Living here in the middle of a poor peasant village in rural
Haiti, I see situations with people and families that we couldn’t conceive of
in the U.S. Sometimes it seems
surreal. It seems that there is no end
to the poverty here. So many kids wander
around partially clothed, dirty, and hungry!
Families are broken when a child is sent away to live with a relative or
friend, usually serving as a restavec (a child slave). I don’t know the percentage of children that
are sent away, but I hear about it from time to time. Nor do I know the percentage of children here
in Bondeau that are not in school, but there are many. Without an education they will grow up being
illiterate just like their parents, and face a life of poverty just like their
parents, and bring children into the world that will face a life of poverty
just like their parents, and the cycle goes on and on. I see all this around me and can only do so
much to relieve the suffering. It’s so
frustrating!
A little girl returned to Bondeau after living with a
relative. The girl is about ten years
old. She comes here to Kay Timoun, where
I live, and spends the day. She has her
meals here and plays with the kids that live here, but mostly, she likes to
help with the work. I think it’s because
that what she knows after living as a restavec.
She is not in school. The kids
and staff help her to learn basic math and writing. But she needs to be in school. One morning she arrived all flustered because
her step father told her to stay at Kay Timoun.
We are not in a position to take in another child. We can, however, help her with food and
clothes. For now, that’s what we are
doing. And we do what we can to help
other kids, as well. There are always six or seven extra kids to feed at
mealtime. These are kids from families
in the community that are so poor they cannot feed their children every
day.
Very often poor families have so many children they can’t
feed them. A woman showed up one day
asking for food. We got into somewhat of
a conversation, given my limited Kreyol language ability. She told me she had twelve children! How in the world, I wondered, can a woman
bring twelve children into the world when she can’t even feed herself? She agreed to help with washing dishes in
exchange for food. We talked about
family planning and she agreed that she needs planning but doesn’t have the
money. Thoughts ran through my mind
about medical missions supplying some type of birth control and instructions on
how to use it, available to those women who want it. The upshot to the conversation is that when
she left, the staff told me that she has sixteen children!
Somehow the poor do survive!
They have strong faith in God, believing that they will receive all that
they need. They thank God for
everything. I see and hear people
thanking God for rain, for a good night’s sleep, for today. They survive one day at a time, believing
that they will have enough for tomorrow.
