Tent City

Although I am eager to share my experience last night in the tent city I feel at a loss.
After a morning of baby loving we had lunch and prepared for our departure to the tent city, the drive through Peitionville, Delmas and Port au Prince was gutwrenching. Having been to Haiti a couple times now I am familiar with these areas, the drive from the airport two weeks ago was a different route and I didnt see quite as much of the devastated areas. I saw them yesterday though. There were collapsed buildings everywhere you looked, stores and shopped moved outside under tarps with the damaged or demolished buildings behind them. One of the largest markets in the area, that once stood tall and wide was but a mere pile of debris- I was told this site of the largest death toll of foreigners. As we continued the drive I couldnt help but think back to January when I was sitting at home scrambling to get all the information while mounring for a country I have fallen completely in love with. Although Haiti is no longer a hot topic- it became incredibly clear to me that the suffering continues day to day.
We dropped off two of our volunteers at the airport and continued North just outside of Port au Prince. There are so many tent cities throughout the city- some more organized and sustainable than others- as we drove into the countryside we saw a field filled with tents- however these were not legit tents, these were stick structures with sheets, blankets and towels drapped from a fragile frame-unlike the other tent cities we witnessed- this particular one could not keep ANYONE dry during this long rainy season. This was a mere 2 minutes outside the city- how far is our aid actually reaching?
We finally reached the tent city we were to be visiting approximately 15 minutes outside of Port, this is a fairly new tent city that is filled with displaced citizens from the Delmas region (the area they were squatting on had flooded with the onset of rainy season)- we were told approximatley 5000 people are staying here compared to one in Port that housed over 50,000. ( I will try and post some pictures sometime this wknd to give you a better idea of the layout) The tents were long white cylinders that housed anywhere from 4-8 people (old and young), when we got out of the trucks we got into small groups to walk around the area and talk to the people. Rhyan, Stella, myself and Hope were a team- Rhyan knows quite a bit of Creole and I can understand it more than I can speak it- we also had two "security" men with us to keep things under control. Walking amoungst the tents I was immediately taken back- these people were an hour drive from where they called home, they were living in a segregated field away from their school, their work and potentially their family.
The people were eager to have us visit, they often stood and gave us thier seat (to which we had to take as this was their means of hospitality), we asked them how they were, what their name was and many continued to tell us their stories mostly stemming from the earthquake. One older women called me over, she asked me to go into her tent where her older mother laid as I walked in I was suddenly engulfed in the heat of the enclosure, flys all around my head, with the little Creole I had I listened as she spoke for quite a long time, I was only able to pick out about 1/4. Finally I called Rhyan over and again we attempted to communicate- the women told us how her home has been destroyed, she had been in the house when it fell and had sustained injuries. Her mother did not look like she was in good shape and she too attempted to talk to us but we were able to understand very little. It was very clear that these two women were just eager to have someone listen- someone who reocgnized the pain and suffering they have endured and who genuinely cared about them. Continuing on we were suddenly a part of a giant mob of children, teens and women- they were fasicanted with us and often grabbed our hands and arms as we walked.
The next tent we visited was an older women who had three children, one was sleeping, one was laying across the ground and another huddled in a slump- we quickly learned that these children had serious developmental delays and/or disabilities. Nevertheless she invited us into her tent, she explained that her children has once recieved help and assitance but now she was alone with all three with no resources. Her one son suffered from seizures regularly but the doctor on site had no medication to help him. Her older daughter looked as though she suffered from cerebral palsy or a similar condition- she laughed and giggled as we interacted with her on the tent floor. The mother looked defeated, she was most definitely struggling with the care of her children and no alternative in sight. She asked us to take a family photo and her faced beamed as she looked at it afterwards on the screen. Her words, her struggles and her pain are forever burned in my memory.
We continued our jounrey throughout, playing with the children as we walked, stopping to greet every tent and offer our support and listening ear. The broken families broke my heart, hearing of all the "missing" and dead family members who had family still hoping and praying that one day they will return. To share every story I heard would take days on end- however I assure you that this is not an ideal setting and I am completely saddened by what these people are forced to endure on a daily basis.
We showed a film later in the afternoon- a film in Creole, 1000's of people gathered to watch and although I didnt understand the film it was captivating to see them find enjoy and comfort in the solidarity of the group and the escape of entertainment. A group of young men pulled me aside, one of the spokesperson who had some english skills and the rest with a list of questions-they asked me which organization I was from, what we did and why were here. They then explained that they had formed a youth group within the tent city to adovocate for the needs of the youth, he told me that they only had school available for kindergartent students- no elementary, no highschool and no professional school and asked if I could help them advocate for more education availability. After further discussion I promised to ask some questions and report back any information I could find. ( I later asked a man and he said the governing committee is working on gathering the supplies necessary- tents/teachers/curriculum) and thus I left the issue there hoping that something would materialize for this group of eager men.

I know I have not shared everything and to be honest I dont think I can at this point, perhaps when I get some pictures up they will help to depict some of what I saw.
In the meantime, if you can do me one thing- tell people about what is happening in Haiti- remind people that the suffering continues depsite the lack of news coverage- advocate for our vulnerable neighbours here in Haiti and pray that their resilency and strenght will carry them through.
I am just taking a relaxing day today- I was sick when I got home last night and I think it is simple exhasuation. Have a good wknd!
More tomorrow....