Day 3, Part II
As we waited for the prison guards to let us in, our bus parked next to a heavy artillery UN tank with Nepalese soldiers. Wasn’t really sure what to make of that! We were able to see the “visitors” of the prisoners pressing up against the gate hoping to catch a glimpse of their loved ones. Eventually, we were led in. We then waited for some time in the hallways, and while we waited there, we were able to see prisoner-workers serving up the “flour soup” to the prisoners. We were led through the cell blocks by armed guards. The conditions in the prison were appalling: 16 men in a 12x12 cell and the smell was indescribable. As we passed by, the men were reaching out their hands through the serving hole shouting out, “Help me” or “What can you do for me?” We came to find out through our interpreter, Lesly that many of the men have been in prison on petty charges (theft, minor assault, etc.) for several months and have yet to appear before a judge. They had no legal recourse and no immediate plans for any – unless they had money for bribes. Fr Martin noted that the whole scene reminded him of a slave ship, and how these men must have felt the same utter despair. Fr. Martin tried to offer a blessing to as many as he could, but there were simply too many.
I had the incredible opportunity to speak with the women prisoners. I asked them how many children they had, and if they have ever had a chance to see them since being there. All of the women said that they haven’t seen their “bebes”, and it was heartbreaking to see the pain on their faces as they spoke lovingly about their children.
We spent the next hour or so sorting out care packages of hygiene products and donated Crocs (doing Colorado proud!) for the prisoners, and then working to feed over 500 prisoners a lunch donated by Food for the Poor.
Our visit concluded with the freeing of 4 prisoners. We cheered for them as they came into the entry area. Several us washed their feet and gave them a new pair of sturdy shoes – symbolically washing the “dirt” from the prison as they started a new life. It found it so moving to hear the prisoners talk about their freedom in such a passionate way – even though I felt as if they were merely moving from one prison to another one in the form of destitution in the outside world. Admittedly, I have always had a hard time coming to terms with the New Testament teachings on freeing the prisoners and caring for the incarcerated. Sometimes God gives you the 2x4 you need to change your perspective – and this truly a blow to my hard–fast belief system!
Day 4
It was a very hot day. It was about to get much warmer. Our first stop of the day was to the “Bridge People Neighborhood”. This is an area just under the main bridge in town. All of the sewage and trash that flows out of the canals washes up on either side of the river, and collects directly under the bridge. This is where the people build their homes. When we came, we had to step on the simmering garbage and try our best not to step on anything “ripe”. Pigs wandered in search of food – we saw one pig being charred to be sold for money. Imagine eating a pig that had eaten trash and sewage. This was a hard image for a die-hard fan of BBQ! We had a chance to visit with a family – they had a little boy with them. There was no place for him to play – only in the garbage in front of his home. Toward the end of our visit, several young men came to see what the “blancs” were doing in their neighborhood. One particular young man broke my heart as an educator – he wanted to show us his notebook full of notes from his mechanics class. He wanted to be a mechanical engineer. He was so proud of his work and you could tell he truly had that fire in his belly. To think that here this young man was living in these conditions – and how he was willing to work so hard to improve himself. His desire to better himself made me think back to our American students and how all too often they take their education for granted.
Sweating, we all got back on the bus to travel to Prolonge- Nativity Village. This is the village where our Sister School is located. The village is located in a swamp. While most of the village has been moved to an area of higher ground, a few families still remain in the swamp building homes close to sewage and one of the biggest mosquito breeding grounds I have ever seen. We saw a woman fishing for inch-sized crabs in the swamp – fishing for a meal for her family and perhaps extra income. A couple other women and I had a chance to visit with a mother of a newborn and hold him. The mother was so proud of her baby! Half of all the deaths in Haiti are of children under the age of five. To think of how much love a mother has for her children – only to know the odds that one or two of them will die is unbearable.
I walked into the village and was greeted by the school children – all dressed in blue. I was asked by the principal to speak to the children in French about the importance of listening to their teachers and keeping up with their studying. Afterwards, I had a chance to meet the young women in the vocational training program I helped design as part of my doctoral studies – it made me so proud to see the pride the young women took in showing off their new uniforms and how they held their head up high – something you don’t see that often in women in Haiti. Finally, I had a chance to tour the classrooms – I saw a preschool classroom with 56 students eating their only meal for the day – a huge plate of rice and beans. This is one of the ways that FFP has identified to keep kids in school – if they get a free meal; they are more likely to stay in school. There was only one teacher with three toys in the classroom – amazing classroom management!
After the others in our group managed to get the bus unstuck from a mud pit – we all left to prepare for our trip to a remote village to view Food for the Poor’s newest village – and share in a community-wide ribbon-cutting celebration.
As we approached the village, we were greeted by the entire village – the first thing we saw was all the children lined up to greet us. We saw several cases of malnutrition – little children with orange hair and distended bellies. Word soon got out to the surrounding villages that FFP was going to be serving a meal – and all too quickly a huge mass of close to 1,000 people seemed to converge at once. It was pretty overwhelming. There was one little guy called FeFe that really touched my heart – one of the men with us gave him energy bars, but he could not get enough. He was so frail and he held on so tight to anyone who held him. I keep praying that he doesn’t become part of the statistics on childhood mortality.
As we drove home, we had our scariest experience in Haiti – a gang street fight. Two gangs were throwing rocks across the street at each other. Pretty big ones at that! Our driver made the decision to drive quickly through the fray. Our bus got hit by a rock. To me, the scene reminded me of the importance of stability in the efforts to promote development – what promotes stability? What promotes instability? These are questions that still linger with me – but I keep coming back to the starfish story: as long as we can make a difference for the one, that is all that can be asked of us!
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
Principal, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street
Loveland, Colorado 80537
970-635-5830
“Providing Roots and Wings for over 50 years”
St. John's Mission Statement
In communion with our families, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School provides a respectful Catholic environment dedicated to developing the whole child through academic achievement, personal responsibility and the formation of faith-filled citizens in a place where Christ is ever present.
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