Admiration

My word for the day is admiration.  Yesterday I felt terribly frustrated and left wondering what was the point in the little things we did that didn't even begin to make a dent in the poverty, filth, loneliness, violence and desperation found everywhere in Haiti.  Today, I began to see another side of Haiti.  I found people worthy of admiration in some of the most unlikely places.  

Our first stop was the home for the sick and dying children. The women who have given their lives to care for these children day in and day out have a dedication, love and selflessness beyond words.  I have been forever changed in being able to share a small moment in time with these women and babies.  All I had to give was to hold them, sing to them, walk with them and feed them.  Yet somehow this was enough in that moment.  Heart-wrenching and heart-warming all at once.  

Our next stop was the Apparent Project with a mission to keep families together.  A woman and her vision has been able to employ 300 Haitian employees in a few short years.  This has enabled families to make the choice to keep their children instead of give them up for adoption because they are able to financially support them.  This vision has not been without its challenges.  My admiration goes out to this organization for keeping their dream alive despite its challenges.  

The final stop was Gertrude's a home for children with disabilities.  These children are considered the lowest of the low here in Haiti.  Gertrude and her staff are to be admired for their commitment to work with these unwanted and often discarded children of Haiti.  These children have been given shelter, food, clothing and love which is ironically more than many have here.  

I was shown today that it's the little things, holding the crying child, singing to the child who has no voice, providing a hand up instead of a hand out, that start the ripple of change.  "Not all of us can do great things.  But we can do small things with great love." Mother Teresa

Laura Gran