Hope in the children

We all need a little piece of hope. Kelly, one of my fellow physical therapists, walked into my office and blessed me with a delightful envelope today. The carefully packaged envelope was decorated with the names of her daughters Kelsey, Dale, Grace and many of their friends who gathered together to eat pizza last night and raise money for Haiti. The back of the envelope said “We raised $158.00 and 40¢”. I could hardly wait to bring the envelope home to show Robert. He was so grateful to receive $58 to help the people of Haiti, but when I told him that it was $158 his eyes grew big and he said “and 40¢…from kids…amazing!” The children of Haiti are blessed to have such heartfelt advocacy in their American friends. Thank you, thank you, and thank you to all who contributed.

Two phone calls came through on Robert’s cell phone with Haiti’s country code 509, but there are no voices on the end of the line. We still cannot get through and reach our family in Haiti. We maintain hopeful hearts and pray for the safety of our family with each passing minute.

There has been concern expressed by John Robert Cadet about the restaveks in Haiti. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, it comes from French reste avec that means “one who stays with”. Haiti has a long history of moving its children into servitude. Poor families often send their children to live with other families in hopes of opportunity for schooling and a better life. Unfortunately, many of these young boys and girls become slaves and never have the opportunity to go to school or to have a better life. They often sleep on dirt floors and eat scraps of food that remain after a family has eaten. Many times they are physically and emotionally abused.

Mr. Cadet escaped his life as a restavek. He had an opportunity for education in the U.S. He has dedicated his life to his foundation based in the US and Port au Prince to offer restavek children an opportunity for a better life with education and food. Fortunately, the headquarters in Haiti was spared significant damage in the earthquake, but many of the restavek children that this organization supports are missing. You can read more about his foundation at www.restavekfreedom.org

Zanmi ou yo (your friends),
Charlotte and Robert