Since January, I have purposely avoided posting about what is going on in Haiti. It’s not that I have put it in the back of my mind, on the contrary, I think about it everyday – several times a day. The feelings I have about how things have progressed since the earthquake are basically: disappointment, frustration and hopeless.

It’s been six months and there are still dead bodies under rubble. I just can’t  understand how after all this time and the aid that’s been pouring into the country, things look worse than they did on January 13th. Many people are discussing how best to move forward with the reconstruction (myself included) and how the government can strengthen its services to better serve the Haitian people. There’s also talk about the upcoming elections which I am sure is going to drain the already badly distributed resources.

All this is fine and dandy, but what about the sick babies living in tents? What about the people who

made it out of the earthquake unscathed, but have now contracted preventable diseases due to the lack of housing and sanitation? Don’t get me started on the people who need mental health services, but culturally can’t grasp the concept even if these services were available…it’s just terrible!

I watched one of the CNN documentaries about an orphanage operated by Americans that has struggled to stay open since the earthquake. When one of the Haitian teachers was asked if he thought Haiti would come through this a better country, his answer was “No”. Can you blame him? I know that there are people who have courageously gone to Haiti to help out where they can, but in order for this widespread suffering to end there needs to be humungous change that starts at the top. We’ve gone the route of people-led rebellions enough times in the past 20+ years to know that something different is needed. I really think the Haitian people are eager for a strong leader.

So, at least once a day I take a look at pictures taken of the people trying to make it through another day under very difficult circumstances. If they are still able to find something to smile about, I can muster up enough optimism for there to one day be a better Haiti.

So the day after the earthquake in Haiti, I was trying to keep things somewhat stable for the kids and took them to school. As soon as I arrived, I had parents and teachers who I did not know coming up to me expressing their concerns about what happened. One thing that I have realized about Venezuelans is that they are genuine people.

A couple weeks after I got here, I came down with a stomach bug and had to stay in bed for two days. This meant that my husband had to to handle drop offs and pick ups, as well as meals – which meant going down to the closest restaurant for take-out. Well, once I was better and out and about, the first Venezuelan I saw who knew about my illness said “se siente usted mejor” to which I responded “si, gracias” and then he looked to the sky and said “gracias a dios”. Now I know this may sound corny, but it felt genuine. And let me tell you, I got the same reaction from everyone else who knew; including the waiter at the restaurant where my husband got the take-out

I guess it should have been no surprise when their concern multiplied for a situation that was a million times worse. Well, their kindness didn’t stop with the impromptu prayers. It was followed by an abundance of offers for help and donation. Those who couldn’t offer cash offered food. I helped out at the Haitian Embassy for a day and was astonished at the donations – from parents who recently bought clothes for their children and wanted to send them to Haiti – to a small business-owner who wanted to send her stock of cheese. I know that the world has been generously supporting the relief efforts, but I continue to feel humbled by the way Venezuelans seem to have taken the tragedy of the people in Haiti to heart.

This picture is of the donations collected at my kids’ school over the course of a couple of days. Some of the classes are also holding bake sales and next week they are putting on a play from which all the proceeds will go to the Haitian relief efforts. As if they haven’t done so much already.

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