Success!!

The last 3 days in Haiti were extremely successful! So after all our work at the orphanage, we were informed that the 4 orphans that we had chosen to give scholarships to and had interviewed on video were actually NOT ready to go to the trade school! We were informed that due to their circumstances living in extreme poverty or losing their parents, they had not started formal schooling until they came to live in the orphanage. For 2 of them this was not until 8 or 9 years old! So even though they were ages 16-20, they would not graduate from high school for another 3-5 years! There were suggestions that they could leave school early and learn a trade, but we felt that this was cheating them out of essential education. After talking to the head of the orphanage about the situation they agreed to continue to allow the 4 children to live at the orphanage until they finished their high school education and we would pick up the responsibility for their education upon graduation. Evans, one of the men responsible for the orphans, said to me "we have invested so much in these children, we would not want to just leave them to struggle on the streets now when they have a chance to go to the trade school in the future". I was extremely happy to hear his commitment to these kids and that they would be taken care of and to continue their education until we started funding them to become health care worked in 3 or 4 years. This was a successful arrangement.
However, we now felt that we had to start over at the beginning. The entire reason for this visit to Haiti was to meet with the students that we were going to fund to go to school, video tape interviews with them, and ensure that they were set up to begin their further education in September. We have met 4 amazing students that we have committed to assisting with their education in 4 years, but what about now?? Haiti desperately needs health care workers now and there are sooo many bright, driven students in Haiti who deserve to further their education and would make amazing health care workers, but who do not have the means to fund their way through school. So...it was back to the drawing board! We gave Ebed an impossible task - 2 days to find 4 students that he believes are intelligent, hard workers who want to work in health care and who do not have the means to pay for their own tuition. And, of course, he came through with it!
Ebed is such an amazing person! His vision, drive, passion, and commitment to the people of Haiti are awe inspiring. Never before have I met someone who believed so much in all people, who valued education above everything as a means to advancing such a devastating country, and who was so extremely successful in his endeavors. He not only pays for hundred of children to be educated, he runs a micro-loan program for both business and education, he builds wells for clean water sources for rural villages, has built a trade school so as to educate more Haitians and provide more skills so as to create more jobs, and has started classes on creativity and critical thinking so as to empower Haitian students to think for themselves and create innovative ways to lift up the country. He has immense faith in people around him and often told Jenna and me that he could see something special in both of us and knows we will change the world. He told me I was the next Paul Farmer (those of you who know me well know that this is one of the greatest compliments someone could give me). But it is Ebed who should be world renowned like Dr Farmer. He is changing lives daily in Haiti and represents the change in mentality and opportunity that Haiti needs. The more time I spend with the man, the more I am amazed at his capabilities and insights. I feel very lucky to be working with such a great man.
Two days ago Ebed asked us if we could come to his school and teach all the students about Cholera and the importance of washing their hands and practicing preventive measures. The night before at dinner we composed a song in Creole about washing hands and practiced it all night and upon waking the next day. Early in the morning we headed over to the school. First Ebed brought us to the kindergarten class and we said hi to all the little ones and sang our song to them. Then we headed to the church where the entire elementary and high school were assembled. It was such a fantastic experience! There were approximately 300 students in yellow uniforms with yellow bows in their hair all packed into a small church. They were all smiles and so enthusiastic about everything. We did not understand the announcement that were being made but every so often a huge cheer would go up from all the students. When I asked Ebed later what they were cheering about he said he was telling them that they would be successful. That they were going to be leaders of Haiti, that they were going to change their country for the better. It was very inspirational to see these children's enthusiasm for school and ambition to succeed. We gave them our talk about cholera and taught them the song we had made up and they loved it! They laughed and clapped and insisted on singing the song again and again. As we drove away we heard them singing the song as the excited the church. And that night when we were attending the local soccer game (which I will say more about later) a group of kids ran up to us singing the song! It was so great and we had sooo much fun with them! I felt so special to be able to interact with them and laugh and play despite our language barrier.
