Haiti Village Health

After a week in Jacmel, Haiti and as one of the new Communication Directors to the Haiti Village Health NGO it has been a non-stop adventure from the beginning. At the age of 21 and my first time assisting with relief work I find the mind-blowing experience, fulfilling yet overwhelming beyond measure. I try to recall the days just after the earthquake, while I sat home in Bermuda, watching CNN news obsessively trying to paint a picture which would help me grasp a better perspective of what Haiti must look like. Not imagining 2 months later I would fly into Port-au-Prince along with 2 others and gain the opportunity to view the disaster myself.

For the first few days my eyes were distraught to the many things that they were being exposed to. With thousands of people along the streets as we drove through Port-au-Prince and moving swiftly along to the Southeast, Jacmel which was our destination, I grew speechless. Wondering if the terror of it all would ever end I became sadden to what was being presented in front of me for 4 hours straight. By my first night I knew my main objective would be to do any and everything within power to help the people of Haiti; but where do I start.

Traveling to St. Teresa’s orphanage instantly became an interest of mine. Seeing all the children that ran throughout the rubble from the collapsed buildings bare footed astounded me but they played around it as if it did not exist. As myself and 3 others exited the truck I was startled as one child grabbed my hand, looked up at me and smiled. I immediately noticed that most if not all the children carried a warm, softening look along their faces and became tremendously excited to see each of us. The little one that adopted me into his world quickly took me around the area showing me the place which he now called home. Unable to communicate through words his facial expressions had told me everything that I needed to know about what he was trying to tell me. At this moment I had realized that kids will be kids, they did not choose this world, they was given it. After our tour we decided to complete a small distribution of juice boxes, blankets and snacks amongst the children we saw and give the rest to the nuns for later. As we left they thanked us by waving as the truck pulled away, shouting “Merci”. For the rest of the trip back to the guest house I sat and realized that it was the first time coming face to face with the suffering that had overcome this town and my heart began to ache for them but also encouraged me to continue my mission. Just seeing the looks on all their faces meant they were grateful for the work we were trying to accomplish.