Orphanage #3- Children of Hope (L'enfant de l'espoir)

This is the third orphanage that I visited with Sustain Haiti. It's about a kilometer down a dirt road out in the country between Leogane and Gressier. There are 35 children here altogether plus about that many that have been given to other orphanages because they can't feed them. They have nothing more than a dirt floor inside a tent to sleep on. There are no bathrooms, no electricity, and no running water. But they smile and play and seem happier even though they are living in the worst living conditions of the three orphanages that we visited. The one thing that they have going for them here is that they live in the clean, fresh air surrounded by beauty and plenty of open space to play. Could this be an essential ingredient to a happy childhood?
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Dustin's heart is full.

Janae playing jumprope with the girls.

Stephanie playing "Red Light, Green Light"

Anyone remember how to play "Cat's Cradle?"

When you don't have string to fly your kite, you unravel a rice bag and tie the pieces of string together.

The Sustain Haiti volunteers brought them some pretty cool toys to play with including a mysterious flying disc.

Duck, duck, duck,duck.....Goose!

Jake (not pictured) shared his juggling skills and captivated them with his magic tricks.

Bree teaching them the colors in English.

The toddlers love to be held, but you have to be pretty brave to do this because diapers are a luxury and not a necessity here.

I've felt something special about "L'enfant de l'espoir" orphanage every time that I have visited. When I look in the children's eyes, my heart burns. Their countenances seem to shine to me, their eyes are full of light. Here is where my heart is in Haiti. It's where I long to be when I'm stuck in traffic, bogged down by the filthiness in the city, or overwhelmed by the human suffering that surrounds me. I can't wait to help make a difference in the lives of these children. This is why I came to Haiti.

We have plans underway to help these kids get permanent shelter and a school. Only six of them are attending school right now. Jean Marc (the orphanage director) has a design for a children's home and school that we are going to help him make a reality. See my first post to see some of the sustainable systems that we'll put in place at the school to save money and teach self reliance.