A Circumstance Away: Remember the Faces of Haiti – Photos From My Visit
Above: Two girls from the village of Bahaya in Haiti, one of the poorest areas that we were in, and where my mother and sister were born.
In July I journeyed to Haiti for the first time and was able to visit and meet family there in various cities (Port Au Prince, Forte Liberte, Cap Haitien and some others). The trip was bittersweet with joyful moments laughing and talking with aunts, uncles and loads of cousins (many loads), but also being reminded of the shaking of the earth a few months before in the faces of those who survived, and how so many were lost on the ground we walked on.
Seeing the country for the first time in my life was an eye-opener for me. In cracking walls I thought of the standing structure I call home in the U.S. In the children asking for loose change I thought of change that is often disregarded in many purses and pockets. In the kindness of the people and resilience in their eyes I realized how grateful I am to be alive.
It is so humbling to know that we each could be a few circumstances away from living eachother’s reality… If my mother had not come from Haiti to the United States 30 years ago, I would be living in much dire conditions and might even be standing in the place of one of the children I met. If such a disaster took place in the United States, who knows the consequences? God alone.
Let’s remember the faces of Haiti in praying and helping with the recovery and rebuilding of lives and homes; we would yearn the same compassion if we were in their place. In the same way, let’s show compassion to people who are less fortunate throughout the world – from those suffering as a result of the flood in Pakistan, to those still recovering from tragedies closer to home.
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.’” Matthew 25:40
Visit A Home in Haiti for information on how you can help build schools and orphanages in Haiti. Currently they are doing their first construction project – “the largest home and school for severely disabled orphans with cerebral palsy, autism, and more in all of Haiti.” Watch the video below chronicling some of their recent work:
Click here and see below to view more photos from my trip.
Above: My grandfather’s church built almost 70 years ago.
There’s Hope…
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