Extended Network Banner @ GoToMyCodes.com
A Letter From Mia
My trip to Haiti can never be accurately summarized with words, but I’ll try. Thanks to some very generous people who donated to Ancheri Care, I was able to join Cheri Kay and her two incredible children for one week this past May in order to help deliver services to children and participate in enacting the visions of her organization. We made splints and contoured a seating system for a child with hydrocephalus and did therapy with a child who lives in a field and has an array of developmental issues secondary to her living situation, to name a few. We also took in a three week old baby who was born with a cleft palate and partial tongue, who had to be fed through a naso-gastric tube every 2-3 hours around the clock.
I had read over and over again that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, but one could never truly understand what that means until they see it for themselves. While what we think of as “necessities” in the United States do exist, they are rare and never guaranteed – food, clean water, a roof, electricity, paved roads, medical services, transportation, sewage, etc. It is easy to focus on what the people of Haiti do not have, but it was what they do have that has stayed with me the most. The Haitians I met and saw were vigilant, strong, and believers. These people had a faith and sense of culture that I was fortunate enough to bear witness to. They are not merely surviving in times of political upheaval and extreme poverty, but they are doing everything they can to truly live. To say that my experience in Haiti was humbling and life changing is horribly understating, but it’s the best I can come up with. Still, the lack of resources is astounding and it was amazing to participate in helping just a couple of children. Ancheri Care is an amazing organization that everyone can participate in one way or another. Thank you to everyone who made my trip possible and I can’t wait to return. Thank you, CK!
