The Lucky Few

Yesterday morning I visited Gertrude's, a Haitian orphanage that accepts special needs children.  By American standards, the living conditions are sub-par, but by Haitian standards, these kids are considered the lucky few.  They have beds, bathrooms, regular meals, and even a playground.  When I first walked in, I was somewhat repelled.  Many of the children were dirty and smelled.  As I started to play with them, I realized these kids appreciated everything that my team and I had to offer.  Due to Gertrude's being significantly understaffed, any individual attention these kids were able to receive clearly meant a lot to them, which was shown by the smiles on their faces.  One example of this was clearly evident with a baby a team member of mine was taking care of.  This baby had been a burn victim, and had burn scars going from the top of her head, down her arm, and ending at her hand, which had no fingers.  She looked like she had gone through more pain than most people do in their lifetime, and she appeared to only be around a year old.  Another thing that stood out to me was the wheelchairs some of the special needs kids were in.  The
seats were made out of cheap plastic lawn chairs and had clearly gone through extensive wear and tear.

After Gertrude's, I visited the general hospital.  The hospital had many sick babies, but it was heart warming to see that the parents were sitting next to the cribs.  Work in Haiti is scarce, and I can only imagine what a commitment it must be to stick with your child every day.  It was obvious that the parents felt a brief moment of relief when we offered to hold their kids for a short period of time.  The hospital had 2 main rooms for all of the kids, unlike some hospitals in the U.S. which have a room for each patient.  Seeing some of the kids was quite difficult, especially one little girl who had parasites, which made her stomach bulge way out, appearing as if she was pregnant with triplets.

Next time you're complaining about something, stop for a minute and just realize how blessed you really are.

Alex Kopen