Over spring break, I had the opportunity to join nine people from my church on a trip to Carrefour, Haiti. I was accompanied by my 11-year-old son, Caden, who wanted to join in the adventure. It was a wonderful experience, both heartwarming and heart-wrenching.
Our destination was the tent village of Grace International; located in Carrefour, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. After 24 hours of travel, we arrived in 90-degree heat and humidity.
Grace International is part of a 20-acre campus that was to house a hospital before the earthquake. When the disaster struck, people moved onto the property into tent shelters. At one time, 25,000 people lived in tents here, squeezed into 20-acres. By comparison, Gateway Mall in Springfield sits on about 60 acres. Today, there are 12,000 to 15,000 people still living in tents.
We performed a number of tasks, including building screens for the windows of the hospital. This was not an easy job, as nothing is square in Haiti. Each side of the cement window opening had to be custom measured for the wooden frame on which the screen was fastened. We also demolished a building by hand and painted several walls. Instead of waiting for repairs like these, most businesses have carried on in half-demolished buildings.
One of the best parts of our experience was the opportunity to serve food to the children and interact and play with them.
The Lord's Kitchen is run by a handful of Haitian women who work the first half of the day making massive bowls of rice and beans with a flavorful brothy sauce. The day Caden and I helped, we spent two hours hand sorting a 50 pound bag of beans to remove rocks, sticks and other debris before it was cooked.
By early afternoon, the kids began lining up outside the gate. They were let in, one group at a time, and each would receive three large scoops of rice and beans in their bowl or container, with a little broth. Most of the time, they would take it home for their family to eat. Children, as young as 3, collected food.
Also on the campus are homes for orphan boys and girls, who we spent our afternoons playing with. The Haitian people are very joyful and content, despite their difficult circumstances two years after the earthquake. Children played happily and were always full of smiles. Watching them jump rope or kick a ball around, you wouldn't think they lived in a decimated city and had lost one or both of their parents.
Slowly, life in Haiti is returning to normal, but the city remains in rubble and ruins.
It definitely wasn't your average spring vacation, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. My son's eyes were opened to the fact that not everybody lives like he does. And that, I think, is a good thing. Hopefully he becomes aware that you don't need to travel to Haiti to find someone who needs a helping hand.
If the opportunity ever arises for you to go and serve in another country, I highly recommend it.
