Carnival in Haiti and finding things to be thankful for when it may be tough
Loud music, people dressed in costumes, parties, over indulgence, lots of money spent, parades, pagents, floats, masked balls, and crazy people.
What does this sound like to you? I'm sure not something that goes on in Haiti, but it does. Right now it is Carnival season here. I'm not going to go into great details, but its like the Haitian Mardi Gras. It starts the end of January and ends on what we know as Fat Tuesday. It usually peaks on weekends, but this week happens to be Carnival week. Schools are not in session, many businesses close down, and everybody is out to party.
Now this sounds fun, right? A party the whole town participates in, I'm in, right? Well, a lot of these parties are not quite what they sound like. I'm sure there are great times had, but this is also when crazy people go out.
Today we went to a hospital in a nearby town to take a baby to get her TB test read. Along the way we encountered a few seats of people blocking the road. They had very disturbing and quite ugly costumes/masks and would hold a rope out so we couldn't get through. Then they would come up to the truck (we had all of our windows up) and pound on it and ask us for money to get through. We got through them all by telling them we had a baby and needed to get to the hospital. Some listened right away and others we had to argue for a bit to get through. We where not going to give them any money to feed into that mentality that this was okay because it is not--at all!
This is just disturbing to me, why would people do something like this? I don't know. Maybe they are really horrible people and don't care about anyone, but more likely maybe they are desperate and just need money. Horrible! This is not the way to go about getting money from people no matter who you are or what your story is.
Somethin even more sad happened on the way home. We took the back roads to aviod these and along the way there was a group of kids trying to do the same thing. A couple had real masks and a couple had masks that they created out of trash (I like their creativity, but not the meaning behind it). I mean these kids--as young as four years old where out there doing dances that made them look rediculous to try to get money. Obviously this barricade was much easier to get through and did not require stopping as the kids all moved out of the way, but still these where kids.
The fact that these kids think it is "cool" to do something like this sickens me. Sickens me! I mean I guess its similar to the dumb things kids to in America to look cool (ie smoke, drink, have sex, etc.), but really it all sickens me. Its sad that these kids know these evil ways so early in life and that its so engrained in their minds that its fun for them to do. I wish I could show each of them what real love is and what God's love is.
This is why our world is so messed up. Parents let kids do things like this and often think its funny. They laugh at the fact that they act like gangsters or encourage them to stand up for themselves in harsh ways even when they are in the wrong. Parents have a hard time seeing the bad in their children and don't parent anymore. Its sad. Parents step up and love your kids. Don't be their best friend, be their parent! The case in Haiti is that many of these kids are are left alone far too often because they have to.There isn't any other option usually. Young children are left in the care of children not too much older--if that's even an option. I can't get over the image of these young kids in the street trying to be cool imitating people who are far from any good role model.
Things like this are real here, but I can't focus on that. Today I'm so thankful we had that hospital to go to, its the go to hospital for our kids. HIV stuff, TB stuff, bloodwork and labs (although sometimes we have a doctor come to us), its where some of our kids went when they where too sick to be here with cholera, its a vital place for us and so many other people. While there I got to visit a premie baby that was abandoned who will be coming here. I was so thankful for the care she was recieving. In that same room there was at least six other babies being cared for in the same way a couple with parents standing by. A room next door held many children and most had parents standing vigil--such a great thing to see in Haiti. One of the kids in our Medika Mamba (Peanut Butter Medicine) program was there with her mother and she had just recieved a cleft pallete surgery--I'm thankful for that.
Nearby the hosptital there was a newly finished soccer stadium--thats huge here! We drove on a paved road (part of the way) and there are more and more of those showing up in Haiti all around. Our kids are all healthy (for the most part--there are always runny noses or something with all these kids) and that my friends is worth so much thanks! There is lush green vegetation all over up here between the small villages, that provides food/income for many people.
