Wartburg in Haiti
Global Communities
"I'm not trying to save the world, but I can help and hopefully it gets paid forward down the line."
-Lynn Armstrong
Anna Latcham
"I have learned that I will not change the world. Jesus will do that. I can, however, change the world for one person.
So I keep loving one person at a time. Because this is my call as a follower of Jesus." - Katie Davis
The children of Haiti have officially stolen my heart.
The first day after working in the clinic our group saw children sitting on the benches in the shade under a mango tree. They were playing games and laughing with each other. We had brought suckers to give to the children. We were so excited to pass the sweet treats out to them; however, I think the children were even more excited. We passed Tootsie Pops out to the little hands reaching up to us. The children were quickly overcome with excitement. It broke my heart when there were more children than suckers, and we were no longer able to hand them out. But, the community sense of culture quickly became obvious as the older children bit off pieces of their suckers and gave them to the younger ones.
The sugar-rush combined with the cameras created what you see in this video. These children put the biggest smile on my face with their happiness and love. It became so obvious that these children crave love and affection and I was so happy to be there for them.
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We worked in the tent city of Canaan, building houses to provide a stable residence for families. The work was hard but we were constantly reminded of its worth as we looked around and saw many people living in shelters that gave no protection from the rain or wind. We did a lot of sifting sand from pebbles and rocks to make concrete (the picture on the right). We also carried concrete and cinderblocks for the skilled Haitian workers to use while building the walls of the houses.
There were children all around us whenever we took breaks at the work site. To get our attention they would yell, "Hey You!" I immediately recognized that these children desired attention and love just as much as the others, as they longing lifted their arms up to be held. Through seeing interactions between parents and children in Haiti it was completely obvious that the parents loved their children with everything they had. However, it also became clear that in order to ensure their families survives, time to bond becomes a luxury that cannot be afforded.
We knew very little Kreyol so some of the children tried to help us with our Creole while we helped them with their English. Only the children who could afford to go to school, many through the P.I.D Sponsorship Program, knew English. It was fascinating to explore language through the understanding of a child. Although it was difficult to communicate with the children through words, it was absolutely amazing how we still got to know them without words.
Going into this trip I knew that I would have the opportunity to serve but I didn’t know that I would learn so much in the process. The days I spent in the clinic were the days I learned the most about Haitian life and culture. My first day in the clinic was our first full day in Haiti. I shadowed Lynn, a Labor Nurse from Massachusetts who served the same week we did, as she carried about many prenatal visits. It was exciting to see the ultrasound machine being used as we were told it was new and was adding to the care that the P.I.D Health Clinic is able to provide. I quickly learned that many of the women that come into the clinic do not have the type of prenatal care that is expected by women in the U.S. Oftentimes they are unsure of their due date or of the health of the baby. It was so heartwarming to be able to see these women’s excitement when they learned their baby was doing well.
I decided to work in the clinic again on the last day we were in Haiti as I was more comfortable with my surroundings and wanted to see how this would lead to a different clinical experience. On this day I worked in triage, checking patients in by recording their blood pressure, temperature and weight. It was astonishing to me that there is no way to keep files of patients from one visit to the next. The only way to know a patient’s history is if they bring back their past diagnosis sheets.
Working in triage gave me the opportunity to interact with a variety of patients. I saw many different cases and individuals. One little boy, in particular, broke my heart when he came in. I heard his soft moans and cries even as he was out in the waiting room. When his mother came in carrying him I assumed he was probably about two-years-old. My immediate concern became his hands and feet as they were extremely swollen and the skin was beginning to break leaving him with open wounds. They sat him on the scale and he weighed 17 lbs. Only by the shock on the faces of the people around me did I come to understand that I had missed something. Eventually I came to find out that this little, precious boy was almost four-years-old. He was severely underweight and malnourished. The malnourishment had caused an autoimmune response that created the swelling in his hands and feet.
