Laughter Sadness and Dreams: Haiti’s Bright Young Adults

Laughter Sadness and Dreams: Haiti’s Bright Young Adults

So ten of us New Englanders spent our week in Haiti in April—five of us returning to this mission which has worked its way into our minds and hearts, and five here for the first time.  I don’t think I have ever been with a group that laughed as much as this mission team did!  In some ways it was a defense, our escape from the intensity of what we were experiencing, and it helped us to go on.

As you read the various posts, much may seem overwhelming, terribly sad, or just unimaginable.  But that is only part of the story.  Haiti is also a beautiful country, filled with beautiful people, many of whom have a remarkable grace to persevere. 

Haitians have a lively sense of humor too, as we learned from the great team of young translators who worked with us all week.  Wilkins, whose English was among the best, kept asking us to tell him new English idioms, which he would later weave into his sentences for our entertainment:  “chew the fat”, “a run for your money”,  “hit the nail on the head”.  Pierre, 27, was among the very fortunate who had been accepted into the state univ  (Out of the many thousands who apply, perhaps 200 get accepted. For the rest there is just waiting, since there is no way they can afford the $2,000-$3,000/year a private university would cost.) 



 Another was John, a wonderfully kind father, probably in his 40’s, a school teacher who has not had a job since the earthquake.  One of his sons is in school, but the older one is not because there is no money.  Working with us for the week gave him—and the others—much needed income.
ersity.

Perhaps the one who impressed some of us the most was a young woman named Eugenie

(pronounced  oo'-jhen- ee).  On our first day, she was with Julie, Shantia and the children.  She would listen as Shantia sang a song in English (which she did not know) and immediately sing it back in a Creole translation in the correct meter!  Her bright eyes and wide smile were captivating!  She has a disability—one leg is deformed, which makes her walking slow and awkward—but one hardly notices because she carries herself with such poise and always has a smile.

Eugenie is 21, but waiting to finish her high school when she can make the final payment (a common pattern in Haiti) which we left her with as we departed.  But she shared with me her discouragement and fear that she will never get into the university.  She would love to become a translator and work as an advocate for the poor.  (She would be so good at this, with her bright and determined spirit!)   She is the oldest of six children, raised by a single mother in rural Haiti, and is now living with her aunt in the city to go to school.

One of our dreams for the future is to perhaps sponsor a bright young Haitian like this with a college scholarship.