10 days in Haiti

By Jessica Hewell

Me overlooking Port-Au-Prince at The View

Recently, I spent 10 days in Haiti with a friend of mine, Kerry. I wanted to give back to the Haitians in their time of need. Kerry offered me an opportunity to do that. When I arrived in Haiti, I’m not sure what I expected… maybe something similar to what a nation would look like right after an earthquake. I didn’t expect the progress that Haiti has made in the past two years. It was a pleasant surprise.

Over the next week and a half I had the opportunity to visit a few orphanages or missions as they are sometimes called in Haiti. At one orphanage we did activities with the kids. We got supplies so they could finger paint, something that I’m sure they don’t get to do often.  During that visit we were asking the kids what they were thankful for in Haiti. All of the answers were very humbling to me.  A few of the kids said they were thankful for school. One girl said she was thankful for the breeze… That answer for some reason really made me stop and think about all the things I take for granted. I loved working with these kids. When we were done finger painting, we washed our hands in water and bleach. I learned throughout my stay that bleach was used to clean pretty much EVERYTHING in Haiti. It was funny because the kids really scrubbed my hands and made sure to clean out under my finger nails. Several other children tried to clean under my finger nails on several occasions. When I asked Kerry about this, she said it was probably because the children had been told that cholera could spread through the dirt left under your finger nails. It made me smile to know that the kids were looking out for me.

I demonstrated how to finger paint

Finger painting at the mission

The kids washing their hands

He's busy cleaning my nails- cholera prevention?

At a different orphanage we did a medical clinic. Basically, I had gathered supplies in the US from many generous donors so that we could tend to any medical needs the children at the orphanage had. Luckily, most of the children were only in need of vitamins. I was glad that I had brought a lot of vitamins with me, but who knows how long they will last.

Dokte Minaud with one of his patients :)

Besides helping in the orphanages, I was able to learn about the history, culture, and people of Haiti. The history of Haiti is not always pleasant, but it involves people who would not be held back or silenced.


Culturally, I learned that Haitians are a very cohesive group. They are focused not only on their needs, but also on the needs of their family and friends. Each person I came across in Haiti was very pleasant. They may not have had much, but I’m confident that they would have given me the shirt off of their back if I had asked for it.

"Culturally, I learned that Haitians are a very cohesive group.
They are not only focused on their needs,
but also the needs of others."

At the end of my trip, I got to go to a memorial service for the 2 year anniversary of the earthquake. The entire service was in Creole (which I don’t understand), but I didn’t have to understand the words to know the feeling that was going through the church. People remembering loved ones and being thankful, so immensely thankful for everything they have. It was an intense feeling to be around hundreds of people who had overcome so much. It was almost as if they were saying, “You took your best shot, earthquake. But guess what? We made it. And we are still making it every single day.”

I’m glad I had this opportunity. I learned so much and I have so much respect for the Haitians and how they live. It’s not an easy life for most Haitians. Everything involves work. But they keep the most amazing attitude through it all. I’ll never understand that, coming from a country where people grumble over much less, but it was so refreshing. I don’t think anything will be crushing the Haitian spirit any time soon.

Two Year Anniversary

January 12 marked the 2-year anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, killing an estimated 200,000 people, injuring over 300,000, and leaving over 1.5 million people homeless. The earthquake took the lives of 25% of Haiti’s government employees, and destroyed 60% of government buildings, including the national palace (the equivalent of the White House in the US). Overall, the country lost over 4,000 schools; Port-Au-Prince was impacted the most as it lost eighty percent of its schools.

Foreign aid and relief volunteers poured into the nation to help with whatever they could. However, with problems so big, where do you begin? I continue to ask myself that question every day. Do you start with clean up and repairs? How do you even being to work on education? What about housing? Don’t forget about medical care. Sanitation? Reforestation is important too, especially as hurricane season comes. All of these issues had pressing importance but none of them could be solved before another disaster struck and took the spotlight away from Haiti. And then came cholera. In October of the same year, Haiti saw its first case of cholera…. and its second… and its 1000^th.

Oh, the troubles that 2010 brought to this beautiful country. Ayiti pat mouri. Haiti did not perish though; the people here stayed as resilient as ever. Oh, the lessons we could all learn from the Haitians.

I was fortunate enough to be in Haiti last year as the country celebrated the one-year anniversary of the earthquake, or bagay la, meaning “the thing”. The government closed the schools and gave everyone the day off of work. Thousands of people gathered in the streets and outside of churches, dressed in white, remembering the events of January 12, 2010. News reports said that only 5% of the rubble had been cleared in the span of one year and people were still dying of cholera each day.

Another year has passed. I wasn’t sure what exactly the media was showing about Haiti, if they were showing anything at all, so I wanted to give an update. Haiti elected Michel Martelly as president in March of 2011. In December of 2011, an estimated 500,000 people were still living in tents, which means nearly 1 million people had left the tent cities and found permanent housing elsewhere. That number is extremely impressive, as IDP’s (internally displaced persons) typically live in temporary housing establishments (such as tent cities) for an average of 9 years. Recent reports state that 50% of the rubble has been cleared, and that number is increasing steadily. Cholera is still an issue though; it has claimed the lives of over 5,500 people in the course of one year. Although progress is being made, Haiti still has a long way to go.

Yet again, I was in Haiti for the anniversary. Again, the government gave individuals the day off. The streets were no longer lined with merchants, but instead, people traveling to and from church services, vigils, and memorials. I went to a large church in Port-Au-Prince with seven others. At 7:30 a.m., we waited outside during prayer, and then entered the church. The first floor was full, so we sat on a bench on the second floor and watched as hundreds of others filed into the church, filling up the second tier and slowly moving towards the third floor. By 10:00 a.m., all three floors were full. I would estimate about 900 people were in church that day. It wasn’t a somber day, like I thought. I saw few tears being shed. What I saw was people singing, dancing, and crying out to the Lord in pure worship, people hugging each other and holding one another close in admiration and love. Oh, what a day it was. Oh, the lessons we took home with us yesterday.


Please continue to pray for Haiti and the recovery and rehabilitation of this nation. We have a long road ahead of us, it is sure to be filled with polis kouches (speed bumps) and detours, but the road is one that has to be traveled. I have no doubt it will be traveled by men, women, and children with their heads held high. May their dreams be big and bold. Kenbe pa lage, Ayiti.

Wanna read more?
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/mission/features/27883-haiti-2-years-later
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2085764/Haiti-earthquake-anniversary-President-vows-redouble-efforts-rebuild-country.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/15/opinion/etienne-haiti/index.html