Reiser Heights

Day 4 October 15^th – Reiser Heights

Today began with a sense of familiarity. We were up and rolling out in the tap tap by nine, the traffic was intense, and the heat and humidity followed suit. However, rather than shipping out to assist water deliveries or garner new understanding for serving the Haitians, our sights were set on Reiser Heights.  Reiser Heights is a school that was established by the Reiser Relief organization in the more rural mountainside of Haiti. A number of students are currently enrolled in classes ranging from kindergarten through sixth grade. With the last visit from Reiser Relief more than three months prior, a trek up the mountainside was long overdue.

So up the mountainside we went, and aside from a quick break, we made good time as the roads had recently been paved a majority of the way to the top. We spent much of the drive untying cross necklaces to give each student and arrived ready for new experiences and emotions. We piled off the tap tap and unloaded the luggage we had packed full of donations bringing smiles to the staff that were there to greet us. After spending some time untangling the necklaces we had previously prepared – which would turn out to be a never ending challenge throughout the visit – we made our way up the steps to the first kindergarten room.

Many of the children in the first room had never seen anyone with light colored skin before and after a few seconds of shocked silence, their wailing echoed throughout the building. Team members set to work, quieting them with the candy we had brought and allaying their initial fears. The rest of the visit was a blur of gift giving, necklace untangling, photographs, and singing. We passed from room to room in age order giving unique gifts to each. Girls were given dresses and some younger children were given bubbles. Then we gave airplanes and noisemakers to the middle aged children. Finally we gave the older students each a pair of sunglasses. Our team distributed gifts diligently and we were reciprocated by some of the most grateful smiles we had ever experienced.

School adjourned shortly after the gift giving and students gathered outside to share songs, show off their new gifts, and pose for photos. Our team performed the few songs we had rehearsed and the students shared their follow-the leader-game, but after a while the activity died down as students trickled away in different directions. Once everyone left we hiked down the hill to visit a family that the organization had become familiar with over the years.

Here we got to really see the conditions many Haitians are forced to live in. The family had a shack built from rusty corrugated steel siding to sleep in and another lean-to that housed a small tripod for use with a cooking fire. Neither building had doors or flooring other than dirt. It was truly a shock to see a growing family living in such conditions. The sleeping quarters couldn’t have been more than six feet by eight, yet it housed a family of three children and two adults. Such appalling conditions really helped us appreciated how fortunate we all are for the comforts we are blessed with in our everyday lives. We gave them what little we could, dresses for the little girls, a necklace for the eldest daughter, and all that remained of our candy from the school. With heavy hearts and wishing we could give them more, we turned to head home.

-Nathan