Riding Around

The little hand crank cars that were left outside of the quad yesterday have created more memories in the last twenty four hours than I can count. 

Before Yves took his car away, we "borrowed" it.  As you can see, little Dave loves it! At first, he was super scared of it.  He squirmed like a little fish trying to get out of Jean Robert's arms.  But, after he saw his little buddy Benito riding in the other one, he was game.  The two cars had little races around the quad, and we even took them outside of the quad for a bit... until it got a little out of control with children anxious to be passengers, and teenagers anxious to be taxi drivers. 

The car is meant for Yves, our neighbor who is confined to a wheelchair.  We were worried he wouldn't be able to work it because his upper body strength seemed weak.  Boy, did he prove us wrong!  We strapped him in this morning, and off he went... hitting a few bumps along the way, but he will get the hang of it!  I snapped a couple pictures as he rode off laughing, and after looking up from my camera I saw a group of employees, kids, and neighbors smiling.  It was so cool to see how excited everyone was for Yves as he pedaled his new red car away. 

The first thing Dave said to me this morning was "machine".  Trying to appease him and a couple other toddlers, I took the second car out of the quad to give them a ride.  It worked out nicely because all the big kids were in school, so there was no demand to share.  I took them all the way down the road and back, and by the time we reached the quad, my arms were burning from exhaustion!! 

Friends

Some of my best friends in the world live at Pwoje Espwa.  All I have to say is- Nothing compares to dancing to Celine Dion under the Haitian stars. 

Street Kids Dreams

Waiting is never lonely in Haiti when your eyes and heart are open.  

Today I was waiting with Amanda by the bay, looking out at the water when a street kid walked up to us, hoping to sell us a mango.  

I asked him how much his mango was selling for, and he told me a Haitian dollar.  I reached into my bag, and told him that I didn't have a dollar to buy the mango, but would he take a mango instead?

He laughed, told me I was clever, made the mango trade, and ran off to his group of street kid friends sitting on the dock.  A couple moments later, he and his friends wandered up, still laughing about my witty suggestion for a trade.  Being that Amanda and I had a surplus of mangos back home, I handed my personal sack of mangos to the boys, and we sat savoring the sweet taste and enjoying the ocean breeze in quiet contentment. 

As mango juice dripped down chins, I asked where they each came from, how many siblings they had, and whether or not they went to school.  They each answered in turn, most of them coming from the area, not one having less than four siblings, and a couple lucky to currently be going to school. 

Wanting to get away from typical conversation, and being that I myself have recently been pondering the question, I asked them each what they wanted to be when they grew up.  A doctor. A musician. A mechanic. A singer. An artist. A farmer. A police officer.  They were each confident and decisive in their answer, and left little room for hesitation.  

The future doctor was laughed at when he responded.  As, according to his buddies, there is no way you are going to have luck at becoming a doctor if you don't have luck at going to school.

The farmer was serious in his hopes of aiding the hungry bellies of his country, and the police officer was teased and poked fun at because right now the police don't reside high on the list of street kids friends. 

I looked into each excited face, and listened to each dream that seemed so tangible when thought of in conversation.  We conversed a little more about the importance of school, and the difference in education between small schools and big schools, and then it was time for Amanda and me to end our wait. 

The boys smiled at us, and started to turn and walk away.  Hey, I shouted to them.  A last thought entering my mind.  Don't forget what we have talked about, and don't forget to hold onto your dream of what you are going to be when you grow up.  Keep it in your head, and one day, maybe you will reach it.  They nodded their heads, smiled, and turned.

I watched our future doctor, musician, police officer, singer, mechanic, artist, and farmer walk away, and asked myself- 

Will the dreams in these little heads ever get the chance to become a reality?  Or will reality make an appearance and squash these dreams?  

I don't know the answer to these questions, but I do know that they should have a chance.  The last question is- 

Will we give it to them? 

Espwa School Anniversary

Today we celebrated the anniversary of the Espwa schools.  

The chapel was filled with students, teachers, administrators from all three of our schools, as well as Espwa members.  It is hard to put into words the essence of what was felt this morning at 9:00 when Mass began.  

Looking into the eyes of the school members their was a sense of pride.  

In the eyes of the alter servers and chorus- there was hope.

And looking into the eyes of Father Marc- there was love. 

I have said before that Father Marc is an inspiration to me, and that I look up to him.  But today, as I held sleeping Baby John in my arms, and sang Creole hymns with Amanda (poorly sang I might add), I realized that it is not just Father Marc that is an inspiration to me, but the community he has worked to create that truly inspires me.  

The joy at Espwa seeps into my every pore, and is contagious.  It takes a village to raise a child- and let me tell you, this village is raising them right.

Mangos

It is mango season, and being that Castel Pere is built on an old mango plantation, it is not uncommon to see children knocking mangos out of trees with slingshots, mango juice dripping down faces, and mango pits scattering the ground.  I was hanging out with some of the little ones when Son Son came walking by- straw hat on, mango in mouth.  It was such a classic moment- I had to capture it.

Brother and Sister. Biondy and Elizabeth.

Inspired

I was writing out on the balcony this morning.  I looked out at the mango tree and saw these two brothers Gilbert and Evans sitting in silence in the company of one another.  I was inspired.