Today we woke up after beginning the New Year in Haiti. Cody, Chrissy,
Emily, Lane, and I stayed up last night until midnight to bring in the New Year
and to see how Haitians celebrate. It was actually quite a bit more subtle than
we thought it might be. There was just some music, fireworks, and an occasional
gunshot (shot up in the air, we presume).
This morning we had breakfast then loaded up the bus with hygiene kits,
school supplies, and other prizes for the kids. We headed to an orphanage in
Port-au-Prince that Crystal and the organization are in close contact with and
visit frequently. There are 70 kids at the orphanage, mostly girls, ranging in
age from 3 to 20. It is run by a pastor and his wife along with several
nannies.
We began by unloading the bus and setting up for the Christmas party
that was to take place later on in the day. Most of the day was spent playing
and interacting with the children. Most of them were not shy at all and some
were definitely clingy. It was a little bit of a struggle interacting because
of the language barrier, but we managed. They really enjoyed things like
kicking around a soccer ball and taking/looking at pictures on our phones and
cameras. After the kids ate lunch, we split into two groups and had the kids
act out the Christmas story. Whichever team performed it best got to go first
through the gift line. There was a room set up for the older girls and a room
set up for the younger kids. Every kid got a notebook, crayons, a pencil, a
comb, a whistle, a hygiene kit (washcloth, soap, hand sanitizer, etc.), and a
few random other prizes. They were super excited to get gifts and to be able to
choose which ones they wanted instead of just being handed something random. We
played with the kids and their prizes for a while and then helped serve them
dinner.
We got back to the base around 4:30 and were greeted by Grant who
finally decided to show up J Dinner was at 5, debriefing was right after dinner, and now we just have free
time for the rest of the night.
So far it has been a great trip and I’m so excited to see what is to
come!
Victoria (Tori) Yoder
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