I met one of the teams I am leading on behalf of Global Orphan today and we arrived safely in Port-au-Prince after an hour delay from a cargo hatch that would not close. It's kind of fun seeing anew the eyes of a team that is experiencing Haiti for the first time and hearing much of the same reactions to Haitian life that is now defined as normal in post-quake Haiti.
But the icing on the cake for the day came as we pulled into the OTV. We were delayed because of traffic and the overwhelmed gas stations. Apparently a shipment of gas did not come into Haiti and everyone is swarming the gas stations just to get a little- and if you're lucky, it'll cost you $10 a gallon. Back to our arrival- the kids were waiting for us and it was just getting dark. As I climbed out of the bed of our pick-up I was greeted with a scream and a hug by Renise. Renise is the young 13 year old who before the earthquake was a restavek- a child slave and she was raped and became pregnant. The earthquake was a blessing for her although initially she was homeless but then was connected with the Global Orphan Project. Under their care she received prenatal care and then gave birth to a baby girl about 3 weeks ago. If you go to Global Orphan's website you can read the whole story on the blog there. She did not know I was coming so the surprise was overwhelming even to me! Tomorrow I will meet and hold her baby (I'll attach pictures- don't worry). Great start to my time here.
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