I remember one time we were in Haiti and we had just sat down to our lunch which by Haitian standards would have been a feast. A pastor came into the room and we told him to have a seat and have some lunch with us. He protested and we insisted he join us. His response was “no that is ok, I had something to eat yesterday”. I can’t imagine anyone here in the states turning down a meal because they had eaten something the day before.
The cost of food has risen probably around 80% in Haiti. For someone who earns probably the equivalent of $1.00 US per day, that can mean starvation. Just imagine you are a mother, you have several children and you have no food….. NOTHING! What do you do? In Haiti I have actually seen Mother’s boiling a pot of water. (Dirty water to begin with) to the pot they will add a rock or two. You heard me right a rock. This is what they will feed their children for the day. The water from boiling a rock. Children will eat dirt, rocks even goat feces just to fill up their hungry stomach. You can’t imagine the pain these people go through unless you have seen it firsthand. Then we really don’t know their pain. You see when we go to Haiti as Americans, we always know we have a return airplane ticket. So we are only a couple of hours away from civilization, clean water and food. We always have that thought in our heads. The only thought in a Haitians head is how will I survive today, not tomorrow just today.
Please find it in your heart to help us help these people and give them hope for tomorrow.
Children's Care Outreach 
What is happening there is truly awful. The worst part about it, is that it is not an actual food shortage, people just don’t have the money to pay for the food. We are allowing a social construction (money) to destroy our humanity. It breaks my heart to think of children surviving on fried mud and butter. In the west we have no idea how privileged we actually are. Even those that are living on Welfare are better off than the poor Hatian citizens. Just our ability to waste resources in the way that we do is evidence of our privilege.
By: Renee on May 30, 2008
at 5:38 pm