Child of Sorrow



Chatting with Haitian street children outside the collapsed presidential palace following the January 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200, 000 people.

Louis Pasteur once said,

"When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments: tenderness for what he is and respect for what he may become."

A friend recently shared a story of two boys who grew up in the same neighborhood but fate found them in two entirely different places when the January 12, 2010 earthquake hit Haiti. One was languishing in prison paying for his crimes while the other was helping communities respond to the earthquake; he was helping with the vulnerable children of Haiti. What brought this darkness and light difference? Find out.

I shall call the boy in prison Kara and the other other one Abbel. Kara and Abbel were born in abject poverty lacking in food, water, medical care, clothing and education. As they grew up, the two boys were inseparable. They played together, walked together and sometimes got into trouble together. One day, Abbel received help from a good Samaritan and went on to get education. The help was not enough for his friend too. Kara roamed the streets, never went to school and out of desperation engaged in criminal activities. By the time Abbel was in the University working on his bachelor's degree in commerce, Kara had been arrested for robbery with violence and put behind bars.

On the hour of the earthquake Abbel left his office, where he worked with an International Humanitarian body in Port-au-Prince, to attend to some business at a local bank. Immediately he received the cash from the bank teller, the building started shaking. He rain out in panic and standing outside, under the high-tension cable, the 35 seconds earthquake left untold loss of life and property. He survived the earthquake and immediately rushed to the very community he grew up in to attend to the needs of those affected by the devastating earthquake.

A good Samaritan saved Abbel's life on deciding to sponsor him through Compassion International. Little did this good Samaritan know he was rescuing this boy for 'such a time as this'.

On my recent trip to Haiti, I ran into the reality of many Karas roaming the streets having lost their parents in the earthquake. I ran into three kids roaming the streets. They did not attend school and worse of all, they had no one to turn to. One boy told me his parents died in the earthquake and he survived by digging out of dumpsters.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, needs help. Child development through sponsorship is the surest way to tackle poverty easily and faster. Lasting help will come in human development as the adage goes, " If you want to plant for a season, plant grains, if you want to plant for a century, plant trees but if you want to plant for a lifetime, plant people."

Reconstructing the environment in Haiti will rarely change the people but reconstructing the people will definitely change the environment. Touch a life today in Haiti and redefine the future of the country.

Be inspired by the tenderness of these children and come to their rescue.

Article on Haiti Censored

At the Clinton's Presidential Library in  Arkansas

Ten days ago, I was able to visit Haiti and got to see a child I sponsor through Compassion International, a non-profit organization combating poverty through Child development. Other than that, I was looking forward to visit this country that I first heard about on bbc radio when I was 12 years of age and developed interest in. For some strange reasons, I loved Haiti despite its terrible political history. It became my childhood dream to visit Haiti and so when the plane touched down in Port-au-Prince, the Capital, I felt like an exile returning home.
Well, on return I wrote an article to capture what I saw, what I smelled, what I felt, what I tasted and what I touched but God has held my finger from pushing the 'post' button.
Everyday since then, I have been editing the story and editing and editing but never pushing the submit button. This morning, I edited further but just before I closed on my last thought, God censored it and I am no longer going to post the story.
Instead, God has given me the freedom to write what you are reading right now. He has allowed me to say that my trip to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere was a learning success.I was able to see the devastated capital, six months after the earthquake. I did not shed a tear but my heart started bleeding.
A day later, I was able to travel south in the department of Sud and took a boat ride to the Ile-a-Vache Island where the child I sponsor lives with her family.
Two days later in the town of Les Cayes, I was able to meet the President of RESPE political Party, Charles Henri Baker, popularly known as "Charlito". He is a presidential candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections in November. Our one-hour discussion exposed me to mind blowing perspective on the poverty of this former-slave country.
I left Haiti feeling an urgent need to return as I learned that the Country and her people need more of the worlds physical presence than the financial support. One idea I put in the mind of Charlito was, if he ever becomes president, he needs to see how to restore the pride of the nation. Haitians needs inspiration to be proud to be Haitians. There is nothing as bad as loosing the fundamental feeling of belonging and identity. Whether in scarcity or plenty, human dignity is an inalienable right, it is sad I saw it elusive from the Haitians.
I am glad, however, that I finally made it to fulfill a childhood dream of setting foot in Haiti. And not only set foot but also share hope with a six-year-old. This is a journey and experience that will remain in my active memory for a long time, probably for lifetime.