Reflection on "Sandy"

I think of how hurricane Sandy came through Bondeau, Haiti...lots of rain lasting several days, on and off showers, not constant downpour.  Our house flooded, as it does in any heavy rain, due to poor construction.  The kids all chipped in to clear the house of water; some kids swept water out the doors, others mopped, and the little ones scooped water with their hands into small buckets.  We were rather safe despite the severeness of the storm.  People in the community were much worse off than we.  This would include parents of the children living at Kay Timoun.  Many people lost animals that they depend on for income; goats drowned, chickens were washed away.  Others lost crops that they had nurtured along in hopes of harvesting.  Corn and sugar cane plants were broken and bent over from the high winds.  Water washed through houses built of woven sticks.  Mud surrounded the houses when I visited two days after the storm.  Food is scarce and expensive, so many families had no food, waiting for the school to open so children would at least have rice and beans provided by the school feeding program.  And yet, there were no complaints.  People began to help one another, making repairs as needed, as soon as the storm was over.  Haitians are the most resiliant people in the world!  They deal with one disaster after another!

And I see on the news all the suffering in the northeast: people stranded without electricity in bitter cold temperatures, gas stations closed, no gasoline available, flooded streets.  Government relief isn't there to help the sick, the elderly, and simply the general population.  People are helping their neighbors, people are helping people, just like in Bondeau!  So, does it take disaster to bring out the best in all of us?  I don't know, but I do know that people, both Americans and Haitians, step up to help their neighbors when help is needed the most.  People have compassion for one another and that is God working in us and among us.

I'm writing from my home in Boca Raton and will return to Bondeau this coming week.  I miss all my kids and the simple, although challenging life in Bondeau.























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