New Experiences Bring New Friends

Greetings from Haiti! Today was our first day working in Port au Prince. We were privileged to serve the children from the “Organisation Assistante Pour Des Enfants d’Haiti” (OAEH). This was the first time we worked with this group and it was a fantastic experience.The OAEH organization, led by Pastor Edwige, supports children in their spiritual, social, cultural, and physical development. Their motto is, “A good child today becomes a good adult tomorrow”. OAEH provides a training and entertainment club for the children every Saturday and a worship service every Sunday. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the site where the group meets because it was not an appropriate location to safely bring our group. So, our bus driver, Stevenson, picked up the kids and brought them to us! Another Pastor generously offered a local church for our program. He said, “This is community in Haiti”. The church was absolutely beautiful and offered a perfect location for our work.

The OAEH children welcomed us with some beautiful music (accompanied by our own Kevin on the drums) and a prayer. After that, we all got to work to serve the kids. First we used puppets to teach the kids to brush their teeth. After that, we split up into our teams. The health team provided dental and medical care for all of the children and for the OAEH staff. Dr. Jhonny, the Haitian doctor who worked with us today, provided check ups, medical care, and prescription medications for fifty-two children. The need was great. The dental clinic saw over fifty children and staff, and again provided dental sealants and fluoride varnish. The education team provided a lesson on the importance of good nutrition and the dangers of malnutrition, as well as our science and microscopy lesson. We also made origami boxes and played some games with the kids. We also handed out clothes, shoes, and toys, and provided a nutritious lunch for all of the children and staff. The education team served the lunch to the kids. We were able to provide the lunch because of all of the fundraising the Health for Haiti students did before our trip. The students continue to grow in their ability and empathy. We are so impressed with each one of them. We also have to express our gratitude to our hard-working translators. Without them, these programs would not be possible. We were also all so impressed with how well-behaved and sweet the children were.

After the programs finished, Stevenson took the children home (he did double duty today). We cleaned up and then used the instruments in the church to make some pretty awesome music. After Stevenson came to get us, we returned to Jude’s to rest and enjoy some traditional Haitian pumpkin soup.

Below are some pictures from our wonderful day.

The Dream Team!

Because we have some decent wi-fi here at Jude’s, I asked everyone to provide me with their favorite picture from the trip so far. Below are some of the images from our time here. I think these images that the students and staff selected capture how hard everyone is working as well as the joy and fun and love that has been such a part of this trip.