The Restavek Freedom Foundation Blog

Latest Update from Haiti part 9

We wanted to share a powerful, personal message we just received from our team in Haiti about the ongoing relief efforts for children in restavek:

“You know our hearts belong to children in restavek, so I found myself observing the treatment of children at the Nazareen compound.  Yesterday I observed a girl, watching her family eat spaghetti. She was the ONLY one not eating! This morning I called her aside to find out her situation. Her name is Manouchka, and she’s 9 years old. She came from Lanogave, and has been living with the family, who never sent her to school. They’re not related to her. Manouchka’s mother died.  Even at the compound, the family feeds first and she eats last.

This morning the family received food and gave her none of it.  Manuchka told me that the woman told her to find a family that’s willing to take her. I took her to the house and gave her a peanut butter/jelly sandwich, a banana and a glass of milk. “Please, take me. You can have me. They don’t want me anymore,” she said. My heart breaks for Manuchka. I told her to come to the house for food this evening. Manuchka said that when the earthquake came the family was inside. She was caring for the family’s child. “When the house shook, my ’aunt’ said, “This must be a very big truck because the earth is moving. Then we heard people screaming.. we went outside and the house split in half.”

Many people will abandoned their child in restavek in time of great need, as was the case during the hurricanes last year.  On my way to get fuel to start delivering food, we were stuck in traffic. So I began to observe human interaction. One woman, walking on the sidewalk, came face to face to a man, apparently an old friend of hers. She burst out laughing and said, “Paul, look at you. I thought you were dead.” They hugged. Ray, Klint and I laughed.  Then we drove past a building and saw the heads of two cadavers sandwiched between two slabs of cement. The people apparently were sitting between two floors. The smell was too much to bear.  Now that we’ve been in Haiti for a while, we’re accustomed to the smell of death.  With a reserve of fuel, we’ll be able to distribute more food, and support communities where we have children. I am mentally tired, so disregard any spelling errors. I will have more for you later.”

I love you so much