Day 3: Home for the Sick & Dying Babies, Dary's special needs orphanage, Apparent Project

Church & Home for the Sick and Dying:
We all woke up by 5:20 a.m. and went to church. It was an interesting experience for those that haven't had a chance to go to church here with the Haitian's. Many walked around the church the entire time they were there, while some sat on the ground and knelt on their chair to pray. The pastor spoke in English for a prayer and they sang a song in English. We all walked back to the guest house and had breakfast before heading out to the Home of the Sick and Dying babies, which is a Catholic based charity facilitated by the Nuns.

Give, but give until it hurts - Mother Teresa

At the Home for the Sick and Dying Babies there were so many children with multiple needs... diaper changes, bottles, mediation, transportation.  But, the greatest need was love. We gave our hearts freely:  a hug, a smile, undivided attention.  It was an unbelievable experience.  We made a difference in a sick child's life for a moment.  Then , the moment was over, and the giving hurt.
~Lori

Dary's special needs orphanage:
We came back to the guest house and made peanut butter sandwiches and put together snacks for the children and staff at Dary's. The first few minutes were a difficult transition into the orphanage because it had a strong urine smell. We had a chance to blow bubbles, give massages and rub lotion on the children there. The children there had various degrees of disabilities. Most of them could walk, several could only crawl around and a few couldn't move on their own. Later we talked about how even though there's a language barrier between ourselves and the Haitians, the language of love is truly universal.
After we left Dary's we had a chance to get a tour of Apparent Project where we got to see how they make their clay beads, cereal box beads, bracelets/necklaces, how they make the handles for their mugs out of clay, head bands and t-shirts. There are 190 parents that are employed at Apparent project. This place helps give jobs to parents who would have had to give their kids up for adoption or put into an orphanage because they didn't have any income before working at Apparent Project.
~Stacey