Shoes Help Bring Some Peace to Afghanistan...

I received an email from a military mom in late October 2010 because her son, Staff Sargeant Beaudrie of the 2/101 Airborne, told her of the conditions in the villages near his post. As a gesture of goodwill and to possibly promote peaceful relations between the soldiers and the Afghan people, her son wanted to get some shoes sent to him to distribute to the children.

As I read her email account of her son’s story of the distribution in the little village, I am absolutely humbled by the fact that not only were the shoes needed desperately for the children’s safety, health and well-being, but they were indeed an instrument of peace between the soldiers and the villagers.

Staff Sergeant Beaudrie asked the children (with the help of an interpreter) to line up in an “L” shape so everyone could see, and let 3 children at a time come up and pick out new shoes. As word got out, more children showed up to receive a new pair of shoes and meet the new “Hero” of the village, the American soldier bringing the gift of shoes. These shoes were brought to the village children, the forgotten ones in all of the conflict during the war in Afghanistan, and although some of the parents and children were skeptical of this offering, afterwards they were clearly delighted with their new shoes.

Although some of the commanding officers were not in favor of the idea of distributing shoes, as they watched through their telescopes from afar, they were surprised at how peaceful and orderly it was, gaining new respect for the Staff Sergeant that coordinated this effort. Because of the gift of shoes, the villagers now have more trust in the soldiers as well. Staff Sergeant Beaudrie is now known as the “Humanitarian” by his comrades.


All Because of Shoes...maybe a pair of shoes can change a life, AND change the world too.

The Hope of Haiti

I can understand how hard it is for us to truly comprehend what people face in the midst of their tragedy. If we cannot see it for ourselves, feel it, touch it, and experience it, it is difficult for us to completely wrap our minds around it. We can watch the news, read blogs and shed tears, maybe even open our wallets, but until we HUMANIZE it, and give it a face, a name...we simply cannot even begin to understand.

This is Woodley. He has a dynamic personality, is full of energy and loves to jump rope. For such a young boy, he has a deep, scratchy voice that cracks me up (even though I cannot understand everything he says) He loves to take charge of the situation and I can tell from watching him, he is a leader and enjoys making people laugh. He has the sweetest smile. He has a new black and white kitten that he loves to play with. He calls me "Stiffany"

He lost his Mom and Dad in the earthquake. He and his beautiful teenage sister, Darlene, live with their Aunt and Uncle now. They are blessed, because they have family that took them in and care for them, unlike so many.

For me, when I think of Haiti now....I can't help but think of Woodley. Woodley IS Haiti to me.

Haiti Distribution 4-5

And I'm home now....I should be asleep, I'm tired, my belly is full and I'm all clean and scrubbed down, but I can't seem to get there yet.

The last full day of the trip our group took about three hours and went to the coast of Haiti...only an hour away from Port Au Prince, but it felt like another world. It was beautiful, green, clean and quaint....and it is a reminder of the hope of the country, there is still so much beauty there in the midst of what seems to be overwhelming poverty and destruction. I took a single kayak out on the ocean for about an hour for $10....(now, that's the upswing there...cheap recreation) and just marveled literally at the water, the coral reefs I could see underneath me, the mountains. Breathtaking.
Our bus driver decided to take off everything but his underwear and go swimming and I found him later underneath an umbrella konked out, his dark, shiny skin covered in sand. It makes you wonder how often a beach trip is a reality for these guys...

We planned to go visit Maison Enfant de Dieu that afternoon, an orphanage in Port Au Prince that currently has about 80 children there, from infants to 9 years old. We walked in and I just knew that it would be a pivotal point in our trip. After a very quick tour of the living quarters, we all split up. I went to the toddler's room first, because I had seen a disabled girl in a play pen that I wanted to visit. She was 9 years old and had cerebral palsy. I just stroked her face and hair, we couldn't hold her. She was the size of a 5 year old. And then the band of demanding 2 year old mademoiselles found me. They were an absolute hoot, all clamoring for attention..and affection. Within minutes, they had confiscated my Blackberry and Passport, almost like the TSA. They move fast....but I got them back and settled down on the floor to play with them until one of our group members, Michelle, came in with an IPhone and upstaged me with Wet Wipes (they played with these like Barbies...they wanted you to smell them....just imagine... WET WIPES entertained them).

And I found Wilsson....he was laying on his back on the floor, he was 3 and has cerebral palsy, AND the biggest smile I have ever seen. I was able to hold him and talk to him and I put him back on his blanket and rubbed his tummy and just talked to him....he was dropped off at the orphanage when he was a baby, they do not know his whereabouts and the mayor of Haiti named him after himself. This child was a delight....I cried when I left the room because he cried and it broke my heart.

