Reflection on the "good side" of poverty--if there is one.

Today I mounted the motorcycle with Wonel driving and went to visit a long time resident, a woman whose family I have known since I first came to Bondeau, about 10 years ago.  Rachelle, her granddaughter is an active member of the parish.  Rachelle told me that "Gran" had fallen down and broke her hip.  She said that she is confined to her bed and is in a lot of pain. 

I arrived at the tiny house in the early afternoon.  The family was on the front porch and in the front yard.  There was Rachelle, her mother, and brother.  Rachelle's first grade daughter was inside the house sitting on the floor next to "Gran", reading to her from her reading text book.  Gran had a look of contentment, looking very much at peace.  And is it any wonder?  She is surrounded by her entire family day and night.  She is cared for by her daughter and grand daughter.  She was clean, dressed in a lightweight cotton nightgown, her hair neatly combed. The bed sheet was neat and clean. It's obvious to me that she is getting excellent care.

I visit many people in Florida about the same age as "Gran" and because of similar injuries are confined to nursing home care.  In contrast, people I visit in nursing homes are very often lonely and feel "cast aside".  Their families are often too far away to visit.  They have their physical needs taken care of but they are missing the love that a caring family gives.

So, while I'm not saying that living in poverty is "better" than being affluent, I see a positive side...the elderly usually live out their lives among family and friends, being cared for with love.

A Joyful Christmas at Kay Timoun

What a wonderful and joyful Christmas it was at Kay Timoun.  Our kids were so excited about Pere Noel coming and wondering if he would leave a gift for them under the tiny Christmas tree.  As it turns out, Pere Noel did come with a gift for everyone.  The kids were thrilled!  Before Pere Noel's arrival and before the church service at midnight, we hosted a huge party for children in the community.  Adults were invited, as well, but the party was intended mostly for the children.  Carole, Dedet, and helpers cooked all day preparing a huge amount of Haitian fried chicken, fried pork and goat.  Carole made the best "pickles" (pronounce peek lays) I have ever tasted.  A beautiful and colorful salad of red beets, potatoes, and carrots garnished every plate.  Of course, there was rice and beans.  And a special treat of fried banann, tasting so good when topped with pickles. Every plate was heeped high with food, a real treat here because most people do not have enough to eat. 

The children who came to the party are the poorest of the poor.  And they had such fun, a great relief from the poverty that they face every day.  They played a favorite game, musical chairs, and danced to traditional Haitian music.  What fun they had! 

I tried to count the number of people and came up with forty children and twenty adults.  That is in addition to our thirteen kids and the eight adults that prepared the meal.

A special thank you to our friends who made all this possible by donating generously for a Christmas party at Kay Timoun.  They know the joy of giving.  I pray that Kay Timoun kids learned a little about the joy of giving as they shared their space with children who have much less than they do.

Return to Bondeau

Sunday afternoon and I am enjoying the quiet time while the kids are visiting their parents.  I returned to Bondeau last Tuesday, arriving in early evening to a party in honor of my return.  I was so surprised!  The kids had decorated the back patio with colorful paper chains and paper flowers.  They taped their art work to the outside wall.  There was music and dancing and Wonel had bought cold drinks special for the party.  Such a nice party!  The neighborhood kids were here to help celebrate.  I arrived with cookies given to me by the airline flight attendent, coconut and chocolate patties that I bought in the Fort Lauderdale airport, and two small cakes with blue and white frosting that I bought in Leogane.  Everyone was so pleased to have a special treat.  Then, like the strict mama that I am, I ended the party at 9:00 so everyone would get a good nights sleep before school in the morning.

It didn't take me long to get back into the swing of things.  I immediately saw that there are repairs to be made...the outside kitchen is in poor condition.  The children's bedrooms need painting.  But most pressing, and what is becoming clearer and clearer are the number of kids who are hungry.  Carole prepares extra food every day.  I am so grateful to people who have given me money to run Kay Timoun.  I am able to purchase extra food so that we don't have to turn kids away.  It's not like they are taking advantage of a good situation.  I know the families and I know that they are desperately poor.  They simply cannot provide for their children.  It's not that they are lazy and don't work.  They do work in the fields or other manual labor.  They buy and sell vegetables and fruits as they are able.  They do the work that they are qualified to do.  Most do not have even a grammar school education.  They know that their children must be educated if they are to rise above the destitute poverty of the parents.  So, they struggle financially to send their kids to school.  In doing so, they often don't have money to buy adequate food for the family.  It's the vicious cycle of poverty! 

