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ESSAY: HAITI, ONE YEAR ON – “BUDS OF HOPE IN A FIELD OF THORNS”

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Having recently returned to Haiti a year after the capital, Port-au-Prince was devastated by an earthquake, ALEX DAY, of Samaritan’s Purse in the UK, reflects on “what has changed”…

Last year, I travelled to Haiti just a few months after the devastating earthquake. Having returned to the country in February, over a year since that dark day of 12th January, the question I am being asked most is, “what has changed?” 

I must admit, I generally answer with what I think people want to hear. It goes something like: “Well, the media likes to paint the worst picture possible. Progress is happening but is happening slowly. It’s a very complicated environment to work in.”

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Peterson at Samaritan’s Purse’s cholera treatment centre.

 

“Peterson’s last year probably typifies life for a lot of Haitians. Perhaps different struggles than those faced a year ago, but struggles all the same…You wonder when the knock-out blow will come. However, there is a sense of daily resilience; a determination to get through the day which I saw in people’s lives throughout the country. This story is not one of beds of roses but of buds of hope in a field of thorns.”

In all honesty, I have no qualifications to answer the question. I cannot answer for the 10 million or so people that live in the “lovely-ugly” paradox of Haiti. What I should tell of, is the smatterings of interactions I had with Haitian people. The stories that form a wild palette of extreme pain, overwhelming hope, heartbreaking dejection, unswerving commitment, unanswered questions, flickers of light in a dark place.

No-one encapsulates it more than Peterson. I met Peterson in one of Samaritan’s Purse’s cholera treatment centres (CTC). He survived when his house collapsed during the earthquake. Peterson and his family relocated to one of the temporary camps on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Then cholera came. He and his elder brother contracted the illness. Weak and sick, the brothers were admitted to the CTC. After several days of rehydration, his brother recovered but Peterson remained lethargic and fragile. 

Peterson is 15-months-old but looks a lot younger because of the malnutrition he suffers as his mother struggled to find adequate food for him. This is what was likely to have hindered his recovery. He has been at CTC for several weeks now as the medical staff ensure he is fed and gets better. His mum and family live right next to the CTC and come to visit every day. It’s beautiful to see them together. 

But that’s not the end of the story. After numerous examinations, one of the doctors serving in the CTC realised that Peterson has a heart defect which requires major surgery. Samaritan’s Purse is exploring how this can be treated and how they can help. 

Despite all of this, Peterson remains a happy, playful, affectionate little boy. He has bounced back from all of the challenges life has thrown at him- challenges that we cannot imagine facing in an entire lifetime let alone in one year. I cannot help but wonder what the future holds for him. What does Haiti have in store for him? What does he have in store for Haiti? 

So, “what has changed?” Peterson’s last year probably typifies life for a lot of Haitians. Perhaps different struggles than those faced a year ago, but struggles all the same. Haiti has seemingly taken more knocks in the past year than going ten rounds with Mike Tyson. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Political instability. Cholera. Civil unrest. You wonder when the knock-out blow will come. However, there is a sense of daily resilience; a determination to get through the day which I saw in people’s lives throughout the country. This story is not one of beds of roses but of buds of hope in a field of thorns. 

Samaritan’s Purse is there doing what we can to help. Building homes, providing clean water, treating sickness, removing rubble, educating communities and enhancing livelihoods. We know we are not the solution to the problem. Our goal is to walk hand-in-hand with the Haitian people as they face their daily struggles. 

We hope that in this way, we can bring transformation to people’s lives in Haiti. We hope it is amazing stories of change that hit the headlines. We hope we can be a part of a better future for Haiti. We hope. We pray. 

Alex Day is programme funding manager for Samaritan’s Purse in the UK.

www.samaritans-purse.org.uk

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