We welcomed 14 new children at Kay Saint Anne on Monday. Some of the young children looked scared and confused when they arrive to this new place and when the relatives who brought them left. It does not take long to love the new children, to realize that they all have unique personalities and preferences. A few were scared of the two puppies that now resided on the grounds of St. Anne, while one of the youngest toddlers to arrive was fascinated by them. Much time and energy this past week was spent helping the new children get used to the routines of the house.
As the walls in our little prefabricated volunteer houses do not go all the way to the ceiling three of us who live in the house hear everything (except if it is raining then the only thing you can hear is the rain on the metal roof.) One of the women I live with, told me she could hear me talking in my sleep recently but could not hear what I was saying. It would not surprise me if I was saying, "lave men ou apre ou itilize twalet (wash your hands after you go to the bathroom,) since I find myself saying that with great frequency most days. Of course when 36 children under the age of six live in one house, in a country that continues to have a cholera epidemic (or perhaps by now it may be endemic), I think it is important. When, I came to Haiti, at some level I knew that I would not really know what I would be doing until I was there, but somehow thought I would be doing more clinical social work, and had even been trained in EMDR (a therapy used in trauma treatment) before coming. I have been doing play therapy with several children, but I spent a lot more time encouraging basic things like hand washing especially at Kay St. Anne. Before coming I kept saying I felt called to go where the needs were the greatest, and even here once I arrived, what I thought would have been the greatest need (trauma therapy) could not take prescience over more basic needs such as safety and sanitation. When I see the great poverty and suffering that exists in this country I can't say I have done much to make any systemic changes or done anything that would appear significant overall. But I can say that now most of the time, most of the children at Kay Saint Anne wash their hands with soap after they use the bathroom and before meals. I am not sure if I truly convinced people that it is dangerous to store bleach in bottles that used to contain sugary soft drinks especially if the bottles are occasionally left on the ground especially in a house where up to 40 children under the age of six live at any one time, but even if there are people working in the house who are not fully convinced of the danger, it does not happen anymore which I think has to do with my persistence (although in this specific instance I must admit I was not always particularly patient.)
Yesterday after work, I went with a short term group of medical volunteers on a tour of the city. I had seen much of it before, but each time I go downtown, I see something different. I noticed that the rubble had been cleared from around and inside the existing broken shell that was the Catholic Cathedral of Portauprince. It appears too, that some of the remains of the presidential palace are being dismantled. In many places, there are still thousands of people living in tents, right across the street from the palace. Most tents have been reinforced with something perhaps scraps of wood or metal or have sturdy sticks holding them up, and many have extra tarps on them, probably to help keep out the rain. Event he tents here for our short term volunteers where I lived my first month here has a tarp on it now.
In less than one month I will be leaving Haiti. After a long prayerful discernment process, I have made a decision which has resulted in my leaving Haiti earlier than I initially planned, which I expected when I made the decision. I truly have a deep sense of peace and joy believing this is the right decision for me at this time in my life, although saying good bye to the children is going to be especially difficult.
Please continue to keep the people of Haiti in your prayers. Many Blessings!
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