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Most of my trips involve some element of adventure. My trip to Haiti involved a different kind of experience but an adventure nonetheless! Without any specific details about the trip, my father-in-law called and asked, "Do you want to go to Haiti?" The explorer in me didn’t hesitate, and I was immediately onboard!
Haiti is not a place that most people think about when it comes to travel, so why did I want to go?
My in-laws are involved with an organization, Orphan’s Promise, that helps children in over 60 countries around the world. Close friends of theirs have been sponsoring a missionary couple in Haiti since they went to college together in the 1980s. They recently paid to have a kitchen built at a school in Cap-Haïtien to provide hot meals to close to a 1,000 students fives days a week. For many, this was literally a lifesaver, considering the poverty that exists in Haiti. It often tops the lists as one of the poorest countries in the world.
Traveling to Haiti via Miami, we arrived in Cap-Haïtien, located on the northern coast of the country. The one detail that is hard to overlook is how truly beautiful the country is from the air.
Once on the ground, we were greeted by intense heat and humidity. I thought I knew what oppressive humidity felt like having grown up in the Deep South. Boy, was I wrong! This would be further cemented into my mind throughout my visit.
We left the airport and headed into the city. Words can not describe the intense feeling of hopelessness that permeates the country. Garbage litters the streets, rivers and coast of the country’s second largest city. The sights, smells and sounds were a sensory overload that overwhelmed the majority of our group.
We were physically, mentally and psychologically exhausted by the end of our first day. The overriding question that clouded my mind: How can anyone live like this?
Our second day brought new hope. We were invited to attend a church service located in the same facility of the school we would visit the next day. We were humbled to learn that we were the guests of honor. That meant front row seating. The service was held in a covered pavilion of sorts with a metal covered roof and knee high walls surrounding the perimeter of the structure. While I was sporting athletic sandals, convertible pants and a synthetic short sleeve shirt; the locals (approximately 500 of them) all wore their Sunday best. The men and boys wore suits and ties or pants and shirts, and the women and girls wore their best dresses.
Did I mention it was HOT? Our group was thoughtfully seated next to a cooler with chilled bottled water and moist rags to help our group survive the three-hour service. The service is performed in the native language, Creole. I was enamored by the vitality of the group. They have so little, yet rejoice so much.
Day three of our trip was monumental and the main reason we came to Haiti.
We arrived at the school mid-morning. All of the children were assembled inside the same building from the church service on the day before. It is hard to explain the magnitude of the reception that we received from the hundreds of children all dressed in their school uniforms. To take a reference from my fourteen year old niece, it was like a Justin Beiber concert, and we were the tween idols.
The atmosphere was jubilant. The children sang and danced in anticipation of the dedication of their new kitchen.
After the assembly celebration, we made our way to the new kitchen, and the kids began lining up for the first meal served in this new and life-changing facility. One by one, each child was served the first of many meals to come.
There is so much poverty and despair in this country, but I truly believe hope is alive in Haiti. I left that school with a full heart, knowing that all of those children no longer go to bed hungry.They will be fed five days a week and are receiving an education which is the key to changing the direction of their country.
I went to Haiti to see how a family friend was changing lives. Unexpectedly, my life was also changed.
I challenge my fellow adventurer travelers to plan your next expedition with a purpose. Invest your time in others, discover a culture unlike your own and leave behind kindness wherever you go.
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