KD'S Korner In Haiti (Arrival and Day 1)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

After a full day of traveling which was pretty much uneventful I arrived in Port Au Prince, Haiti.  Where I was to be picked up and taken to God’s Littlest Angels orphanage.

When I arrived at the international airport in Port Au Prince (PAP), Haiti’s capital, I had a hard time believing that I was in Haiti.  I think that most of it had to do with the fact that I grew up in Miami which has similar sights, sound and weather to what I saw in Port Au Prince.  But there is one thing that is VERY different and that is the roads and the way people drive. 

For the most part the roads are VERY bumpy and very few were properly paved.  On my way up to GLA,  I was very surprised to see two stop lights up in the northern part of PAP.  Thankfully we had great Haitian drivers who knew how to not only drive the roads but knew how to get us up into the mountains where GLA is located. J

A feeling that I had thru out  my entire travel experience was one of PEACE…one that I can only explain as God’s peace that passes all understanding.  I feel that this peace comes from being in the smack dab middle of God’s will by being here with GLA.  I also feel that being in God’s will is also why I am not dealing with any kind of culture shock J

So all that happened yesterday, Tuesday, April 13

Today, Wednesday, April 14, was what I considered the beginning of my GLA experience. J   After having a great night sleep and a wonderful time with God, we headed down to the Main House from the Toddler House where I sleep.

A little back ground on that …

GLA consists of two houses that approximately 15 minutes away from each other when you walk…less if you drive it. 

The Toddler House is where they take care of the children ages 2 years old and up.  I am staying in a smaller house just adjacent to the Toddler House.  My room is big enough to hold a single bed and two bunk beds.

The Main House is where the offices are and where they house the babies under the age of two years old.  They also have a NICU where a nurse helps to take care of the babies who are premature, ill or need more specialized attention.   The third floor has a balcony where volunteers can take a baby at a time up to in order to give them one on one attention.  The view of the mountains from the balcony is absolutely gorgeous and I will be posting pictures of it tomorrow.

So today I helped with babies and was given permission to help work on some issues related to child development and how to help the babies grow and thrive while they are at GLA.   I am very excited to be able to use my child development degree to help GLA and the kids and look forward to how things evolve while I am here.

Thanks for reading the first entry of KD’S KORNER in Haiti!  I look forward to writing more tomorrow.