Beauty on Barbed Wire and Broken-Winged Butterfly

  It is especially strange to be here at the orphanage while the children are away. I miss them.  

While the grounds are quieter than normal and my schedule less full, and with no classes, appointments or group therapy sessions over the weekend, I have had some time to reflect, read, write, pray and of course wander the grounds with my camera in hand. 

The orphanage like many homes and business in Haiti is surrounded by tall cinder block walls topped with broken glass and barbed wire.  While ugly, they are practical, used to prevent people who might commit crimes from entering.  While taking pictures recently, I was especially struck by the contrast of the barbed wire, broken glass and tall cinder block walls, and the abundance of life that sometimes surrounds them.  I call these four photos: 

Beauty on Barbed Wire.         

     

 I enjoy the challenge of trying to snap a good bird or butterfly picture before it flies away.  While chasing butterflies in the currently childless orphanage playground I encoutnered this one .  While I took many pictures of butterflies that would by most conventional standards be considered more beautiful, this is the butterfly that spoke most strongly to me.  I was compelled to respond.  

Broken Winged Butterfly

The flutter of your injured wings whispers words of wisdom,

Both broken and beautiful

 Tattered and Talented

Easily labeled disabled and dysfunctional

yet, you are so capable  

you fly!  

Others appear perfect in thier seemingly effortless grace

though they've not a shadow of your strength,

(Or perhaps they're equally broken, hindered by hidden hurts

always unknown to the onlooker.)

Broken Winged Butterfly, 

When I saw your tattered wings

then watched you fly, 

my heart flew too.             

I am continuing to teach English this week.  Things are going well for me and hopefully for you too.  Many blessings!   

 

Summer English Class

A couple of the employees at the orphanage had asked that their children come to the English class which I had been teaching to the Holy Cross men`s novices and  a few others each Thursday morning.  They wanted their teenage children to miss school each Thursday and come to my class instead.  As a former teacher and someone who often had perfect or nearly perfect attendance when I was in school, I  was not at all comfortable with that idea.  I said I would try to offer a class when school was finished but before I left the country for vacation.  Each day this week and next I am teaching English to a five children of employees and a young adult who grew up at the orphanage.  I am enjoying it and they seem to be too.  More importantly hopefully, they are learning.

Since the postulants are on vacation and several sisters are leaving for chapter meetings in Canada, it was decided to temporarlily close the convent where I live.  This allows employees to have vacation time and saves energy.  Four of us who are not away are staying at the orphanage convent where I lived last year.  It is rather quiet on the orphanage grounds these days, since the children are away.

I was planning to include some pictures, but due to technical difficulties they are simply not uploading in a reasonable amount of time (and then some.)  I am satisfied that I finally figured out how to get the spell check to work in English.  My laptop is not working so, while this is one of my briefier and more boring  updates it actually required more effort than one with normally functioning techology, reliable electricty and decent internt connections would likely imagine.     

Have a great week!  Many blessings!    

Teacher Training, Funeral, and Farewells

The first time I was in Pilat, after struggling to explain in Creole the Flight, Fight and Freeze responses (to traumatic events,) I emailed the professor who taught me Creole in Miami in 2010.  While helping to provide me with the words I needed to educate parents about their children's response to violence, he also expressed an interest in the school in Pilat.  I simply asked the sister who directs the school if she would like me to put her in contact with him.  When she agreed I wrote a simple email introducing them to one another.

Last week Mr. Jacques Pierre, (who is now a lecturer at Duke University,) came to Pilat to provide training for the teachers at the sisters' school in Pilat. It was a privileged to accompany him to Pilat and to be of assistance during the week.  The education system here in Haiti is quite out-dated.  Most children are expected to learn through rote memorization in French.  Here is an article that was coincidentally published last week that explains the situation and the exact issues Jacques addressed during the seminar.  It was so timely that we shared the article with the teachers.      http://blogs.worldbank.org/education/why-school-enrollment-not-enough-look-inside-haiti-s-classrooms

The teachers appeared to be open to the ideas that were presented in the seminar.  Some of the topics included having the children work in groups, encouraging discussions in class, methods for teaching language, assigning projects, encouraging creativity and culture. Embracing teaching methods that are radically different from the traditional methods the teachers have been familiar with their entire lives will require a true transformation for many teachers.  The training gave me a sense of hope because even small steps towards changing how school is taught can potentially have major positive ramifications for the students, the country and ultimately (since we are all interdependent) the world.    

