The poor and the poorer

You think you've seen it all, and then another sight shocks you to the core.

Today, we went to a village far up in the mountains called Agadonis. So far, the worst village we had visited was Caravallo at the beginning of the trip. This however was poorer as its remoteness meant that the village has no water. Its a slum, and yet the government charges these poor people rent!! What kind of landlord charges rent to people knowing that they are poor and have to buy in water? Because water is a scarce commodity, they very rarely wash. This leads to illness and suffering. The children walk around through open sewerage.

Consider this true fact. In your stomach juices, dear reader, you have about one hundred parasites. In a teaspoon of a child in the village, there can be as many as one hundred thousand. I write these as words so you do not think that I have made a typo.

There is a desperate need for medicine, sanitation and education. The Haitian people differ from the Dominicans in that they see education as a means of getting off the bottom rung through getting a job and providing for the family. They don't really want handouts.

A spot of land to the edge of the village has been bought by a wonderful missionary called Jana who has earmarked it for a school. It will cost US$7,000 to build.

The great news is that sufficient funds are available to build the school, the bad news is that its still in your pocket!! This is a project we have felt lead to take on. We'd love to see this become a reality.

Another game of football on a makeshift pitch resulted in pride being restored for the English.

We had gone there to help cement a floor of a shack, as most are floored with mud which results in all sorts of parasites and illnesses being picked up by the dwellers. However, there were sufficient hands already set to this pump, but rather than stand around, our group got the kids together for a kick-about. Its one of the things that I have valued about this group. They are all 'dooers' and have thrown themselves into everything asked of them. the kids loved the attention.

Haitian children are beautiful. They know no different but deserve so much more. The harshness of their existence was heightened even more in the afternoon where we helped in a feeding programme run by Jana. This simply involves giving each child an egg, a bit of nan bread and a glass of milk.

A handicapped boy was brought in. He could not walk, and may have had slight learning difficulties. His hunger was self evident. Jana has ministered to this village for five years and yet did not know him. It transpired that he had never been let out of his house (if you could call it that)

Handicapped children will never be able to support the family and so have less worth than a 'normal' child. They are therefore fed less food than their brothers and sisters. This boy could offer joy and pleasure to someone and was an object to be loved, but I fear for his future.

I carried him back to his 'casa' having been directed to it by a child. I knocked at the door and handed the boy to his brother. The boy just put him on the floor and went back to what he was doing before I arrived. I took one last look at the little boy shuffling accross the floor before the door closed on me.

I'm now sitting in an internet cafe in Sosua crying as I write this. I want to do so much more. I feel helpless. The need is so great and I am so weak. This doesnt mean howeverthat I can abrogate my responsibility. This is not the end of the journey...