There are so many things to be thankful for here. When one is overwhelmed by sadness, sorrow, or negativity the best thing to do is to notice all the positive things happening. Sometimes its hard, but its always there.
What does this sound like to you? I'm sure not something that goes on in Haiti, but it does. Right now it is Carnival season here. I'm not going to go into great details, but its like the Haitian Mardi Gras. It starts the end of January and ends on what we know as Fat Tuesday. It usually peaks on weekends, but this week happens to be Carnival week. Schools are not in session, many businesses close down, and everybody is out to party.
Now this sounds fun, right? A party the whole town participates in, I'm in, right? Well, a lot of these parties are not quite what they sound like. I'm sure there are great times had, but this is also when crazy people go out.
Today we went to a hospital in a nearby town to take a baby to get her TB test read. Along the way we encountered a few seats of people blocking the road. They had very disturbing and quite ugly costumes/masks and would hold a rope out so we couldn't get through. Then they would come up to the truck (we had all of our windows up) and pound on it and ask us for money to get through. We got through them all by telling them we had a baby and needed to get to the hospital. Some listened right away and others we had to argue for a bit to get through. We where not going to give them any money to feed into that mentality that this was okay because it is not--at all!
This is just disturbing to me, why would people do something like this? I don't know. Maybe they are really horrible people and don't care about anyone, but more likely maybe they are desperate and just need money. Horrible! This is not the way to go about getting money from people no matter who you are or what your story is.
Somethin even more sad happened on the way home. We took the back roads to aviod these and along the way there was a group of kids trying to do the same thing. A couple had real masks and a couple had masks that they created out of trash (I like their creativity, but not the meaning behind it). I mean these kids--as young as four years old where out there doing dances that made them look rediculous to try to get money. Obviously this barricade was much easier to get through and did not require stopping as the kids all moved out of the way, but still these where kids.
The fact that these kids think it is "cool" to do something like this sickens me. Sickens me! I mean I guess its similar to the dumb things kids to in America to look cool (ie smoke, drink, have sex, etc.), but really it all sickens me. Its sad that these kids know these evil ways so early in life and that its so engrained in their minds that its fun for them to do. I wish I could show each of them what real love is and what God's love is.
This is why our world is so messed up. Parents let kids do things like this and often think its funny. They laugh at the fact that they act like gangsters or encourage them to stand up for themselves in harsh ways even when they are in the wrong. Parents have a hard time seeing the bad in their children and don't parent anymore. Its sad. Parents step up and love your kids. Don't be their best friend, be their parent! The case in Haiti is that many of these kids are are left alone far too often because they have to.There isn't any other option usually. Young children are left in the care of children not too much older--if that's even an option. I can't get over the image of these young kids in the street trying to be cool imitating people who are far from any good role model.
Things like this are real here, but I can't focus on that. Today I'm so thankful we had that hospital to go to, its the go to hospital for our kids. HIV stuff, TB stuff, bloodwork and labs (although sometimes we have a doctor come to us), its where some of our kids went when they where too sick to be here with cholera, its a vital place for us and so many other people. While there I got to visit a premie baby that was abandoned who will be coming here. I was so thankful for the care she was recieving. In that same room there was at least six other babies being cared for in the same way a couple with parents standing by. A room next door held many children and most had parents standing vigil--such a great thing to see in Haiti. One of the kids in our Medika Mamba (Peanut Butter Medicine) program was there with her mother and she had just recieved a cleft pallete surgery--I'm thankful for that.
Nearby the hosptital there was a newly finished soccer stadium--thats huge here! We drove on a paved road (part of the way) and there are more and more of those showing up in Haiti all around. Our kids are all healthy (for the most part--there are always runny noses or something with all these kids) and that my friends is worth so much thanks! There is lush green vegetation all over up here between the small villages, that provides food/income for many people.
There are so many things to be thankful for here. When one is overwhelmed by sadness, sorrow, or negativity the best thing to do is to notice all the positive things happening. Sometimes its hard, but its always there.
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