How can I begin to share the perplexities of Haiti?
After more than three years, I am still at times saddened, frustrated or
puzzled, and end up laughing at the challenges this country presents. If the plumbing doesn't function well at the
Foyer it is due not only to extremely
poor quality material and partly trained plumbers but also
because this very plumber hired to fix a problem is sure to leave it
functioning poorly so he doesn't run out of a job!
Yet as all the foreigners you meet at the airport on
your way out of Haiti will vouch, it is a very endearing country. In their
daily struggle, its people are resourceful, resilient, ingenious, kind and
joyful. Just witness the roar and jumps of joy when their favorite soccer team
scores a goal and you get a sense of the zest for life that keeps it going.
And then there is the
Foyer. Nine year old new comer Abelardo’
s twisted skinny legs and deformed little face seem to me to be the symbol of
the Foyer. To the outsider looking in, the Foyer has a lot of malfunctioning
body parts: the water pump is broken, the electricity only supports one light bulb in each of the occupied rooms,
chairs, toys, tools, covered by the
abundant dust brought in by the near constant wind, all
seem to need fixing. Yet, Abelardo very much like the Foyer is full of life. Hearing
his throaty laughter for the first time yesterday brought me incomparable joy
and still brings tears to my eyes as I write.
His cleft palate leaves his face expressionless but he is fully engaged
in the life of his 95 siblings, plays, teases others and stands for himself
demanding the attention he needs.
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| Abelardo wanted his picture taken too. |
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| Add caption |
The Foyer too in all
its complexities demands attention. Without the love and care given by Maud, Jo
and friends, the Foyer like Abelardo would struggle to survive. In March 2014 shortly after his arrival he
couldn't stand by himself and grunted while raising his arms to be picked up.
He needed to be washed and dressed and fed. Now in August he is thriving,
dresses himself, eats on his own, and runs on this deformed legs to play with others;
in the evening when the chairs have to be placed on the long dining tables so
the floor can be swept, he is one of the children who volunteers to stack them
up.
The Foyer too is
thriving. Even though the garden is not successful yet, seedlings are growing
in pots and a fence has been erected to protect it; given time and the
attention it needs, the garden too will thrive.
The poultry business is launched but needs to grow in order to provide much
needed income.
Jo and a few teens designed a pattern for, and have started making, the shirts that will be part of the girls’ uniforms this year. She and Maud get help from new staff members and friends.
Jo and a few teens designed a pattern for, and have started making, the shirts that will be part of the girls’ uniforms this year. She and Maud get help from new staff members and friends.
On Sundays, the choir
of eighteen teenagers performs beautifully at the chapel of the nuns in
Tabarre. Even this is a challenge; they must walk thirty minutes to take an
overcrowded “tap-tap” for another thirty minutes, because Maud’s car broke down
and she can no longer load up the 30+ children that get to go to mass every
Sunday.
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| Making Zanmi bracelets |
For the competition that
I launched during my stay, four girls and one boy baked a cake, two wrote
essays, seven presented drawings, and eight made kites that attested to their
ingenuity and resourcefulness in finding material (all I contributed were
string and trash bags). The excitement was palpable as all were
chattering about the various entries. This was right after a soccer game where
the neighborhood team tied with our boys under the wild cheers of supporters
and Kompa music blasting.
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| Marassa looking at the competition |
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| 1st place Rosena's fruit cake |
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| Gary won 1st place kite making |
On top of the main
building four rooms stand unfinished but their roof is on and the solar panels
should be installed this week. Work finally started the day before my departure!
The twenty panels, inverters and installation costs were donated by Association
Terre des Montagnes in France and Rendez-vous: Haiti.
In the dorms, windows
and doors are shut at night against the “loup garou” (werewolves). At sunrise,
children head to the showers while the older boys and sixteen-year-old Karina,
the latest rescued “restavek”, run barefoot while playing a fierce soccer
game on the new field with goal posts built by Meg in April. It is summer
vacation, and my beads, plastic gimp, o-rings all become bracelets fashioned by
eager hands.
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| The solar panels will sit on top of new rooms |
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| Ed & Sarah Barker gave two goats . A wedding gift that keeps on giving. |
So it isn’t perfect,
and the kids can be frustrating when they sweep lego pieces along with the
dirt, but they are healthy, they take good care of themselves and each other,
they are getting decent results in school, and there is a lot of laughter
ringing through the evening gathering in the semi darkness of the large hall.
It has been nearly a
year since the children moved to the new location, and even though there are still
problems to be fixed, everyone is well. The children are able to be children.
Tomorrow or the
next day, the installation of the solar panels will continue, one more step
will be taken to provide a reliable source of power to the Foyer, Abelardo will
continue to gain strength, all will be fed three meals, the little ones will
cool off in the donated plastic pool, and the older ones will kick the new
soccer balls as they are cheered by their friends.
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| Lucky little ones get to cool off. |
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| Emma & Lovely water the garden |
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| Early soccer game. Thankfully Cecilia & Keith brought cleats just in time for big game |
