Orphanage-in-a-Box!

Our final two days in Haiti involved a relatively un-interesting mix of sitting around, being hot, going to a lovely beach (I DO wish more people knew about the faded beauties of resorts that dot the road between Port au Prince and St. Marc...absolutely lovely with the mountains dropping into the clear Caribbean Sea the way they do!), buying some Haitian art alongside the Delmas 33, and spending two hours in the beautifully remodeled and air-conditioned American Airlines waiting area. We all got stuck in NYC on the way back due to high winds, and spent the night with a generous friend. Abby was blessed the most: she got a direct flight to Seattle and a day in NY with her best friend out of the deal!

It's been a month or so since I returned already. I've been busy working on a plan to help Pastor Val rebuild the orphanage living quarters. Another pastor in the US is rebuilding the church building and we are working with some other non-profits to get the other building done. This will include dormitories for girls, boys and staff, a large kitchen and pantry, a large common area, covered outdoor areas and storage. I call it an "orphanage-in-a-box" because the genius of this design is that it is EVERYTHING pre-fabbed in the US an loaded onto shipping containers. All this can be accomplished in less than a month. Once it makes it out of customs in Haiti, it's another month or less to construct the building with the components.

Our friend John Hudson, of 100 Fold Studio is the brilliant architect behind this idea. They have already assembled the components for a similar project in the Dominican Republic. The walls and roofing materials are in manageable panels, and all the sinks, toilets, furniture, kitchen items, etc. - everything you would need to house 80 people is included. Jobs will be created in Haiti by the site work that must be done: concrete slab for the foundation, septic system installation, electrical connections, etc.

We're excited to be embarking on this project. Many others have expressed an interest in working with us, and God is piecing together a diverse team of leaders and servants. Men, women, teens and children from all walks of life are scheming about fund raising ideas, making donations, planning events, and sending boxes of supplies. For three days straight, I received a box each day full of dental and medical supplies. They came from the same address in Minonck, IL, from someone I have never heard of. Thank you, whoever you are!

A trip is in the planning stages to travel to Haiti one more time this summer to make final arrangements with the tradesmen and Pastor Val to begin the site work. My husband, Kirk and I, our son, Jon, and our architect, John Hudson will be going just for a quick weekend trip.

I'm looking forward to church more than anything. So much fun.

(If you have any interest in contributing to the building project, please contact me at kelleemetty@gmail.com for more information.)

Three Days and Two Nights, Part 3

"Happy Birthday Abby!" First words out of my mouth...it was May 6, Abb's 24th birthday, and what a better place to spend it than among such wonderful people. It was destined to be a memorable day, and it did not disappoint. As a mom, you want all your kids' birthdays to be special, because they are so special to you and you want them to be celebrated. Her life has been full of fun birthdays, and she commented on how she has spent several in foreign countries: her 3rd and 15th in Italy, her 13th in England, and now this one in Haiti. Appropriate.

We scrambled out of our tent and wandered over to the chicken-coop-turned-dining-room, and found some cold water and apple juice still chilling in the cooler with a small amount of ice left from two days before. Yrma was fixing eggs for us, and we were amazed to see at least a dozen scrambled for us, along with peanut butter and rolls. Wow. How are we going to do this? Oh, I hope Pastor Val is planning to join us for breakfast!

While we were eating, sans Pastor Val, we heard the children, mysteriously still in their tents, softly singing/practicing the Happy Birthday song in English. Abby and I exchanged silent grins; she knew something was up but we didn't talk about it so to spoil it. I remembered that Pastor Val had left in the morning the day before, and returned right before we went to bed. I hoped that we weren't in trouble for keeping the kids up late, but he had seemed pleased that they were singing and worshiping with us into the night. A white box had appeared on the shelf in the dining room. I saw it, but I wasn't sure if Abby had.

Yrma finished up the kids' breakfast as we were finishing up, and I 'helped' again by setting the table with plates of a pure white porridge-looking stuff. It was steaming hot, so I assumed the kids would show up any minute. But the ladies took their time getting all the spoons out, then some cups, then another table. The kids started trickling in and sat down, but the preparations continued. Some crackers, then some more chairs, then water in each cup, then the drums from the church across the street. About 45 minutes after the porridge was set on the table, things were finally ready. Some of the kids had been sitting there almost all that time! When I asked them what it was they were having for breakfast they said, "labouyi." (I could not figure out what they were saying and when I got home, I researched it on the internet and found this lovely recipe for a porridge made with plantains, bananas, coconut milk, evaporated milk and cinnamon. Darn, now I wish I had been hungry and bolder to try some!)

