TG Day 3: Gertrude's & The Overlook

Day 3 here in Haiti, live from the Syds:

Here is a quick overview of the day!

                Today we started the morning off real well with some fantastic French toast and EGGcelent eggs! After, we took the tap tap over to Gertrude’s orphanage. This orphanage is not like many, in the fact that it is specifically designed for children with special needs, housing few who are able body kids.  Some of us were allowed the ability to occupy the younger children in order for others to help out with a Special Olympics put on for the older kids.  At Gertrude’s  Special Olympics  they played a series of games. The first was similar to bean bag toss. One person would hold a piece of cardboard with holes, while another person would help those in the wheel chairs, throw the bean bags. The second game was basketball. A man wore a “hoop hat” and those children involved would throw a ball into the hat because ball is life, especially in Haiti J The final game involved cups arranged in a pyramid. Contestants had to knock down this pyramid of three cups with a squirt gun. To say the least, it was pretty intense.        

                But the other side of Gertrude’s contained a completely different story. Surrounded by around 15 little munchkins and monkeys, we attempted to occupy the little ones in many different ways. Activities included chalk drawing, puzzle doing, bracelet making, and using everything in us to create happiness within these beautiful kids. Although hectic, every moment throughout our day at Gertrude’s created an appreciation and acceptance for people with special needs. There is so much more to be told about our journey at Gertrude’s but it is best told from our eyes, which will touch on later in the blog.     

                After saying goodbye and giving our final hugs, we practically pulled away from Gertrude’s. We stopped back at the guest house for a quick snack break and a chance to finally catch our breath.  Upon finishing our snacks, and taking our breaths, we again boarded the tap tap and headed up the gorgeous mountains of Haiti. We were all surprised to learn that Haiti has breathtaking and completely underrated mountains. Along the way we stopped at a couple street vending areas where we were able to shop around from vender to vender.  After getting trampled with offers, we all left with things we don’t even remember buying. If you think you have self-control, come to Haiti and your savings account will be emptied from the fantastic deals offered every second by the 5 different venders surrounding you.  You haven’t been overwhelmed till you’ve tried shopping in Haiti, trust us; just thinking back on this experience has raised our blood pressure.

                With shopper’s remorse, we returned to the guest house and headed to the neighboring hotel to take a refreshing swim. We returned to the guest house attracted to the enticing aroma of tacos.  (S/o to TG for teaching us to write beautiful sentences like that last one).  It’s only appropriate that learning how to salsa dance follows tacos, right? That was pretty much our day in a nutshell. Now we would like to share our personal stories from Gertrude’s.

Btw, we just took a break from blogging to go up to the deck to play in the rain and use the smooth surface of the deck as a slip and slide. You never know what you’re going to get in Haiti. But continuing…

Sydnee:

Upon our arrival at Gertrude’s, I took in the sight of a room full of teeny munchkins before heading into a space occupied by the older kids. As a group, we met everyone then split up into older and younger sections and were allowed to help with either group. Immediately, I gravitated towards the younger children, but couldn’t quite find my match. About 10 minutes into the festivities, Deb had asked me to grab a girl about 1-2 years old because she was trying to eat the beads at the bracelet crafting table. This girl was so incredibly busy; it was tough to keep up. She was always on the go whether it was wobbling from toy to toy or climbing onto the rocking horse.  Alongside all of our running around she somehow managed to squeeze in time to taste almost everything: a marker, beads, chalk, a card, a chair, and my hair, literally anything…. I can truly say I have met my match. She had this beautiful abundance of energy and was so incredibly happy with anything and everything surrounding her. Although she was only 1-2, and many kids this age are similar in activity level, she opened my eyes to recognize the power of simplistic happiness. We can find this in the people surrounding us no matter the situation we are in and the challenges we are faced with. I will never forget Kencia.

Sydney:

Today broke me.

 I have never truly felt heart break until today, and it was completely unexpected. I had been looking forward to going to Gertrude’s since meeting one because I want to work with people with special needs for a living. The moment I arrived the only thing on my mind was holding hands and partaking in the common activity of wheel chair races. After receiving the tour of Gertrude’s, I started heading to the back half of the building to be a part of the festivities; only to be stopped my Colleen, holding a baby and  in tears asking me to please grab the other baby who was by herself. I comforted her and told her that I would take care of it. I mean how could I say no to a crying Mrs. O’Neil? I turned around the corner and my heart drop to my stomach as a saw a beautiful little girl that looked practically like a newborn, sitting awkwardly in a wheel chair that was far too large for her.  Her big brown eyes locked with mine and I grabbed her and nestled her comfortably in my arms, trying so hard not to hurt her, or break her; she was so fragile.. Her name was Sarah and she has micro syphilis, meaning her brain growth is slower than her body growth.  I found out that this baby girl, which looked only a few months old, was really two years old. This hit me, as I started to think that my nephew at this age was walking and talking, and my sweet girl couldn’t even hold her head up. For the rest of the day we danced, watched the other kids do crafts, looked at the flowers and I even got her to crack a smile, which was unusual due to her slow development.  And sang baby beluga until she fell asleep against my chest. For 30 minutes, I watched her sleep and held her close to me trying to give her every bit of my love that I had, until it was the moment that we had to go. It is hard to even begin to describe the heartbreak I felt placing my peacefully rested girl back into her wheel chair and kissing her goodbye. Tears of sadness, happiness, gratefulness and appreciation rolled down my face all at once, as I couldn’t even look back when leaving the gate. I can truly say that my heart will be left in Haiti, in the arms of my Sweet baby Sarah.

Once again, thank you all for your consistent prayers and thoughts as our lives are greatly impacted every moment. We miss you all and love you too.

-Syd R and Syd B <3

PS. To Michelle’s parents- be proud of Michelle, she’s survived 3 days and only has a slight pink on her cheeks. No severe sun burn yet J