There are many poor people in the United States, but nothing like the overall poverty in Haiti. On my first mission trip with Holy Spirit Haiti Mission last February, the first impression when coming out of the Port-au-Prince Airport was poverty. In my years of business travel, I have been through “ghettos” in the States. Yet while driving from Port-au-Prince to the Monastery of Brother Olizard, a two and a half hour ride, nothing measured up to this. The poverty was everywhere. The homes that the people live in are, in most cases, not real houses as we know them to be in the U.S. Many homes were wood or tin metal structures, with canvas or other materials covering them or surrounding them. Scrap pieces of corrugated roofing were the norm. They are structures made out of whatever! Sometimes they have concrete walls with re-bar sticking out of the top, suggesting future add-on construction. Yea, right! No money, no add-on’s.
People are also everywhere, trying to sell fruits, sugar cane, water, used clothing, cheap bling, or whatever. Unlike the U.S., where many of our less fortunates are waiting for government entitlements, the Haitian people can’t turn to the government. They must rely on themselves, or the many religious missionaries who venture to Haiti to help with medical aid, food and pure water, and building assistance. In spite of their poverty, the Haitian people are warm and friendly, as well as very thankful and appreciative for any aid given.
Haitian children sometimes get to eat one meal a day, if they attend a religious school. Many others go hungry. Many are sick because of impure water sources, if they can find water. Wherever you go in Haiti, the conditions are pretty much the same. Less than half the country has electricity. There is no sanitation department to pick up trash; they just burn everything. Many families are cramped into one small room for their living quarters. Imagine 20 people living in your smallest bedroom at home.
It is an honor to go to Haiti to help these beautiful people. We have a problem with gratitude here. I would like all Americans to be able to go to Haiti. Maybe then we would really appreciate the United States of America. May God bless us all.