Pastor Val, along with the help of his nephew, Roosevelt, got the kids calmed down and began a little speech, with Roosevelt in English, and Pastor Val translating (but the funny thing was that he kept "translating" into English, and forgetting that the kids needed it in Kreyol!).

"Today, is a special day. Today we are going to have something like a dream. It is Abby's birthday! (and all the kids clapped and shouted!) We will sing, we will eat, we will drink, we will pray together. We wish you good health, and success in whatever you are doing in Haiti and in the United States. So welcome and welcome!"

They prayed over the food, and then broke into the most amazing rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" I have ever heard. It was sung with gusto, complete with drums, in both English and Kreyol. The kids began to eat, (finally!) and Pastor Val brought out the mysterious white box, and laid an envelope on top.

Abby opened the card, and read Pastor Val's sentiments. She looked at him for the signal to go ahead and open the box. Inside was a gorgeous cake, that read, "Happy Birthday to Abby." Miraculous! Her response was of true surprise. Everyone clapped, and she proceeded to cut it into 50 pieces. No less miraculous. I was filming the whole party, and worked hard to hold back the flood of tears that kept rushing to the surface. (Check out the 2 minute version here.)

We asked Pastor Val where he found such a miraculous creation, and he related his story of spending all day in Port au Prince the day before hunting one down, gathering the soda, cups, ice and other party supplies. So humbling.

(As I've looked back on the video numerous times, it strikes me that some of the kids are smiling brightly through the whole thing, and others seem disinterested. I have wondered if they are ever celebrated so grandly on their birthdays. I have thought about all the things children in group living situations miss out on - mamma rocking them to sleep, or talking to them about their troubles; dad making sure they are doing their homework. When there are so many living together, they tend to take care of each other, with or without the presence of adults, and because of the inadequate ratio of adults to children, individual attention is probably a rare thing indeed. Their physical needs are provided for, mostly, but those things that only parents can do are short supply. This makes me sad and self-conscious.)

But it was a memorable moment in our lives, for sure. And I hope that the children, though it wasn't their special day, had a fun time.

As breakfast was finished, we passed out cake and candy to everyone. Stanley continued to play on the drums and we sang some more. Abby got out the nail polish we brought, and we set up a nail salon. Each girl got her 10 fingernails painted at least twice - that times 30 girls - about 600 nails. First with pink, then with glitter. The boys tried to get theirs done, too, but the girls fended them off! Pastor Val miraculously produced bottles of Coke and Cola Couronne's Fruit Champagne, a sweet, fruity carbonated beverage, made in Haiti since 1924, and poured it over ice for the crowd. It was a real party.


Pastor Val's son, David appeared about that time, and when he walked into the compound, the kids swarmed him like he was a superhero. He knew a lot of their names, and it was fun to see him interact with them. He's about 27, works for Digicel as a systems administrator and speaks excellent English. I'm so happy that we finally got to meet another member of the Val family. He had his Blackberry with him and one of the computers I had brought in January.

We actually were able to get on the internet using his phone, and although it was taking eons to load each page, it was clearly a possibility. This was very encouraging. I showed Pastor Val and David a few sites they might be interested in and the kids crowded around in amazement. I also pulled out my Ipod shuffle, and let Doudley and Daril listen to some worship music. They were hooked. After that, Daril said he would really like to have one of these. No problem. Sounds do-able to me!

Abby wanted to take another hike to see the mango man, but I wasn't up for it. She headed off with a couple of kids and her camera. She was gone about an hour and came back with some beautiful shots and more stories.

It was getting late in the day and nearing the time to leave. We loaded up our things, left the tent behind, and spent some last minute moments wandering the grounds. We gathered the children for a group shot.

As we were about to get in the Trooper, Daril gathered the children and had something prepared to say to us. As the eldest child, and the representative of the group, he very humbly and articulately said to us in English,

"We have one request. As you know the World Cup is coming on June 11, and we would really like to watch it. Could you help us find a way to watch the World Cup on television?"

I looked right at Pastor Val and said, "Can you take some of that money I gave you yesterday, and get them a TV so they can enjoy this?" He nodded yes. (I got word on June 10 that yes, indeed, they were able to make it happen. I guess that generator is getting a lot of use this month!)

