Evolution of Humanitarian Aid
As we embark on our way back to The States, I reflect on how the model of Humanitarian Efforts have changed. It was exactly eight years ago this week that I made my first trip to Haiti. We brought with us 600 lbs of donated clothes, as was common back then after the devastating earthquake. We thought we were helping; but we may have been hurting. Two years later, the local textile factory closed, hundreds of Haitians lost their jobs. Were we taking jobs away from the locals?
Today, the Humanitarian model is much different; it is to CREATE jobs. You know the saying "...teach a man to fish..." Healing Haiti has only 3.5 American FTEs and employs 250+ Haitians who are teachers, drivers, chefs, housekeepers, nurses, restaurant servers, grounds keepers, maintenance men, street ambassadors, farmers, Mommas and Pappas in the orphanages, etc. We help build Haitian owned for-profit self-sustaining businesses.
The model of orphanages has changed as well. It used to look like separate dorms for girls and boys, a dining hall, and a building for showers. Now, orphans live in a house with a staff Mother and Father. They learn how to be a family, how to connect, care for one another, share in chores, eat together as family; they will someday be Mothers and Fathers themselves.
A study performed asked the same question to two groups of people: "what is POVERTY? To most of us, poverty is people without water, cloths, and food. To those impoverished, their answer is to be SEEN. WOW! How many times do we pass a beggar on the street corner and look away? Sometimes they just want a smile; to be seen. Consider giving a smile of acknowledgement the next time you see someone struggling.
Within a few hours, I will be sucked into my regular life; it is a privileged life, I cannot complain. But a piece of my heart is with the young restaveks (google it!) whom we help deliver water in 5 gallon buckets, the elderly in the mountains that we deliver meals, and deaf children whom are outcasts.
Also, I'll be asked: "How was Haiti?" Some just want the short answer "Heartbreaking and beautiful all in the same moment." Some want the elevator pitch, which you just read. And others want to lean in and hear the stories. Reach out to anyone on this team for those. Blessings.
