Thursday, October 27, 2016
One of our team members
was still a bit under the weather so another stayed back with her at the guest
house while the rest of us delivered water to neighborhoods in Cite Soleil.
Again we were greeted by children, some asking to be held and some wanting their
photo taken, while many lined up to fill and carry their buckets. Again many
smiled and laughed as they enjoyed catching water under the truck or taking a
bath from a bucket or basin at the side of the dirt road. Such joy found in
simple pleasures.
The experience took on
new meaning for me after our recent visit with Kiki at Grace Village. She
told us that about 40% of the children in Cite Soleil are restavek, Simply put,
restaveks are child slaves. They are used as unpaid domestic help or put out to
work at very young ages. Their lives are harsh and they rarely attend
school. I knew about restaveks but had no idea that their numbers were so
staggering. So as I watched the kids around me - many as young as 5 or 6
struggling to carry these 5 gallon buckets - I wondered who among them were
living this existence.
One boy had an infected
knee and asked if we could help. I used the first aid kit to put on some
antibiotic ointment and a bandaid and the word quickly spread. Soon there was a
line of kids with boo-boos needing bandaids. Then Ann found a little girl with
a large sliver in her foot and with the help of Jim Kells it was safely
removed. It was quite the spectacle as everyone gathered around to watch. In
one way it seemed silly to worry so much about a sliver when their needs were
so much greater but, in another way, infection is a real possibility in
that environment so it may have been a real help ... and, in any event,
the care and attention shown surely made a difference to her that day.
Nearby we stopped at a
mission called the Haitian Initiative. They work with children in Cite Soleil
using soccer as a catalyst to motivate youth to stay in school. Each child must
show proof of attendance to participate. Through a sponsorship program, the children
are provided food, English lessons, soccer equipment,and coaching.They also concentrate on developing
leadership and social skills necessary for teamwork on the field and
community engagement beyond the field.
After a
long and dirty day, rather than wait in line for our cold showers, we opted to
go to a nearby hotel that allows others to use the pool for a small fee. A cool
dip. some hot pizza and a cold soda refreshed and renewed us. We returned to
the guest house for fellowship with another team, enjoying guitars and singing
and especially Grace's beautiful voice.
Sue S
No comments:
Post a Comment