My Summer through the Eyes of a Child... Haiti is Beautiful

If I ever find the time in the future I want to undertake a small, fun project. I will give a Haitian child I know a camera for a week. Yes I know, right now you are probably thinking, that's a bad idea. The kid is just going to run off and sell your camera for money for food. Maybe I will recruit one of Edward and Djeune's sons to be my helper. Or maybe I won't need to. I find the interesting thing with children here in Haiti is if they are asking blan for things, often it's their parents (or some other suspicious grown up) telling them to do so. I bet if I gave a kid a camera and showed them how to use it (have already done this with the boys I live with) they would be so enamored by the fact that technology allows them to get a photo of themselves instantly they wouldn't care about selling the camera for food. They would rather have the camera, because in the instance that they have the camera at their finger tips, that's all they care about. Children are such good teachers about how one should live their life really. And while corny sayings and proverbs for years have been telling us to never lose our childhood innocence, somehow we always fail to listen or remember.

I think the corny advice of viewing life through the lens of a child should start being applied more to the realm of global health. In the news, with all the awful parts we hear about Haiti, it's enough to think I am spending my summer in the center of a torture chamber. But that isn't the case at all. Right now as I write this post, during my weekend stay at Port-Salut, I have a beach-front view of the Caribbean. Some of the most beautiful (and simplistic) things I have seen or experienced in my life have been in Haiti. For instance, I will never again be able to eat mangoes or bananas or coconut flavored items in the states. The fruit is so sweet and perfect here that it alone is worth the 90 minute flight from Miami. Then there is the coffee. Sure I can't just drive up to Starbucks and have someone hand me a latte down here, but part of the fun and the sweetness of the coffee is having to walk to a local market stand in the heat after work. I get to chat with the woman who supplies me with the already pre-ground, pre-sweetened coffee powder and then I take it home to Leila (one of the servants employed by Edward and Djeune). She has it ready for me in the morning and of course serves it to me while I get teased about how I need this "black juice" to have enough energy to get through work at the hospital that day... Yeah so I will admit it, I am not as strong and resilient as the Haitians, so I laugh along admittedly to the morning jokes.

And while the slums of Les Cayes and Port au Prince, the lack of potable water, and the devastating rural and urban poverty is not a joking matter, I think if that's all we talk about in the news we lose half the story. I bet if I gave a child in Haiti a camera you would get to see this other half. You would get to view the gorgeous flowers that grow on the bushes in the front yard of my apartment. You would get to  see some of the best stars and rainbows in your entire life. You'd see how happy my coworkers from the hospital are with their significant others when you see them smile at one another as they dance compa and enjoy a prestige or two on the weekends. You'd enjoy simplistic decorations made by children as they prepared for their official kindergarten graduation ceremony at the local orphanage. You'd get to see how yummy and perfect oatmeal can be if you prepare it, for over an hour, with fresh sugarcane, whole cinnamon sticks, star anise, and milk from the cow that grazes across from our front yard. You would view mountain side and beach avenue destinations that are worth a photo spot on a destination wedding website. You'd be able to celebrate in the small, beautiful victory that comes from being able to buy lots of yummy coconut cookies, spicy homemade peanut butter, and a sprite made with sugar cane, all for only a couple of US dollars.

So next time you read a quick news story about the tragedies going on in Haiti, I ask one small favor of you. I want you to stop and think about the rest of the story, as a Haitian or American child might see it. Think about the Caribbean beach that sits behind the political compound where the story takes place. Or the fun, bustling market that sits in front. Or the wonderfully kind and passionate Haitian doctors working after hours to help patients who might have been hurt in that car accident in PaP. Because then you might see how wonderful and unique the Haiti I know is. Don't believe me? Then look at the photos below. I had some help taking them from a few young Haitian boys I live with. A few young Haitians who continuously remind me that Haiti indeed is beautiful.

Photos from the kindergarten graduation at the orphanage. All of the cute decorations were homemade of course.

 A couple of photos from the Haitian wedding I attended a couple weekends ago. These I stole the camera away for, because I wanted to make sure to get some good shots of the view/ the celebration building. The place is rented out for weddings, graduations, anniversaries, etc. It is a gorgeous place I hope to one day throw a party at so more people can see it!

 The flowers the boys picked for me from the front yard. I am really going to miss them when I have to leave in a couple of weeks.

Celebrating the deal we got at market.. All of these delicious little treats for a few US dollars!