Bondeau Christmas

Thursday begins the holiday season here in the U.S.  Twinkling white lights decorate the palm trees on my street, although it's weeks before Christmas.  Stores are decorated with Christmas wreathes and paper Santas.  Television and radio commercials shout at us about sales on "Black Friday".  So much hype!  So much money spent! So much distraction from what Christmas is really about! 

While I'm taking time away from Bondeau and Kay Timoun this month, my thoughts drift back to Bondeau.  I can't help but compare life here in Florida to life in Bondeau.  Those who have read my blogs know that Bondeau is an extremely poor country village in southern Haiti.  People have barely enough money to live on.  Very few have regular jobs.  Women buy and sell fruit and vegetables to make a few cents.  Others sell penny candy and cookies.  Men do manual work.  So, people don't have money for a festive Christmas.  They barely have enough to scrape together for a special dinner.  Certainly they don't have money to buy toys for their children. 

Christmas for the people in Bondeau is centered around the church as they celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus, born to poor peasant parents, born in an animal stable.  Parents in Bondeau relate to the poor circumstances of Jesus' birth.  They relate to Mary and Joseph who want to give Jesus the best they can, yet can only give him straw for a bed.  Many are in the same situation, wanting to give their children the best they can but can give them next to nothing.

So, there are no twinkling lights decorating the street, no Christmas wreathes or Santas.  Children are thrilled if when they return home from midnight mass they find a small toy tucked under their pillow.  Parents are thrilled if they are able to provide a special Christmas meal for the family.  There is nothing in Bondeau to distract from the real meaning of Christmas.  People in Bondeau know what Christmas is really about. 

Bondeau Baby

I enjoy taking a walk in the evening from Kay Timoun down the rocky driveway to the main road.   A few evenings ago I was taking that walk when I met a woman I have known for a long time.  She was carrying a baby.  We stopped to talk.  I fussed over the baby, talking baby talk. Very often a young child will cry the moment he/she sees me.  It's the light skin that scares them.  But this baby just looked with no reaction.  I quickly noticed that the baby, a girl, was very thin and had tired looking eyes.  Mama told me the baby is one year old.  I know enough about babies to know that a one-year old will either cry or smile or do something when greeted by a stranger.  This baby did nothing!  She just sat in her mother's arms.  So, now I was curious.  Why isn't the baby reacting?  I asked mama if the baby is breast feeding.  No, mama doesn't have milk.  Is the baby eating, drinking milk?  No, no money for milk, no money for baby formula or baby food.  I had seen a little girl in this condition before and in a short time, even though I tried to help, the baby was dead!  So, I talked to the mother about the importance of the baby eating.  She knows, but doesn't have money.  I immediately invited her to come with me to Kay Timoun, where I prepared a small amount of cooked oatmeal with milk and sugar.  (I never did finish my walk!)  I watched the baby while mama tried to feed her.  It was obvious that the child was not familiar with eating from a spoon.  She cried weakly, hardly making a sound.  I asked mama if she would come back every morning and I'd have good nourishing food for her baby.  She agreed to return every morning.  So, added to the shopping list that day was vitamin fortified baby cereal.  When she returned the following day, the baby was munching on a soggy cracker.  While cookies and crackers are OK for snacks, many mothers here think it replaces good nourishing food.  So, I tried to explain  to mama that crackers are not a meal and have very little food value.

Last year, we all at Kay Timoun took on a commitment to prepare breakfast, usually oatmeal with milk and sugar, or baby cereal, for twin baby girls that were undernourished when they showed up on our door step at two months old.  By the time the twins were a year old, they were chubby, happy babies, taking their first steps.

So, keep the little girl in your prayers.  She is very much at risk for malnutrition and who knows what other disease.  She needs good nourishing food, which she will receive as long as her mother brings her here to Kay Timoun.

Reflection on Poverty in Bondeau

 

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.

Is He coming or is He already here?

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon with the kids visiting their parents.  I have time to think.  And the thought that kept running over and over in my mind is that we Christians are waiting for the return of Jesus.  I honestly don't know if He'll return in the way that we expect.  As I see it, He has returned, and keeps returning, except we miss Him.  I see Him every day in the poor children who live with me;  I see Him in the eyes of their destitute parents as they struggle to get together another meal.  I see Him every day in the disabled man I call "Net" (because it means perfect) who comes here to beg a meal.  I see Him in the girl who I'm caring for who has returned to Bondeau after being a child slave most of her life. 

We keep waiting for the return.  And yet, He is here.  We just don't see Him.  Or is that we refuse to see Him?