That was our parting moment, and it was so precious. We - Pastor Val, Abby, David, another Pastor from Jacmel and I - piled into the Trooper, fully prepared for a jostling, dusty, hot three-hour ride back into the city. Abby and David rode up front, and they talked and talked about all kinds of internet stuff and business. We made one last stop at the potty-house, saw our little friend on the chair again, and thanked the lady of the house for her hospitality. "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was sick and you visited me." I needed a toilet, and you shared yours with me. :) Thank you, kind family.

We made it back to Port au Prince in a record 1.5 hours and back to the Bataille's just a short time before the rest of the team returned. We shared dinner together, then some devotions and debriefing. We inflated our air mattresses in a bedroom under a fan. We waited for the water to be turned on, took quick showers, and crashed.

Has it really been 24 years since I birthed my first child? Such a wonderful woman she has become! Happy Birthday, my dear Abby. I love you so much.

Three Days and Two Nights, Part 2

The rural night was much more quiet than in the city! However, I did not have any idea what a horrible noise donkeys make (and why hasn't someone taken the time to train Haitian animals, that when the sun goes down, it's time to BE QUIET?!). Oh my goodness, you'd think someone was killing them!

But awake we were, with a cheerful chorus of roosters and children's sleepy voices at 5:30. Days start and end so early, but it feels natural. The body feels rested and ready to get going again with the sun. We chatted about crazy dreams, and noises we heard in the night, and whether or not we should make a quick trek to the toilet. We did, and our little friend was sitting on his chair, just like yesterday, like a doorman. We commented on the morning air, how we were relishing the early morning cool, knowing it would heat up fast.

Coming back, Yrma was already making breakfast for the masses. What a woman she is. In over 23 years of helping her brother as head caregiver to the children at Val Children's, she has never had a day off. The only time she gets away from the kids is when she is at the market buying food for them! I promptly told Pastor Val that I wanted to have her come and stay with me in the States for a week just to have a little vacation!

She rustled up some spaghetti and spam for us adults and brought it into the dining room. Pastor Val joined us after a while, and she brought coffee, too. We enjoyed the strong and very sweet brew, then started in on the crazy breakfast items. I'm not even hungry until 10 or so each day, so it was all I could do to honor her efforts and try to eat the massive amounts of food she gave us.

While Abby wandered with her camera, I pulled out my "To Do" list and had a meeting with Pastor Val. We talked through all the questions I had about child sponsorship, the possibility of adoptions, rebuilding the orphanage, the new truck. I showed him the drawings from the architect for the living quarters, to give him an idea of what it might look like. He lit up and said he liked it very much. I explained to him about getting things ready in Haiti for the building: the septic placement (do they even have septic systems?), the possibility of electrical service sans a generator, the pouring of a concrete slab foundation. The term, "anti-seismic" came up a lot - Pastor Val wants to be sure of the building's safety in the event of another serious quake. Everybody's jittery about that these days, understandably.


As we finished, the children's breakfast was ready. I provided a meager amount of assistance by setting the table and trying to scrounge up enough spoons and forks so that everyone had their own utensil. Miraculous piles of food filled each child's plate, and they eagerly sat down and ate it all, even the two-year olds.

My next task was to try and get down everyone's name, age and interests. I snapped a photo of their face, then quickly asked for names, trying to keep it in order so I could figure out who was who when I got home. Of course, even though I didn't collect all 50 kids at once, there was pandemonium as we started this process. When you ask a child his name, he gives you the whole name, front and back, and it's very difficult to understand. So I tried just asking for their "prenom" thinking that was their first name. Sometimes that worked, but often with all the other kids shouting what they thought I wanted, I got both names or the wrong name. So I started to let the older ones write theirs. Dismal failure. It just got more and more chaotic.

(It reminded me of the photo Abby took of Jon when they were there trying to do the same thing three years ago - he's sitting in a chair, elbows on his knees, with his hands over his ears. A solitary child, holding a name card is posing nearby looking forlorn. I just wanted to sit down and put my hands over my ears, too! And I'm a mom! I can't imagine the frustration a twenty-year-old college boy must have felt!)

