Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, nutella, real milk, and real coffee creamer were our breakfast treats this morning! That must mean we aren’t in Haiti. Although we can’t seem to stop speaking Creole, forgetting to flush toilet paper and toilets in general, and are confused when the weather is referred to as “hot” we are certainly enjoying speaking English, toilets that actually flush, not being so sweaty….oh and driving in lanes and driving next to people that believe in driving in lanes!
Our KOFAEL women’s micro loan program has 10 recent graduates (8 out of the 10 are featured here)! We have been planning a special getaway for these hard working women who very rarely if ever get a day off. Most of the ladies had never been to this part of Haiti just an hour and 1/2 from Port au Prince where a few lovely un-trashed beaches can be found. Thanks to some friends who hooked us up with half price buffet tickets, membership passes that got each group in for free to the resort, and the women being willing to come on a Tuesday and take the local bus and tap-tap to get there, we were able to pull off this grand adventure for $200 total! We didn’t tell the women how much it cost. $200 is a fortune to them, but to celebrate them in this beautiful place was priceless! It was SO worth it! What a blessing to watch their eyes widen as they entered the resort, hear their squeals of laughter in the water, have them ask me to take pictures and genuinely smile without me asking, and for Eric to teach a few who wanted to learn how to swim! Everyone kept telling us thank you over and over and saying “Mwen kontan anpil anpil! Kè m kontan!” (I’m very very happy! My heart is happy!) even as they were getting on the bus to travel home. I pray the memory of this day will continue to encourage their happy hearts for many days to come! We want to pass along their many “mèsi” thank you’s to you who have prayed for and supported these and the other KOFAEL ladies through your prayers and support over the past few years! Their progress and reward of this day would not have been possible without you too! Here are some pictures so you can share in the graduates special getaway!
It is hard to believe it has been two years since we moved into our Haiti “Hospitality House” by the sea. As I sit here looking back over the post I wrote during our initial move while listening to the hum of our generator, I pause to thank God for answering so many prayers. God clearly provided and has blessed us with many relationships among our Haitian neighbors, a place to show hospitality to strangers and friends passing through, as well as an abundance of material provisions we once lived without (furnishings, appliances, vehicle, generator) since we have been here. This home has held 82 consecutive days of guests (both old and new friends, expected and unexpected travelers) during the summer of 2013, has been home to a Haitian mom (Genise) and her little girl (Evangeline), a home away from home for Miguel who has lived and worked with us this past year, for my brother Jonathan who has been with us the past month as well as Haitian nurse (Juliane) finishing up her clinicals at the hospital in St. Marc for the next six months. There are eleven people sleeping under this roof tonight as I write this. I am in awe of the different ways God brings people together just thinking about the people in my house.
People who are treated as helpless come to hold a lesser view of themselves. People who believe they are “blessed to be a blessing” and not in need themselves come to a lesser view of the people they serve. These victim and savior complexes create a co-dependency that perpetuates the problems of poverty and far outweighs any temporary relief such missions provide…Poor people understand that getting help requires appearing helpless, and rich people unwittingly advance the helplessness of those they serve by seeing them as objects of charity, not equals (Greer and Smith 53-4).
A little while ago Eric came in after climbing the hill behind our house to check on a teenage girl with a life threatening medical condition. I asked him about the girl and after giving me the report he sighed and said, “seven”. Seven people stopped him to ask for money, food, and medicine on his short decent home. This makes us so sad. Not just because our neighbors are so poor or because we are so sick of so many “give me’s” (view the last post on that subject HERE) but because we see the paralyzing effects that come from simply providing handouts which keep the poor in a position of helplessness and rob them of dignity, responsibility, and equality. Because we have seen the difference. Continue reading “KOFAEL – The Poor Will Be Glad”
The first part of this post is written by our friend Maggie and can be found in its original HERE
All day, e’ry day
I am asked for things constantly. Every day. All times of day. All places I travel in my day.
Sometimes it’s just my attention—the never ending chorus of “blan! blan!” as I walk down the roads demand a wave or acknowledgement if I want them to stop—even when I am lucky and they know my name and yell, “Maggie! Maggie! Maaaaaggieeeeee!” there is no ceasing until I walk far enough past them that I can’t hear any longer or give them the attention they want. On other occasions there aren’t even words exchanged, just men who think making kissing noises at me as I pass is an acceptable way to communicate since, you know, I’m white and female. Continue reading “Give Me”