Although the school year had ended the week before, on Friday afternoon the preschool children came for an end of the school year celebration.  It was wonderful not only to see them, but to play and dance with them too.    

I did not see the lizard's head when I initially took this picture!    

An egret in the rain in Pilat  

Funeral
On Tuesday the funeral was held for the orphanage mother who died. The orphanage rented a school bus so that all of the workers, some former residents and all of the older children could attend.  The large church in the worker's  hometown was filled with people.  One of the oldest children and the sister who directs the orphanage spoke towards the end of the mass.  Since the mother had no biological children of her own, people commented that she was mother to so many children whose own mothers had died.  Following the liturgy we all walked in procession to the cemetery.  People wept and wailed as we walked.  It seems to me that funerals are a place where emotions are allowed to be released in this culture.  I felt as though I were surrounded by grief and emotional pain.  When we arrived at the cemetery a sister handed me one of the flower arrangements that had been on the roof of the Hurst that led the procession.  Following others who also had flowers I entered the cemetery.  Once the casket was placed into the cement tomb we handed the bouquets to men who placed them on top of the tomb.  The cemetery was somewhat unkempt; I actually believe that I saw a couple of human bones on the ground.  Following the burial we had a pleasant gathering at the orphanage for the children, workers, sisters, and former residents of the orphanage.  It was a wonderful tribute to the life of a hardworking and caring woman.

Farewell
Most of the children left for summer vacation yesterday.  As is often the case, the good-byes were bittersweet.  It was strangely quiet at the orphanage today. I already miss the children.

Many blessings!  

Turkeys, a Duckling and Nesting Egrets

On Mother's Day in Haiti, I distinctly remember wishing one of the manmans, (one of the women who works directly with the children at the orphanage) a Happy Mother's Day.  She smiled as I kissed her on the cheek as people do in this culture.  A group of turkeys that live in the orphanage yard came near.  I commented that they came to wish her "Bon fèt manman" too.  She then proceeded to tell me a story; something she had just witnessed.  She said that a chicken was starting to fight with one of the baby turkeys.  All of the other turkeys in the yard came to help the little turkey and the chicken ran off.  She commented about how animals (in this case turkeys) can work together but that people don't.

The following day was my last weekly meeting with the workers.  At the end of the meeting as a small gift for attending, I gave each a blank card with a different photograph on the front.  This particular mother received the card with this picture.

She was delighted!  She showed the other workers the duckling, and they playfully teased that they wanted her card, but she refused to trade.  When all of the other workers had walked away and I  was headed towards the therapy room doorway, smiling, she approached me, gave me a kiss on the cheek and thanked me.

Two days later, a worker came to me explaining that this particular mother was sick. The other sisters were in a meeting and the employees did not want to disturb them.  I immediately went to see the sick worker.  She was sitting on the side of a bed, sweating profusely and she looked like she was dizzy.  I spoke with her briefly.  When I inquired as to whether or not she was in pain she pointed to her chest and her back.  Quickly I ran to inform the sisters that I think this mother needs to go to the hospital.  They went to see her and called the orphanage driver to transport her to the hospital.  I took the two children who were too young to be at school but were not napping at that time to the swing set so that they would not witness people helping the ill worker down the stairs, out of the house and into the truck.

The following day we were told that she was still at the hospital but that she was getting better.  On Friday during the noon time meal, there was no new news when I asked the sisters about her status.  She died late Friday night.

Please keep her family, the children and all of the workers in your prayers at this time.


Next week I will write about my current (and so far very good) experience in Pilat.

Here are some pictures of egrets nesting in the large tree in the middle of the school yard in Pilat.  I am amazed at the number of nests in a single tree (I can't seem to get a picture that accurately portrays this.)  

This week I have again been reminded of the fragility of life and not to take the presence of another for granted.  I am grateful for my communities (current and former) family, and friends.  Thank you for reading my blog; this week writing it was therapeutic for me.    Take care.  Many blessings!