Sandra, the field director at P.I.D, came to me about fifteen minutes later and asked if I was free to go and sit with the boy and his mother. She told me his name was Anderson and that his mother had brought him in earlier in the year but that he had become more severely malnourished since then. The doctor and social worker feared that the mother would run off with him due to embarrassment of the inability to provide for her child. If this happened, Anderson would not receive the supplements, vitamins, and food his body so desperately needed. I went out behind the clinic and found Anderson and his mother sitting on a bench in the shade. “Bonjou!” I said with a sympathetic smile – my Kreyol didn’t go much beyond that. I sat down and watched as Anderson tried to eat. His calorie intake was so low that he was struggling to stay awake. I gave him my hand to try to entice him to keep his eyes open and he was fascinated by my white skin. I stayed with them for a while until I was needed back in triage. I was happy to see him continuing to eat over the lunch hour.
Later that evening Sandra explained how Anderson had received three sponsors during the day, through the P.I.D program, which meant that they would be able to provide him with the necessities he needed to become healthy again. The money also provides his mother with transportation funds. Anderson and his mother were asked to come back to P.I.D everyday for two weeks and both were promised food everyday.
The next morning, the day we were going to be leaving Haiti, I was happy to hear that Anderson had returned to the clinic. He was eating pancakes that were left over from our breakfast along with mangoes and pineapple. He took such little bites that it was hard to tell that he was even eating, but eventually, as I once again sat with him and his mother, I saw the food dwindle down. Anderson’s personality began to show the more I was around him and watched his interactions with his mother. He was a feisty little guy. He even told his mother to put down his food when she jokingly picked it up and pretended to eat it! He loved the mangoes and wanted more of them, but he definitely did not like the pineapple – he told his mother that she could have that. After he was done eating, he fell asleep. It was good to see him be able to get some rest with a full stomach. I pray for this little boy everyday. I thank God that P.I.D is able to provide for Anderson and children like him.
As we were packing up to leave Haiti I met another little Haitian friend. He had come to the clinic with his mother because she was sick but it was obvious he was full of energy. I got colored pencils and paper plates out for him to color and he looked at me with a blank look on his face. I started to show him how to color and it turned into a game of follow the leader. I drew a circle, he drew a circle, I drew a square he drew a square. It was exciting to watch as he became more comfortable and started coloring on his own.
Seeing this little boy so full of energy and life sitting next to Anderson who was asleep created an interesting juxtaposition that truly embodied life in Haiti. Life is hard for a majority of Haitians, and yet they are so happy to live. They are truly happy to wake up each morning even knowing the struggles they will endure during the day to come. It is truly inspiring to see people who work to change the things they can.
Riding down the streets of the Haitian villages I was easily overwhelmed by what I believed needed to be changed for these people to ensure they were living life to the fullest. But, it became clear to me that it is not my American ideals of happiness and contentment that Haitians live by. The things the Haitians choose to change are the things that will ensure they are safe and can continue to wake up each day with people they love. It was upon this realization that I understood that there is no need to Americanize Haitian culture in order for these individuals to be happy – because they already are. Haitians are happy and in love with life and each other.
I went to Haiti with the intention of serving people and in the process I learned how to love. I saw love given by parents to their children, I saw love received by the children as my classmates bonded with the little ones wrapped around their arms. There are so many aspects of life in Haiti that could truly break the spirit and yet the Haitian people look past these and, simply put, they love each other.
Since I witnessed love in such a genuine form in Haiti I finally understand the impact of the quote above, “I have learned that I will not change the world. Jesus will do that. I can, however, change the world for one person. So I keep loving one person at a time. Because this is my call as a follower of Jesus." - Katie Davis. It is only through love that we can make any impact on the lives of those around us. I went to impact the lives of the people of Haiti but they loved me and changed my life in ways far more than I am sure served them.
I truly hope to return to Haiti and to return in an attitude of love. It is my firm belief that only through such a perspective could I truly make a difference in this world – one person at a time.