Day 1 and 2 , flying to Florida and on to the Island of Haiti
The gang (I didn't have my glasses when I took this)
Laura:
It's hard to believe we're actually leaving on our Haiti adventure. We've been saving money and preparing for almost 2 years. Aubrey has a teacher at her High School who takes humanitarian trips to the Haiti Orphanages to help with supplies, funding, etc. I have always had humanitarian work on my bucket list and decided this would be perfect. Also, Aubrey has recently had a strong desire to look for her biological parents and not too happy that we have been unsuccessful. I was hopeful this trip might fill that void for her as she connects with other children who have no parents or whose parents had to give them up because they could not afford to care for them.
Aubrey earned most all of her money ($1200) and I chipped in the last few hundred for a graduation gift. I can't tell you how excited I am to share this with her. Relatively uneventful until we landed in Miami at 10:30 pm. We each were required to bring 2 bag (#50 each) of supplies for the orphanages. We had a 10 hour layover so was told by the attendant that we could pick the bags up in the morning when we boarded for Haiti. The next morning we went to get our bags but found they were locked up until 8 am. We boarded at 8:20 am. No amount of math would get our bags checked, us through security, to the gates and into the plane in 20 min. We had to call security who had to call so and so, who had to call so and so, who had to call so and so etc. etc. About 90 min later we had our bags and a couple crying teenagers in our group. (who thought life was going to end if we didn't get these supplies to Haiti)-good thing we started very, very early. I have decided the days of sleeping on the floor in an airport are long time gone for these old bones. Funny thing, you could only sit in certain areas as all the ceiling vents in the Miami airport leak when it rains. Like having a tent with no rain fly, lol. To Port-au-Prince without a glitch.
One of the baggage people was deaf and how fun it was to watch Aubrey and he signing and laughing together. She has developed such a talent and loves it.
Off to Foyer de Sion Orphanage. The largest orphanage (of 3200 total orphanages) in Haiti. There is massive child trafficking and slavery (the term is actually "Restevek" to describe a child slave) in Haiti. Aubrey's teacher is on the Board of Directors for this orphanage and makes sure that every bit of money or supplies goes directly to the children and not to any administration or other costs. The poverty is indescribable. Ron and I went to Costa Rica last Fall so I thought I was "prepared". There was nothing to prepare me for the devastation we saw. These people are survivors in the truest sense.
We walked into the orphanage and immediately were bombarded with children of all ages wanting to touch our clothes, hair and skin. They wanted to be held, and cuddled and played with. Most all of the children in Haitian orphanages are NOT orphans. Haiti has almost an 80% unemployment rate and, unfortunately, shows no sign of decline. These parents cannot care for the children. The country, the culture and the predominant religion (Voo Doo) does not espouse birth control so there is little hope of the problem being resolved. Siblings are often placed in different locations. These children are beautiful. Beautiful skin, features and character. They are not aggressive and are so grateful for any interaction they get. To compound the problem, the Haitian government has put extremely difficult means for adoption. The average adoption takes over 6 years from start to finish, with about 30K and numerous trips to Haiti. So your 2 year old is now 8 before you even get them. As you can imagine, adoption is not a great option for these kids. There is no Social System, so when they turn 18, they are "kicked" out to fend for themselves. Most find themselves homeless; further burdening the Country. It seems "backassward" (as dad would say) but it's the way it is.
Home to a guest house for the evening. The owners are LDS and have their own story about their purpose here in Haiti. "Sticky Buns" is how I describe it here. It's like I've been dipped in rubber cement. There is a layer of "yuk" all the time. No AC and 115 degrees at best. I think someone should tell the Brethren to consider an alteration in the garment design. HAHA. Had a nice discussion with the group this evening. We all shared why we desired to come to Haiti and what we hoped to accomplish here. And YES I wanted to bring them all home (the orphans).
Aubrey:
Well now that I am done reading through what mom said and correcting her incorrect grammar. Haha! Yes she messes up sometimes. But anyway, she pretty much covered EVERYTHING.
So far it has been absolutely incredible! I barely got 30 feet into the orphanage before this adorable little boy stuck his arms straight up at me and stared me straight in the eyes. Of course I picked him up without missing a step. He stuck to my side most of the day, but of course other children were sticking to my sides as well. There was one little girl who wanted ALL of my attention and absolutely nobody else getting any of it. She would cry if other children climbed on me and then start hitting them. I eventually sat her down to the side of me and didn't pay her much attention so she would calm down and stop hitting. It worked for a little while but eventually wore off, she was back to crying. But! Right after a little boy hopped off my lap and left she stood straight up, sat down on me proudly and immediately stopped crying. Mom and I started laughing so hard! Talk about manipulation. HAHA! Saying goodbye to her today was hard though. Anytime I tried to put her down she would tighten her legs around my waist or curl her tiny toes and feet in my shirt and shorts so I couldn't put her down. What she didn't understand though was I get to see her tomorrow. But again I am going to have to say goodbye, and this time for good or until I can come back. I am going to be a mess! They are my babies as much as they are their own parents. I've claimed them. Anyway, enough for tonight. Lots more to come!
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