here for my first time, I met a little boy named Edmison. He was just the sweetest little kid. I was anxiously expecting to see him again (as were a few others) but when we got off the tap tap, nobody saw him. After asking a few kids where he was, we found out that he was sick and had to go up to the Grace Village clinic. While I was sad that I didn't get to see him, I was very thankful that the Grace Village clinic is there and that he was getting the help and medication he would need. I pray that this little boy is healing.
At Juno's the kids always sing for us. It's one of my favorite parts about the visit, they have such wonderful voices, and I'm always impressed by how well some of them know some English. We did a few art activities with them and even taught them how to make a human pyramid.
We set out with great excitement yet an enormous feeling of apprehension and uncertainty to Gertrudes Home for the mentally challenged children. Some of us carried lots of worries, anticipations & anxieties, especially related to the living condition of the home.
I did some research and found that before the earthquake in 2010 it was estimated that 800,000 people were living with disabilities & they were among the poorest int he country. With the quake, the number of people with disabilities has increased dramatically. Disabled children lost their parents and their homes. What is even more sad, is that in Haiti there are beliefs about disability that create strong barriers to assistance for people with disabilities often referred to as “cocabi” in slang Creole, which basically implies that they are worthless. They are ignored, stepped over, abandoned & alone.
Last week, while driving I noticed an elderly man, with only a shirt on that was crawling along the dirt road among the bustle of the day. Goats walked past him, tap tap’s drove 50mph past him blowing dirt into his eyes, a man tripped over him while looking at his phone & didn’t bother to stop, but kept walking.
Do you think that in America we have a bias or stereotypical actions towards people with disability? Do you know someone with a “disability?” Have you ever stopped to acknowledge or talk with someone that has a disability? In my experience, I have found that they are often people with the biggest hearts & it is my {hope} that one day we can all see them for what their ability is.
Our group walked into Gertrudes, quiet at first, taking it all in. Children were half dressed and some laying on the tile floor. But it wasn’t long before we all heard Jeremy yelling & flying past us with a young child in a wheelchair who was giggling in excitement. The barrier was broke and right after, everyone on the team was either reading, pushing a child on the swing, singing, holding a child, tickling, or pushing a child in a wheelchair. We took the children off the floor, dressed them & put them in wheelchairs. The room was filled with light and in that moment, we were all as one.
During debrief, I think that we summarized that being there was extremely difficult to see. But god gives us more than we can handle so that we know what we are capable of and where His hands and help are needed to mend our broken hearts and fill it back up with the love that these children gave to us.
~Angela
You guys are an awesome example of being our Lord's hands and feet doing His will in our world today. You have touched many lives this past week...the Haitian people of course, but maybe more importantly, each other on the team. It's pretty obvious you all "received" as much as you "gave".
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