So eventually this happened:


He obviously has them eating out of his hand, and they mind him and do what he asks of them. They all call him "Pappi." So sweet. But we got our names (of course when I got home, my memory card was corrupted, and they were all out of order!). And I learned some things along the way: Alada wants to be a nurse, Suzena is very responsible for a 13 year old, Stanley, at 12 is a gifted drummer, and sometimes children you think are boys are really girls. :)

Dinah (pronounced "Dee-nah") is one such girl. She is four years old, and has very short hair, unlike the other girls with braids and colorful bows. She had on a pair of boy's overalls, unsnapped at the bottom (probably b/c they were made for a one-year-old) to look like a dress, but I didn't catch on. I was thrown off by the hair. She was so quiet that other kids had to tell me her name, and even then I didn't get it that Dinah was a girl. I was trying all my tricks to get her to talk to me, and let me discern her gender. Eventually, I just asked the other kids, "femme ou garcon?" They all shouted "femme! femme!" I hope I didn't hurt her feelings, but through all that, I was really drawn to Dinah, and made sure I gave her my attention whenever I was around her. I drew her up on my lap and read a book to her. I think it might have been her first time. She kept looking at my face, and not so much at the book. Her mouth was always slightly open, but never smiling. She rarely interacted with other kids; she stayed to the sidelines and watched. I don't know her story - maybe she is just very shy; or maybe she had just arrived at the orphanage, and has had some awful emotional trauma. Nonetheless, I pray for her almost daily now.

Of course, there are the kids that are just so much fun, and always make friends with you: Woosvely and Litteley are a brother-sister dynamic duo, actually Yrma's grandchildren; always-smiling Kenly, who has so much hope in his eyes, like at any minute he's going to tell you he knows some world-changing secret; and chubby-cheeked two-year old Kenzli (who fell asleep in my lap later that night). Many others, too... beautiful sisters Doudley and Rebecca, too-cool-for-school Robinson, and that really flirty 13 year old boy, oh, what's his name? "I love you, you are beautiful." In English. So much confidence.

Abby and I decided for some crazy reason we wanted to take a walk (at noon!) up into the hills. So we told Pastor Val that we only wanted to take a few kids with us, and maybe an adult. So we hiked off with Eloud, 27, and Woosvely and Littleley. It was SO hot, but we thought, "if we're going to be sweaty, we might as well get sweaty doing something fun." Although the sun was intense, there were breezes and it wasn't so bad. We ended up under a mango tree for shade, and Eloud had the bright idea to knock some down for a snack. There were no fences, and no clear de-markation of property lines. I know that tree had to belong to someone, but there were so many mangoes! We each ate one, and quickly realized how sticky we were. Eloud wandered off and came back with a small cup of water for washing off.

In a few minutes, the most beautiful man I have ever seen walked up to us with his arms full of mangoes. He was about 80 years old, only wearing a straw hat and a tattered pair of long shorts, and had a lean and chiseled dark brown body. He looked like an exquisite mahogany carving. He was so generous with his fruit. He gladly gave us about 10 mangoes even though we had just stolen 5 from his tree! He sat down nearby. I asked if I could take his photo, and he willingly agreed. Here he is, Sereme Dubraes:


When we returned from our walk, we spent the rest of the day playing with the children, resting from the heat, and just being generally unproductive. As the afternoon wore on, we ate another meal, and then escaped alone up into the hills for a quiet walk, while the kids ate their dinner. But we were discovered, and before we knew it, we had 40 companions. All but the smallest children were up on that mountain before you could say, "Hey you!" (which by the way, is what every child and teenager says to you if you're white!) We lied and told them we were walking to Jacmel, and they took us seriously. Then it was a chore to convince them otherwise and that it was getting dark and we had to go home. The sudden realization that we were responsible for forty 5-14 year olds was a little scary!

It was almost dark when we got back, and this is usually the signal to go to the tents for bedtime. But we got to singing with a lantern around the picnic tables, and it went on and on. There is a popular song in Haiti right now, that is actually like a public service announcement about going to school. The words in English are something along the lines of, "My little school, my beautiful school, I like it a lot, a lot. Don't sit at home! Go to school!" But the loud line is the don't-sit-at-home line, and they shout it while wagging their hand, "Pa chita la kay! Pa chita la kay!" So I bet we sang that song for thirty straight minutes! I think we were singing in the dark with my little camping lantern till 9:30, which is way past normal bedtime of seven or so! That's when Kenzli fell asleep on my lap.

I was in Heaven.