Today we went to church early in the morning, then to Gertrude’s orphanage for special needs, and finally spent the afternoon at General Hospital in downtown Port-au-Prince.
Church was amazing. The building/nice warehouse they have for church is much nicer than the tent they used to have (so I’ve heard). There was an elderly woman that saw a couple of our team members she recognized and squeezed her way through every row to hug every member of our team.
At Gertrude’s, I saw quite a few children I recognized. One child was an absolute doll on our last trip, so I went straight for her and held her close the entire time. The other highlight from Gertrude’s was seeing one girl that screams out of joy when she goes on the swing-set. Other team members remember her as their highlight. It’s amazing to see that we can bring so much excitement and happiness to their day.
Lastly, we went to General Hospital. I’d never been here before, though I’d been to the Home for Sick and Dying Children before. This was more devastating. We walked into two rooms of cribs lining the walls with skin and bones malnourished kids and exhausted mothers sleeping underneath, or sitting next to the cribs.
We had diapers, hospital gowns, and wipes to give out, which mothers gladly accepted. However, we found another room later and we only had Band-Aids left. There were kids that were in worse condition, with no family around them. Three of these kids clearly had special needs and another was an abandoned 3-4 week old that the parents didn’t want because his feet were turned in.
I broke down and wept over the special needs children that’s skin was barely clinging to their bones. All I had left was Band-Aids and they would do nothing for these children that were fighting for their life. I felt so helpless, but know that there’s more that can be done to help these kids that are abandoned or near death.
Tomorrow we’re headed to tour Grace Village, visit the elderly living in Titanyen and go to Isaiah’s orphanage. I’ve never been to Isaiah’s, so I’m excited for that new experience.
--Kaytie Z
--Kaytie Z
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