Poverty here is rampant and overwhelming. Yesterday, we visited a refugee camp. The intention was to set up a medical clinic at the end of the camp and corral the people in. However, miscommunication and lots of mud from the rain impeded that from happening.
We did what the leader said was one of the worst things a NGO can do. We set up shop in the middle of the camp. The people began flocking in and had to be corralled in. The idea of beads, ribbon, and pop tabs created a massive herd of kids who had to be corralled into a line. I played soccer, danced, and held a little girls who marked me as her territory, not only by peeing her pants prior to me holding her, but refusing to let anyone else touch me. There were a couple of naked kids, but I am not sure if that was by choice or because of the lack of clothes.
Our team is extremely diverse and fascinatingly interesting. Almost all have done some level of traveling and we almost all have worked with poverty in the U.S. We have spent much time discussing this; the similarities are uncanny.
I am learning a little Creole, but none of it is sticking yet. I talked with one of the boys in the refugee camp yesterday in Spanish. His dad was from the Dominican Republic and his mom was from somewhere in Haiti. The more I feel like I learn about Haiti and cultural customs, the less I feel like I know.
Today we are starting camp. I think that the plan for Women's
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