I walked down to the infant room where it was completely full of babies. Every crib was occupied. Beautiful Haitian babies that just took your heart away. Their little eyes were just glassed over....you touched them and most of them were almost in a state of shock. One little girl kept knocking the crib with the back of head, almost in a rhythmic, disturbing manner. It reminded me of articles I have read about at-risk babies and their tendencies to comfort themselves. I held one little boy for 10 minutes and he just cradled his sweet head under my chin. I really have no other words for this.....

As we got ready to leave I went out to where the older children were and our adults that were playing with them. I sat down and three little girls quickly came and started doing my hair....I gave them ponytail holders and they were going to town until one of them found my birthmark on top of my head and it freaked her out. We quickly explained to her that I was born with it and it was OK, but she switched to the other side. It was cute and amazing how quick and perceptive they are.

We left the orphanage to go back for dinner and it was pretty quiet. The experience of the orphanage for me was just emptying. I wanted to stay longer, to do something for those beautiful babies, to touch them all, and I know I couldn't....but I just cannot fathom that these babies do not have a better home. I know for them it is a lot better than most of the homes in Port Au Prince, but I can see that little girl just knocking the crib with her head, and my heart aches. One of the workers said that earlier this year they used to have visitors all of the time, but now there are a lot fewer of them. WHY? Why do we become calloused?????? THEY STILL NEED LOVE AND AFFECTION.

I am glad I'm home and that I had a hot shower, but honestly, I am a better person in Haiti. I don't look in the mirror, I don't really care what I have on, I eat whatever is before me, I get excited when kids want to jump rope, I look forward to what I can do that day to help someone. I'm better there...I want to be better here.

Haiti Day 3

Just a few thoughts before I go to bed here after another busy day. Our team traveled today to Cite Soleil, an intensely populated, impoverished area of Port Au Prince to distribute shoes to the community there. We are able to fit nearly 100 children and adults from the school and community with new shoes. The smallest child we fitted with shoes today was probably one week old. I was amazed as I fit some toddlers with shoes over the roughness of their little feet; they walk around barefoot all day, such a difference from the soft feet of little American toddlers. After the distributions, we took the group to view Haiti from the mountain overlook and take in some Haitian art and culture. We have an amazing team of individuals on this trip: 2 professional organizers, a medical transcriptionist, a leadership developer, 2 footwear corporate marketing executives, a recording artist, a law student, a devoted dad and husband and a perpetual volunteer...wow, what a crew. And its been awesome to see them in action, laying aside self and routine for a few days, and being super flexible. Its hard to explain until you do something like this, but YOU leave with much more than you came to give. We are giving out shoes and hope, yes, but the smiles, the love and gratitude we receive is truly priceless. Tonight, we jumped rope with some local children tonight, one being a young boy of about 8 who was orphaned from the earthquake, and it was truly a great experience for all. It was time spent with children without TV, phones, computers. Just laughter and smiles and community, even with a language barrier. It TIME that is most important, time you spend with anyone in need to let them know that they matter, and sometimes it involves giving something away and other times it involves giving yourself away.

Haiti Trip with Soles4Souls Day 1-2

Day 2 of our Haiti Distribution Trip proved to be busy and definitely eye-opening! We arrived last night to our mission hostel in Terre Noire and after a great dinner and a time to get to know each other as a group, off to bed we went!
This morning we set up the shoes we brought for the distribution at the School located on our Mission Compound. This school has a student body of over 500 students, and we were able to distribute shoes to every class. As the children came in this morning for school, I could definitely sense everyone's excitement about the day ahead. We spent the next 5-6 hours washing their sweet little feet and fitting them in brand new pairs of shoes, making them laugh and telling them how wonderful their new shoes were. I heard "Merci" 10,000 times and I will never tire of hearing it! While we were fitting the older elementary school classes, I think we hit the jackpot with the soccer cleats we had. The size range was perfect for them, and the boys and girls(!)wanted them (soccer is a pretty big deal in Haiti)! It was awesome to see the little girls with their gingham school dresses on, bows in their hair and cleats on their feet!
We took our group down to the Presidential Palace afterwards to see the distribution left from the earthquake nearly one year ago. There is still SO much to be done, and so much heartbreak...but the spirit of this country and of the Haitian people is so strong and so full of joy, it is absolutely amazing!
And Soles4Souls will continue to be here and make a sustainable difference here...it was awesome to pull up yesterday and have the children and teachers recognize you and call out your name. And that's because we are in it for the long haul.

Reflections on 2010

I just did something really great, and I would encourage you to do the same as well. Review 2010 for yourself, take about an hour or so and reflect on the year that just passed. I just did it and I am so very glad I did. And THEN....leave it behind. Check out Michael Hyatt's blog post on this. I just cut and pasted the questions in a Word Document and spent about an hour or so meditating and writing.

Click on this little thingee here: Seven Questions to Ask About Last Year

Happy New Year Ya'll!