Trip to Haiti begs question: What have I given?
At a table brimming with 14 other children, in the midst of the chaos and poverty of a third world nation, a 4-year-old girl sits quietly dissecting her sandwich into pieces, giving away two bites for each she eats.
Her name is Yolette Louis and she lives at an orphanage called My Heart’s Home in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
I met Yolette two and a half weeks ago while documenting a group of eight volunteers on a 10-day mission trip to the orphanage as part of Heart Cry International, a nonprofit based in Mount Pleasant. The time in Haiti was one of the most unexpectedly beautiful experiences of my life, but what I’ll remember most is this child who has nothing, but gives all.
Mission trips can really test your mettle. You sleep little, eat little and have little privacy. Endurance is pivotal, since you must maintain an attitude of service. Irritability is not an option.
I’ve been on service trips before, but for me, Haiti was a new frontier in character building.
One afternoon I was sitting on the floor monitoring a 3-year-old’s descent into a PB and J sandwich when I looked up to see Yolette’s simple act of altruism. She broke her meal into pieces for fellow orphanage children Djoulie and Fedeline, with the remaining third for herself.
Throughout the week, I realized Yolette does this at every meal. Her selflessness is remarkable in a person so very young. You’ve heard the phrase “ray of sunshine” – Yolette is a whole sun, beaming joy at anyone who makes eye contact.
HCI tripper Nichole Osborn refers to Yolette as “a little mama.” It’s true. I saw Yolette calm the tears of Kenlie, a constantly fussy 1-year-old. Joshua and Shilore, two of the more robust boys, were often hard to control, but quieted when Yolette, clucking like a little hen, shooed them away from smaller boys like Solomon and Jocelyn.
I watched this little girl do things I, at 21, have never done. Yolette has nothing, but she gives constantly for the benefit of those around her. She bursts through clouds like a megawatt, pint-sized Mother Teresa.
When I think of Yolette I’m forced to ask myself – what have I given? My world is wrought with advantages I take for granted. Yet with all I have, I give less than an orphan under half my age.
If we all shared like Yolette does, wouldn’t we all be better off?
There’s a lot of talk about the desolation and corruption of Haiti. It’s no secret that January’s earthquake rocked an already-broken country almost into dust. Even now the rubble has hardly been cleared, but in the eight short days I was there, I didn’t lose heart – I’d like to think I gained it.
As long as there is selflessness like Yolette’s, I believe there’s hope for Haiti.
And for humanity.
