Saturday, June 04, 2011
At six o’clock this morning, Lex started stirring. As he listened to the water pouring off the roof of our office building, where our family now sleeps, he groaned, saying “the people are all hungry now.” Even though I’ve lived in Haïti for the better part of the past 11 years, I still think mostly as an American. “Why is he saying this today? What’s different about today than any other day?” Then it hits me.
It’s been raining for about a week now. We have a joke here in Haïti. It goes something like, “Haitians aren’t scared of cars, but they are terrified of rain.” When one drives through a market area, people are all in the streets, despite the vehicles that are at times just inches from them. Let a little rain start falling and the whole market place clears out! Most of the people equate getting wet in the rain with getting sick. Getting sick is not only uncomfortable, but it means loss of opportunity to make any money and sometimes turns into cashing in on chickens and goats to pay for medical care.
Most of the people in our town live day to day, dependent on their ability to create some income that day. They sell things in the streets to make a little something to buy a cup of rice and some oil, so they can feed their kids. Or they sell in the open markets, traveling to surrounding areas so that they have something coming in each day on which to survive. One rainy day often means one hungry day. How about 7 rainy days?
This was Lex’s motivation to get out of bed this morning. We are expecting a large delivery of food from the world food program, so that we can distribute it to feed the people. In order to receive it, we need to have the storage space available. With construction going on, we have materials in storage. We have pharmacy supplies and administrative offices taking up other space that would normally be available. Today, all of our staff will sacrifice their time and their space to make room for rice. It won’t sit in storage for long, but it needs a clean, dry place to be distributed from and their office needs are now a secondary need. Each one of our staff knows the misery of hunger and they are more than willing to give up the space in order to feed their neighbors.
When our school/church/community center is complete, it will serve the community well at times like this, too. Many people’s homes are just not adequate in storm times. Roofs often leak and the inhabitants become cold and wet, with no place to seek shelter. Others’ homes flood. Having a warm, dry place to seek shelter during the storm is so important. Please consider supporting the construction of this building with your prayers and finances, and by telling your friends, family and business associates about it. Together, we will make a difference in the lives of many.