all day today i have been struggling with the concept of how societies allow one life to be valued to be worth more or less than another.  as humans, shouldn’t we all be equal?  should we not value each life as if it were our own?  i ask myself, do i honestly believe that each life in haiti is as important or as valuable as mine?  am i silly to think that this is even a possibility on a global scale?  when i ask myself why god would allow an earthquake in haiti, after all they have been through already, could it be to bring the world closer?  to see all the countries sending aid workers and posters everywhere saying “help haiti” is so encouraging.  could it be because we feel now like our own brothers and sisters are suffering and haiti doesn’t even feel that far away.  could that be the reason?

i don’t know, it is too big of a question for me right now but i am trying to figure it out and i just know that today i just feel thankful.  sooooooo thankful for what we have.  did you know that if you make $90,000 a year you are in the top 5% of the weathiest people in the world?  if you make over $100,000/year you are in the top 1%?  i live just outside toronto, a city that just happens to be the safest city in the world (of over a million people).  i have two healthy boys, a house, a car, food everyday.  i am just sooooooooo thankful.

here is a quote that really hit me and is something to think about… “In a world of arrogance, we are for humility. In a world of individualism, we are for community. In a world of excess, we are for simplicity”.  by: Christopher L. Heuertz

hmmmmmmmm, something to think about eh?

so again to recap. alex is off to haiti in 15 days.  we are selling prints online (from our last trip to haiti) and all proceeds are going to help bring as many medical supplies to the mission of hope as possible.  haiti image gallery – donate now!

back to photos of our trip:

on day 4 we drove out into what i can only call “nothingness”.  i mean, a few trees, dusty ground, a waterfront filled with garbage.  i mean it wasn’t used for anything, just an open space.  when we drove in, kids just started coming out of nowhere.  literally within minutes they came out from bushes and along pathways etc.  these kids were obviously not well taken care of.  i am assuming none of them went to school (since it was during the day) and by their english i think iam right.  ”give me one dollar” was literally all the english they knew.  they would repeat “hello” or try and repeat short phrases but they didn’t speak a word.

the land:

they waved as if to say “follow us”…

they took us to the waterfront and this is what we saw…

they showed us a boat, not sure whose it was.  total language barrier.

no parents were to be found.  siblings took care of the younger ones i guess.

before long, we were the entertainment.  various humanitarian and religious groups have come along so i think they are used to some sort of skits or songs. they instinctually gathered and just waited for something to happen.

alex dared me to start dancing!  i taught them a little song, tried to tell a story, did my best to make them feel loved.  i explained that we were there because we cared about them.  that they we loved by us and by god.  through a translator, i hope that all got through to them.

a boy tending to his cow.

isn’t this hilarious???  you see a lot of random shirts like this in haiti, all donations probably.  since none of these people spoke any english, i am quite sure he had no clue what his shirt said.

as we were leaving on the truck, the kids chased after us hoping that we would throw candy like some other organizations do.  dr. cheryl explained to us that this is discouraged for a few reasons.  one: it’s not safe for kids to be chasing a truck that might need to stop etc. two: we were trying not to be north americans that are known for “hand outs”.  in other words, one of the mandates of mission of hope is to empower and enable haitians to help haitians create sustainable living.  by giving hand outs, they will depend or even expect handouts.  three: it is degrating, throwing stuff at them like they are dogs.  again, mission of hope rewards hard work, achievements, reaching goals etc.  it is even more important for them to learn this at their age, now as they grow up to be the next generation of adults in haiti.  this is not to say that individually, moh chooses to give gifts or obviously when people are in need they help them. they just do it through haitians so it’s not “white people giving them stuff”.  when it comes from another haitian it is totally different.

i know, it’s just candy but i really really appreciated all the thought that goes into every decision that moh makes as an organization.  they truly care about haitians feeling like they have made it by them selves, with self respect and dignity.

oh, a total side note.  since we didn’t throw candy out of the truck, one of the older boys stopped running and just gave us the finger!  obviously he didn’t feel the love behind our decision!

driving through a small village on the way back to moh, we saw this this little boy (who has a knife and a medicine bottle in his hands)?!?!? no parents around and he is like what, 3 years old?  argh, and the sharp cactus’ all around.  everything just symbolizes the harshness of life here.

back at mission of hope, we had a few minutes to hang out at the hope house orphanage.  it was hair fixin’ time!

behind the orphanage, these guys were just hangin’ out.  i can only assume they are for eating?

this is one of the grounds keeper at mission of hope… he is a very kind person, a softy!  he lives in a little shack behind the moh land end.

dr. cheryl took us all out for an authentic haitian lunch.  partly to say thank you for coming, party to give us a cultural experience to take home with us.  it was actually delicious!  jerk chicken, rice and beans and fried plantain.  here are some mural painting that were inside the restaurant.

local artist: altime j.w.

and, in the contradiction that is haiti, as we enjoyed our lovely lunch, we had four pleading pairs of eyes watching us the whole time.  nothing could fully be enjoyed without a quick shake in emotion and you realize where you are and what surrounds you.  the owner begged us to just enjoy and not give them anything because it encourages them to come around and then he won’t have customers at all!  argh, my appetite was gone.