Today was a CRAZY day! For breakfast we had french toast, oatmeal, apricots, fresh cherry juice, scrambled eggs, and Kristina's vegan banana bread with Dory Mamba peanut butter. We left the guest house at 0920 to head to Cite Soleil, the largest slum in the Western Hemisphere. I don't think any of us newbies knew what to expect. I had a small idea but when I truly saw the region, I couldn't believe it. More people than you've ever seen at one time, crammed into huts and tarps or tents or nothing at all....the smell of sewage and fresh waste and dirty water ditches filled with every kind of trash imaginable....livestock wandering around. The cobblestone streets are covered with filth and grime. You have no idea what you're walking in. As the truck is driving down the street children are running around yelling, "HEY YOU! HEY YOU! HEY YOOOU!" to us. They clamber onto the truck as we stop at the designated spot. The doors open and we're all attacked by children wanting attention, needing to be touched, held. I've never been CLIMBED on like a tree by anyone, much less someone taller than me! I went over to the water truck to help with the water hose and to make sure buckets were lined up properly. You've never seen so many people in a single line with their water buckets. You've never seen such aggression and pandemonium, panic, fear of losing a bucket and not having water. Fingers are being jammed in an effort to push filled buckets away, people are pushing, shoving, waiting. Water is splashing everywhere. People would return time and time again until the water runs out. With clinging children the team headed out to the sea where the slum turns into a giant crater-like area. Here is where business is done--every kind of business. Cooking, eating, going to the bathroom, throwing trash, burying the dead. It's a home for livestock as well, who soak in the mud. Along the way we're stumbling on rocks, broken glass, trash, body fluids. The kids are barefoot, some are naked. We were told the story of the surrounding areas and sang songs together before returning to the water truck. At that point we said goodbye and went to the water truck stop, where we filled up and prepared to do one more water run, but in a different area of Cite Soleil. By the time we were finished, we were wet and filthy. It was hard to say goodbye to the kids. They knew we were leaving and that they might see another team from Healing Haiti come back next week. The experience was eye-opening, almost traumatic, definitely overwhelming. As an active participant, I saw a glimpse of a people who have NOTHING and still are so joyous.
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