We left St. Etienne today and I hid tears behind my sunshades. What will be different because we were there? They will have a few more gifts that did not have before, or maybe a new toy that they have never seen. But will their lot in life be any different when I return next year? I don't really know the answer.
And that is why I tears were in my eyes as we departed. The sad little faces who we asked to dream about their future. Is it even possible for them to dream about a future when they can barely understand where their next meal is coming from? The ones who attend the school are lucky because Johnny's fundraising makes it possible for them to have at least one meal per day and some hope for a future because they are being educated. But there are many more who show up to the school, but their family can't afford the school's meager tuition. They try to blend in with old uniforms or just show up with nothing...sometimes without clothes. So I continue to ask myself...will their world be any different because we were there? In many ways the answer is no. I still see some of the same faces that were there when I have visited Haiti over the past two years and they are in the same plight. Still dirty-faced and looking for a gift from the visitors. What's so different? I can honestly say I have not changed the hope for their future by my visit here. But I have for two days out of the year, caused a child to smile. Nothing compares to the smile of sheer delight that each child has on their face when they either see a photo of themselves or when they receive a gift. It doesn't matter that the gift is second hand or does not cost a lot of money to us...they are just thrilled to have something different in their lives. For 99% of them, they will never leave the island of Haiti and if I can expose them to something different, then I have made a difference in their life.
Good post, Yvonne. Just before I went to this blog I was wondering about who takes the most away from our school's visits.....kind of along the same line you were thinking. And from a distance, it seems like everyone benefits, however modestly. Among other things, the kids (and adults) in Haiti know that others know them....a thought which can lead them in a variety of directions. There are the tangible things we've done -- a building or two, a well, supplies, violins, toys, etc......and intangible things. Among other things, it seems like you and others who have gone to Haiti can return home and bear witness -- that's what I've heard you and others do. That's a big deal. For you, for us, and if we listen and act correctly (in my view), for the people of Haiti. However humble our contributions must seem, it's tough to imagine the alternatives for those children, their mothers and grandmothers, fathers and grandfathers. One of the upshots for me is: our students adn teachers come back from Haiti carrying inside them gifts they had no reason to anticipate receiving.
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