Monday, May 31, 2010
Today we began our journey at 6:30AM from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. We started by taking a taxi to the bus depot to hop on a small, over crowded bus to head to the next bus depot one hour away. We transferred buses here, and got on another small, over crowded bus.
I liturelly had people on both sides of me with both backpacks on my lap, cramped like sardines - and I loved it! It was all part of the experience of our venture to Haiti. Our drive on this bus took over two hours and we finally arrived near the Haitian border. We stopped for something to eat and then started walking to find a taxi to drive us across the border. Today is market day, and this means that hundreds of Haitians will cross the border into the Dominican Republic to buy goods to bring home - this equals complete craziness and chaos. Market days are not the most ideal days to cross the border - especially being a person with white skin. There are five of us in our group; me, Abby and Hope (two volunteers from the States), Liz and James. James is from Haiti, now living in the Dominican Republic and he is taking care of everything while we are in Haiti; holding our money, finding transportation etc.
We could only find a taxi to drive us to the border - not right across. So Liz gave us instructions, and with James’ lead, we put our backpacks on front words, made sure there was nothing in our pockets (pick pocketers), put our heads down as to try and blend in, and walked right across the bridge. It was a little nervewracking, and as soon as we had crossed, James found us Motos to take us to the Tap Tap station. A tap tap is the equivalent of a Gua Gua in Dominican. A big van that they cram pack full of people. Well once we reached our tap tap to ride in for the next one hour, we began our drive to Cape Haitien. Well about 10 minutes down the road, the Tap Tap breaks down.
So we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere in Haiti, waiting for another van to come along. Surprisingly, it came quickly, so we loaded up and we were off again. It was a very crammed packed ride and I could not even move at all. The man beside me fell asleep on my shoulder…everyone was very close.We finally arrived in Cape Haitien, and jumped in a taxi to head to the hotel. Throughout this whole trip from Dominican to Haiti, I cannot even describe the people begging for food and money. I have no words to describe the experience with this at the border, which was the worst, and throughout the whole day.
We were relieved to arrive at the hotel, where we could take a breather and have a cold drink. It had been a very long 7 hour venture, and we needed to unwind and discuss the trip.
Late afternoon arrived, and the Father running the orphanage we are going to be primarily working with came to pick us up. He was going to take us to the orphanage to meet the kids, and eat dinner. The orphanage was amazing.The Priest running this orphanage is Haitian, however he has attained his Masters of Psychology at Ottawa University. He is currently the executive director of his orphanage, as well as counseling Earthquake victims in Haiti. He has many more dreams for the expansion of his orphanage, but right now he is in the process of completing phase one. He has a beautiful house rented, with 12 kids and 5 on the way. It is extremely well kept, as are the children. He has house mothers to look after the kids, and he lives with two other priests in a house in Cape Haitien.
We got the grand tour when we first arrived at the orphanage, and then sat down to talk since the kids were napping. We found out a lot of information, including the fact that all of the children are true orphans - the Priest has made sure of this. The house that the orphanage is in is quite big. The children live on the main floor, and the second floor is where visitors, volunteers and missionaries can stay. The Priest has just had a huge container of donations arrive, including brand new mattress and appliances. The mattress’ will be used for visitors. The second floor also has a kitchen, living area…basically a full area for visitors to stay. It is very clean, and would be a comfortable place to stay.
We were later served dinner, which was really yummy and fabulous; there were a few different things to eat. On the way home, as we drove through the streets of Cape Haitian in the dark, it was a very eery feeling. There are no street lights anywhere, and there are people everywhere. People have candles lit on the side of the road to see. I am taking everything in today - although I have been to Haiti before, I am in a different city, and the country has been through yet another major disaster since. The streets are a mess, I was bouncing everywhere as we drove around. There are people everywhere. I have no proper words for my observations and what is going through my head tonight.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Today we spent the day at the orphanage with the children. We began by getting down to business. We want to find a sponsor for all of these children, so we collected information, and took some solo photos of each child. Then, we spent the rest of the day just playing with the kids. The Father could not emphasize enough how much affection and attention these kids need. An organization in Ohio just sent a huge container of donations, including a huge jungle gym for the kids. It was just set up, so the kids were more than excited to play outside on it.
We spent a few hours pushing kids on swings, climbing up in the tree house, and just being with the kids. They were so exhausted that a few of the kids actually fell asleep while on the swing. We went in for lunch around one PM, and apparently the kids normal schedule is lunch around noon, and then nap around one. Well after lunch, they were all back outside, just ignoring their tiredness. They were so excited and so happy just to have us there playing with them; and getting some one on one attention. 
When the day was over, we were all exhausted; mentally, emotionally, and physically. It was so amazing being with the kids, but at the same time it is hard to think about the reality of the situation. We found out today that the set of twins in the orphanage are orphans because their parents were killed in the Earthquake. I am so grateful that we have found Father Andre and his orphanage. The kids are really special, and they are in very good hands. Their home is clean, quiet, and safe. I cannot wait to come back and visit them again.
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