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This morning we headed off to the Light & Peace orphanage. Pastor Ronald, a 5th generation Haitian pastor, runs this orphanage with his wife. There are 50 children. There were many children already at this orphanage when the earthquake struck, but many more came because their parents were killed in the earthquake. The house actually split and had a very large chasm in the middle of the dining room floor. Most of the second floor and the roop collapsed during the earthquake. Since then the floors have been fixed and a new roof has been put on, but the children really only use the bottom/main floor of the house. Above is a picture of where some of the children sleep...they do not sleep here because there are not enough rooms or beds inside. The bedrooms are very clean and spacious inside the house. The children who sleep out here are too afraid to sleep inside a house because they fear another earthquake will come and they saw the first-hand devestation. It breaks my heart!
We took juice, beef pates (pronounced pa-tays), and cookies (bon bons). We took toys, cards, beach balls, and more! We played soccer, volleyball, frisbee, and even had a hair braiding party! The kids range in age from three years old to teenagers. Most of the kids were at school during the morning, but we eventually went to the school to visit and gave them a ride back to the compound. These children were SO well behaved and SO sweet. I'm including some pictures from our time together.
It was really neat to visit the other children at school! We got to see where they learn and meet them all in their adorable little uniforms. They are so sweet. They came right up to use and shook our hands, hugged us, or gave us a kiss on the cheek (a common Haitian greeting). After hanging out with them at the school for a bit, we ALL (and I mean ALL...18 of us + Pastor Ron and his wife + 30ish students) headed back to the compound! Here are some more pictures from our adventure!
Once we left there to head for lunch, we ran into this...a very common sight in the streets of Port au Prince! Busy, busy, busy and CROWDED streets!
We toured and learned the history of Haiti Design Co-op (a for-profit organization that employs Haitians to do leather work, jewelry making, and sewing), had mango/banana smoothies, iced mocha coffees, tacos, and cinnamon bites! Mmmmm! You can learn more about HDC here: http://haitidesigncoop.org/ We left there to head over to Deux Main (where they make sandals out of genuine leather and scrap tire walls!) to get a tour, learn the history, and shop a little...it's always good to support the local Haitian businesses! :) You can learn more about Deux Mains here: http://deuxmains.com/
After leaving there, we headed back to FREM orphanage, which nearly broke my heart in half. Many of the children there are very very sick (just since seeing them a few days ago). They could REALLY use your prayers. We brought them the same goodies (juice, pates, cookies) that we brought the first orphanage, but many of them weren't interested in eating much at all. Many had fevers and just wanted to be held and loved on. PLEASE pray for these sweet babies! This is one of those times I want to put them all on a plane and take them to a US doctor with me! :( My heart is heavy tonight, but trusting that God will provide and will heal them!
I think that's all for now...sleep well!
Love,
Sarah/Ms. Poling
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