Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The future of Haiti is in our girls' hands.




3-21-11

Sitting on my private balcony again, refreshed from my bucket shower. Not quite so cool this night. Smokey air, I guess it is the coal fires they use for cooking. We are in a tight neighborhood, all homes are gated with high walls enclosing the compounds. Somebody near by has dogs that fight real bad once or twice a day and it is blood curdling.

We walked to the internet cafe with three of our girls. It is our plan to take small groups of girls with us as much as we can. The girls need to get out to the world to learn how to operate. Tomorrow the Mamies will take 2 girls shopping for food, then we are renting a bus to carry us all to the beach!

It is challenging to have 18 daughters between the ages of 7 and 11. They out number us and get so excited when we present a project; it is like a stampede. We played ball jump rope, bubbles, journaling, painting, cards, singing.......... We retire to our room to take a breather and plan the next activity.

We are trying every learning trick to call them by their names. The Mamies redid their hairdoos today and changed the styles. I was counting top notches for identification and now I am back to the start.

Their personalities are coming through, Fritzchina the translator who understands our English, Yvertha, the shy one who stays to herself, Guerlande who ran to get me the first aid supplies and wants to be a nurse, Dorianne and Kevly who love to write, on and on. They write us love letters and kiss and hug us all day long.

They ask me if I know Jutta, Laura, Marilynn, Leanna, Becky, Chris, Shauna, Jack. Yes these are all my wonderful friends who have come to serve the girls and work to keep them safe and healthy. We are showering them with our love but I wonder today what it must be like to love someone so deeply for a week or two and then loose them.

Will they be resilient, will they thrive and be able to save Haiti? Will they be able to form deep bonds? How can we help them through puberty and beyond into adulthood????

We had time today to go on an outing to buy art. Hadley encountered an emaciated young boy who was begging for money. He lifted his shirt and showed her his chest, caved in with a big belly sticking out. She gave him a few dollars and is resting easier right now knowing that he had the money to buy some food.

Lucie is the president of the Reveil Matinal Orphanage Foundation and the Queen mother of this orphanage. She sent her husband Jay to be our man and he is doing a great job!

I have yet to meet the allusive Ms. Jackson, maybe tomorrow.
Love to all Lynn

First picture: Yvertha, Hadley, Chineca, Fritzchina in the light of God. Second picture: the city is still in ruins and the tent cities abound. Third picture: the Mamies love their scrubs: Daphne, Jay, Michaella, Daniella, and Cassandra.

No comments:

Post a Comment