After we finished at the school, we all piled into a truck and headed up to hike up to the Citadel. The Citadel is an ancient fortress built in 1804 after Haiti gained its independence from France to protect against any future attacks, although it never became necessary. As soon as we began our hike, we were joined by a group of the village's teenage boys who were eager to accompany us and tell us the history of the Citadel in their best English (or Spanish, in Jenna's case). So with entourage in tow, we huffed and puffed up the mountain while the Haitians trotted along beside us in flip flops acting as if they were going for a leisurely stroll. They even brought their horse, Toyota, in tow hoping that we would become too exhausted and give them a few bucks to let us ride him some of the way. When we climbed the 1000ft up to the top of the mountain and into the Citadel, the views were spectacular! It was quite an amazing building with a great deal of history. According to our Haitian guides/friends, the soldiers ran out of water to make the cement while building the fortress and instead used the blood of 20,000 slaves! Quite gory...we weren't sure if that one was true or if they just told this to the tourists for shock value.
So, tired and sunburned, we descended the mountain and headed back to Ebed's.
With only moments to rest back at the house, Ebed was calling us excitedly. "Our soccer team is winning and everyone is very excited! Do you want to go down to the school and root them on??" Of course even though we were exhausted, we couldn't pass us the opportunity to watch a local soccer game! So we all piled back into the bed of Ebed's truck and headed down to the school. And boy were we so happy that we did! It was such an exciting experience! The entire town was out watching the game and cheering. They crowded the goal line and side lines, pushing out into the field and then jumping back off the line every time the ball came close. Then when the home team scored a ball, all the young children from either goal line would run across the middle of the field cheering, leaping and yelling. It was really such a sight and you couldn't help but smile and laugh the entire time. After the game, groups of children ran up to us singing the hand washing song we had taught them earlier in the day! :) They then followed the opposing team off the field and to their bus chanting "we are better than you" "we are on a higher level than you" "we are the best" in Creole. It was such a laugh, but I must admit that I felt a bit bad for the opposing team that had to take such abuse after a loss!
We went home and ate a quick meal after the game and the Ebed told us that he has 5 students that he would like us to meet and interview as possible candidates for our funding. They were such phenomenal people! One boy came from a very poor family; his father had died and he was now helping to care for his mother and 6 siblings. He had been enrolled in the medical school in Port-au-Prince and was in his first year there when the earthquake happened. The man who had been funding his education at medical school had unfortunately been killed in the earthquake and so he had nothing left to do but to come home and help care for his mother and siblings. He now cannot get a job and has no money to help pay for food or supplies so he feels completely useless. The other 4 students had similar stories. One became an orphan at a young age and was raised by neighbors and worked as a child laborer to earn his keep. Ebed found him and offered his a scholarship to go to school, and he has excelled and received excellent grades. One female student wants to be a nurse. She said that this opportunity would not only change her life, but also that of her families, and, hopefully, her community. All of these students had worked so hard to get where they were, yet now they were not able to get jobs, further education, and were struggling to survive. They felt useless and hopeless, yet had the capacity to make so much of themselves if only given the opportunity. So, we decided that we would fund all 5 students to begin at the trade school in September. Anna told us that she had raised 300 dollars at her high school before she came (yay Anna!), so we are only about 300 short! (It is only 600 bucks for their 1 year of education - 50 bucks per month!). Even if we have to take this money out of our student loans we will...these amazing students definitely deserve his chance! (Shh...don't tell the government!)
Sooo...all things considered I think this was an amazingly successful trip to Haiti! We accomplished what we came to do; met with 5 fantastic students who will be starting trade school in September to become health care professionals. We worked in the clinic daily, learning more about malaria, HIV, and syphilis, and had our first exposures to cholera. We painted a school, taught in a church and a school about cholera prevention and when to seek medical care. We explored more of the history of Haiti and visited rural villages, getting more exposure to the Haitian culture and way of life. We spent a day with amazing orphan children and got to see the light in their eyes when we gave them toys and played jump ropes with them. We also developed relationships with the older orphans in order to help them with their education in the future. But the best part by far is that we got to better know and understand the amazing people of Haiti. They are so honest, caring, and real. They are kind and generous and never trying to swindle or scam you. They have so much drive and ambition and they funnel it into an effort to not only improve themselves, but to help each other and try and build a better community for everyone. I am humbled by their humanity and feel very lucky to get to be a part of their lives.