These are images of humans in Haiti. I visited two orphanages, one in San Repos and one in St. Marc. Scott Bonnell of Hope to Haiti created these safe havens. His goal was to help one child at a time. The foundation provides food, shelter, education, safety and hope to orphans in Haiti. Scott is hands-on and travels back and forth from Florida monthly. When he arrives the children jump into his arms. Heart-warming events like these touch my soul.
Haiti’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010, left 220,000 people dead, 300,000 injured and rubble nearly everywhere. Subsequently, a Cholera outbreak infected over 700,000 people. Deforestation has left the land very vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes. Flooding, mudslides and wind damage are part of life and death in Haiti.
I met a man selling his wares on the beach. I wanted to support him so I bought some souvenirs. He was kind, and we talked. I asked him how he fared after the earthquake, and he showed me the scar on his ankle where he had been trapped. He shared that he lost his wife and mother. He told me that he lives in a makeshift tent made of metal and some sort of plastic roof and saving up to get an apartment. He told me that his children cry and are scared when there is a bad storm. I began to cry. This man put his hand on my shoulder and said, “no Lisa, don’t worry, God is good.” Go figure, this human with so little was comforting me.