From The Streets of Haiti

From the streets of Port au Prince

My time here has been quite interesting.

When I arrived on Saturday, I went through what is now their emergency airport. As small as it is with lack of ventilation, it was more efficient then what I experiencedin the past. I went through customs and got my luggage in about 30 minutes. I believe this is because of the size of my flight because the American Airline flights that came afterwards seem to take a bit longer. But as before, everyone is looking for work. I was waiting for my driver and I had about 20 people ask me ifI needed a taxi or if I wanted to call my driver they would offer their phone to me. Kind of like a payphone. Of course, this is all with tipping them a few dollars for their cell phone service. As soon as my driver arrived, it was the wrestling game to the car where people wanted to help you with your luggage all so they can get a tip from you. Which was the same as before. We drove around the area and yes, there are tents everywhere. The office building of the prime minister is now ahuge camp site. Beforeyou could describe areas of Haiti as shanty town, now I would refer to it as campi town. Historical sites are not even visible because there are so manytents everywhere. And we cannot forget about the rubble. If you thought the roads where bad before, they are even worse. You see, the government has agreed to remove the stone but you must take them from your property and put them in the street. So there are now piles everywhere and what plan they have to pick these up…unknown. So if it is not a torn down building, then it is a pile of rocks you must watch out for. And that is how people are living. That is what Haiti has turned into.

Back to poor living conditions as usual in Port au Prince, Haiti. It is like Pompeii and Haiti have combined. And those who suffered the most…The children.

Sunday, my team and I distributed some art supplies and toys to children in a local camp site. To watch as a little girl clung onto a toy doll like it was her life was heart breaking. They all had to learn to adapt. After that, we went to an orphanage that was in La Plaine. There were 25 children there. The main building had been destroyed and the whole population of children had to be moved to these outside huts made of ply wood and metal corrugated roofs. It was hot like hell and as we listen to their stories of how they became orphans, the dusk came upon us and mosquitoes were everywhere eating us alive. One little girl was crying because she was getting bit so much. When we left, we left the orphanage our supply of bug repellent because seeing their faces in pain was something we could not bear anymore. We passed out toys and supplies to this group as well. I gave this one boy bubbles to play with and to watch him smile over seeing bubbles come out from a circle with a slight blow was so rewarding. I had to refrain from crying. I went back to where I was staying that night and I felt very fortunate for my life in the US.

Monday came and we went to a school in the city. The population is one hundred children. We worked with a group of 10 and 13 year olds. We taught them how to draw and basic English phrases. When I asked the children if anyone knew English, a few said yes. I went around the room and to ask them which phrase. One little girl got up and said “yes, shanty town”. No child at the age of 10 should know the meaning of the word shanty town….

Tuesday we went back to the school to work with another group. This time much smaller. We did finger painting with the kids. They were so cute. At the end of the session, the class from before came back and asked if we would work with them again. The reason for our surprise was school ends at 12pm. It was now 2pm and they wanted to stay an extra hour just to learn something new. We taught them basic Spanish phrases. At the end of class, they were eager to know if we would return. They all left excited and happy. One child left and said “I love you”. Just for staying with them for two days, that touched my heart and it told me how important spending time with the children of the future of Haiti really is.

Wednesday, we went back to the school and worked with the children. I took out a camera and it was like the item of the day. Every time the flash went off they screamed with excitement. I could not help but take so many pictures to see their smile. We also went to Site Soile today. It is the poorest area of Haiti. And let me tell you, I have never seen such humble people in my life. These people do know how it is to live any other way other than two room houses and bathing your child out in a bucket in the sun. I watch these children play Simon says in French. It didn’t dawn on me what they were doing until half way through. They were so cute, so excited, so innocent. As we walked around the paths, I noticed these small plate like items on a piece of fabric. At first I kept walking, but then I realized what they weremud pies. The food of the area. I used to complain about my two bedroom apartment in New York. After this trip, my complaining has come to an end.

Thursday, we went back to the school to teach the kids. I read to them a letter from the daughter of a colleague and taught them how to make friendship bracelets. They were so concentrated on making it correct, I never heard so many people call me “Madame” in a couple of hours. At one point when they were all talking at once, I told them either they pay attention or they would have to take it home to do it on their own. One of them looked at me and said home… or shall I say “maison” I don’t have one. I wanted to kick myself in the mouth so badly. The child explained that they don’t live in a “Maison” but a tent since January 12th. I felt horrible. But she just bounced back like it was nothing. Something often taught in Haitian culture. “Just bounce back!” Over all,the childrenwere so proper and so eager to learn what it is like growing up as a child in the US. When they learned that tomorrow (Friday) was going to be our last day, the sadness in their eyes was indescribable. I can now say I have 100 children in Haiti. I can’t wait to come back!

Friday came and the last mission was to take a school picture and distribute the extra school supplies. Before taking the picture, we spent some time with the class and wanted to give them some words of encourage meant for life. When they said thank you to us, they wanted to include a special thank you for the child of my colleague who wrote the letter. Their exact words were,we want to say thank you for the child that wrote the letter because she is a kids like us so she knows what we go through and how we feel. That is forever etched in my mind. Seeing their faces at that moment. Haiti must change for the children.

Lets make some noise on Twitter in the next 24 hours – consider tweeting the suggestions below with a link to this article. This article was the first hand account of Dayanne’s visit to Haiti – we need accountability for the investment to rebuild Haiti.

Suggested Topics to Tweet About:
1. What happen to all the donations made to Haiti?
2. What can we do to change the situation in Haiti?
3. What is a more effective way to donate to areas devstated by a natural disaster?