Day 3 June 4, Sunday Foyer de Sion Orphanage
Laura:
Haitian dogs start barking as the sun goes down and don't stop until the sun rises the next day. Seriously! they never EVER stopped! So drippy, sticky, sweaty underneath the mosquito net with barking dogs outside your window-it couldn't be better. lol Today back to the Orphange to work on their medicine supply. There were boxes and boxes of medications, most written in French that were either outdated or not for pediatric use. Well meaning people give donations without the thought "is this something they really need". There's pacifiers, toothpaste, baby toys, etc. You've got about 150 children and a handful of "nannies". It is all these nannies can do to get the children fed and care for their basic needs let along brushing teeth or playing with toys. Pacifiers would become nothing but a health hazard. Boxes of old books, falling apart and often without covers, that groups think the kids will read. My thought was "if it wasn't good enough for you then why do you think these children want them". So, because there's nobody to go through all this junk, it sits there and creates a mess.
I came home today with a whole new idea of charity and donations. If we are specifically donating to a certain cause, we need to make sure that we are donating what THEY need, not what we think they need. I spent the whole day in a swealtering room without lights (had to use the light from the phone) going through the medications. By the end of the day, more than half the medications were discarded, and the rest divided between adult and pediatric use. There were bottles and bottles of vitamins and diaper rash lotion. These children have such few diapers that many have to go without underclothing. No one had been using the vitamins that we so charitably donated because there isn't the manpower to administer them. It takes too much time to apply diaper rash lotion because there is always another child that needs their attention. I felt overwhelmed just thinking about how to tackle this problem.
We met a 15 year old girl named Cindy, who was beautiful, delightful and so kind. Aubrey and I felt instantly drawn to her. Since she is over 14, she is considered unadoptable. Her future holds nothing for her. She has no family that she knows of and no skills. These kids spend almost everyday just waiting for the days to pass into weeks, then years.
All the orphanages in Haiti are privately funded. This one is owned by a Haitian who experienced similar circumstances. He has volunteers that help (one of which is our guide) but it is never enough. These children are begging for any attention and stimulus they can get. There are about 25 babies who spend most of their day in their wooden stacked cribs. Not enough staff to provide anything but basic needs. So no holding, cuddling or kissing them. Their eyes tell a story of unpurposeful neglect, but neglect just the same. These are hard working people who love and desire more for these kids.
Very hard to leave. Hard to believe we have so much and all our donations have done very little to improve their quality of life and their hope for the future.
Haitian dogs start barking as the sun goes down and don't stop until the sun rises the next day. Seriously! they never EVER stopped! So drippy, sticky, sweaty underneath the mosquito net with barking dogs outside your window-it couldn't be better. lol Today back to the Orphange to work on their medicine supply. There were boxes and boxes of medications, most written in French that were either outdated or not for pediatric use. Well meaning people give donations without the thought "is this something they really need". There's pacifiers, toothpaste, baby toys, etc. You've got about 150 children and a handful of "nannies". It is all these nannies can do to get the children fed and care for their basic needs let along brushing teeth or playing with toys. Pacifiers would become nothing but a health hazard. Boxes of old books, falling apart and often without covers, that groups think the kids will read. My thought was "if it wasn't good enough for you then why do you think these children want them". So, because there's nobody to go through all this junk, it sits there and creates a mess.
I came home today with a whole new idea of charity and donations. If we are specifically donating to a certain cause, we need to make sure that we are donating what THEY need, not what we think they need. I spent the whole day in a swealtering room without lights (had to use the light from the phone) going through the medications. By the end of the day, more than half the medications were discarded, and the rest divided between adult and pediatric use. There were bottles and bottles of vitamins and diaper rash lotion. These children have such few diapers that many have to go without underclothing. No one had been using the vitamins that we so charitably donated because there isn't the manpower to administer them. It takes too much time to apply diaper rash lotion because there is always another child that needs their attention. I felt overwhelmed just thinking about how to tackle this problem.
We met a 15 year old girl named Cindy, who was beautiful, delightful and so kind. Aubrey and I felt instantly drawn to her. Since she is over 14, she is considered unadoptable. Her future holds nothing for her. She has no family that she knows of and no skills. These kids spend almost everyday just waiting for the days to pass into weeks, then years.
All the orphanages in Haiti are privately funded. This one is owned by a Haitian who experienced similar circumstances. He has volunteers that help (one of which is our guide) but it is never enough. These children are begging for any attention and stimulus they can get. There are about 25 babies who spend most of their day in their wooden stacked cribs. Not enough staff to provide anything but basic needs. So no holding, cuddling or kissing them. Their eyes tell a story of unpurposeful neglect, but neglect just the same. These are hard working people who love and desire more for these kids.
Very hard to leave. Hard to believe we have so much and all our donations have done very little to improve their quality of life and their hope for the future.
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