Day 3

February 24^th, 2011 – Day 3

8:30am Depart for La Belle Mer

10:00am Arrive & Welcome at La Belle Mer

10:30am Visit Lajeune Clinic

2:30pm Visit with a group of parents and leaders from the community

4:00pm Meet with the coordination and administrative Board on the communities needs

5:00pm travel back to hotel

Today is another beautiful day, with a lovely refreshing breeze blowing through. We started out on our journey to La Belle Mer, the youngest ADP in the Central Plateau. I had many expectations of a young ADP, mostly expecting to see less organization, less affluence, less sense of community. La Belle Mer is only 3 years in cooperation with WV.

If we thought that the road to COBOCOL was bad we were warned that further to La Belle Mer was much worse. Mike joked “How can it possibly be worse than this!” we would soon find out. It is really impossible to explain the road conditions and just how treacherous they are, but the route from COBOCOL to La Belle Mer was much much worse than the road to COBOCOL.

Having said that it is also very very beautiful and much more lush and green than what we’ve previously experienced in Haiti. Hedges of cactus line most properties, trees and some grass can be found too. There is still loads and loads of dust everywhere, and I wonder about respiratory issues here, but although the road is horrible, the view is quite nice. We stop for a stretch break on the way, so so needed. None of us were complaining, but we very much appreciated it. I’ve learned in this kind of travel it is better not to brace yourself, or hold on to anything for support if you can help yourself, the key is staying lose and going with it as much as possible but I can’t help but wonder if it is good for my brain to be shaken around in my head so much for such long periods of time!

When we drove into the old Missionary compound we were again surprised at our welcome. After yesterday’s we didn’t expect anything else, but easily 150+ children stood outside of the WV headquarters to welcome us. The gave us special seating and then sang songs and danced for us, recited monologues and gave us great honour and showed so much appreciation. The president of the ADP and all of the volunteer staff were there to welcome us. Everyone was so happy to see us, it was overwhelming, again. We struggle to understand the impact we are having, and the love that these people have for us because of our support. Seeing so many children, so many little people, not just faces, all so anxious to see us, treating us with such honour, brings it all home in such a new way. Our hearts are changed.

Morouse tells us that all the children wanted very much to dance for us, so he gets them to make one massive circle, all holding hands and dances them around the lawn. They are in hysterics with it all. I then haul out my camera and start asking them if they want their photo taken and showing them their picture afterwards. They love this and I’m immediately swarmed with kids, and loving every moment of it, of this connection with them. I could have stayed for hours, but the team takes us into their headquarters to show us where they work from, they are beaming with pride. The children are all peering in the windows, sneaking in the doors to be close to the “Blanc! Blanc!” people J as the staff takes us on a tour.

Following the tour the staff celebrates with us by serving us up monstrous Coke bottles (I’ve never drank so much pop in my life!) while the children, over 20 at least, have snuck into a corner of a room to stare at us. LOL. I start asking them questions with my limited French, I so desperately want to connect with them, want them to feel the connection. So Segnol decides a little Q&A time would be nice. So he encourages any of the children who would like to stand up and ask us a question. I get the first one, “how many children do you have?” Laura gets the next, “how many children do you have?” they are in awe that she not only has 4 children but 6 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Mike is then asked if he has any brothers and how many” the questions continue until one little girl gets up and walks over to Segnol to translate. She asks “why is it that you only sponsor the little ones? I want a sponsor parent. I want to write you a letter.”

This is a hard question, a good question, a question made by a courageous leader. It stops us all up short. The truth is that she benefits from the ADP sponsorship program, she goes to school, has clean drinking water and healthcare, she has many indirect benefits of sponsorship, but she does not have a sponsor parent and she longs desperately for one. She is 10, she is beautiful, courageous and smart. I wanted to tell her I would find her a sponsor parent. I wanted to tell her that we often don’t understand how important it is, that we write and the letter stays on our kitchen counters because we forget to mail it. I wanted to tell her that I’m sorry that people choose the babies first. I wanted to applaud her courage, her bravery, her articulation. I wanted to show her hope. So we did what we could at that moment and told her she had asked the question of a true leader and we got her information to find her a sponsor. We will find her a sponsor parent.

As we wrapped up our visit and walked over to the clinic I was brought to tears at her story. The importance of sponsorship, and the relationship was something I knew in my head, but had not experienced in this way before. This beautiful girl, full of hope and promise, and opened her heart to us and asked us a hard question, a question I couldn’t walk away from. I knew in an instant, with one phone call, I could likely have her a sponsor family and I wanted to promise it to her immediately. One girl recited a monologue during our welcome, one line stood out to me, “If you are my friend you will stand beside me and hold my hand.”

The clinic was an interesting experience. We had the opportunity to meet with a couple from Minnesota and a doctor couple running Haiti Mercy Mission. They have invested much time and money, the couple from Minnesota has spent the last 7 years in Haiti, into La Belle Mer and the community. Their scope of influence reaches far, but they too feel the strains and pressures of working in an impoverished area with little outside communication readily available and WV is sitting down with them to begin the process of partnership with them. It is an interesting an valuable meeting to be a part of. I am learning so many leadership skills in this trip. Moreouse, Senior ADP Coordinator is an amazingly talented, intelligent and gifted communicator. His skills in working respectfully in partnership with the people, the ADP’s and local government is outstanding.

We are gifted another buffet of lunch but I question the wisdom in eating so many carbohydrates and drinking so much pop before heading in the truck, back out onto the roads for a meeting with the parents and community leaders.

I am amazed at the many parents and community leaders at this meeting. We sit under the shade of a tree together in one big circle. These parents and leaders are passionate about the needs of their community and their desire to see change. One mother stands to share her experience with WV helping her child get the medical care he needed. A father stands to express his desire to create a play space in the community for his children to play with others. Another mother is thankful for the schooling her children are now getting, when just 3 short years ago they may or may not be attending school regularly. There is an intense sense of motivation and hope to continue with the project.

Segnol is translating, English, French and Creole today and the mental exhaustion catches up and he starts translating English with English and we all have a laugh together. I can’t help snickering as I remember him answering Laura’s question about what bird was crossing the road with the answer “donkey”. “Donkey?” I say. “In English, donkey is a kind of mule or horse…” we have had many fun times laughing together.

As the day comes to a close we return to La Belle Mer’s ADP headquarters for a meeting with the Coordination and Administrative Boards on the communities needs. One woman is close to tears as she shares her heart for better opportunities for the women in her community. She has gathered over 200 together and is longing for someone to show them further skills in food preparation and clothing. The hope and diligence, in this case amongst a group of volunteers who are all pushing with everything they have for a better tomorrow for the families in their communities, unites us together as we share. Sagnol shares with the team our story from the earthquake of Jan 12^th and we watch the immediate transformation in the room. Suddenly we are joined by common experience in a way that can not be explained in words. We watched it happen in Cobocol, there was an instant respect, a camaraderie birthed out of our shared experience, that could never have been created in any other way. I am brought to tears as I begin to see a small picture of God’s plan from Jan 12^th 2010. Over the last year there have been so many questions, so many unanswered why’s and how’s. I don’t claim to have them now either, but this glimpse of the bigger picture is a gift I am overwhelmed to be shown. There is a strong spiritual connection happening and we all walk away overwhelmed that God has put us together, that we are all one, we have differences, but we are brother and sister, hand in hand, arm in arm, following Christ together.

~H