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.