Haitian Orphanage Visit

Marcel:
Today we visited a shelter for Haitian children. I was amazed to see how happy and joyous the children were even though they have lost so much. The most fun I had today was playing dominoes and even though the kids cheated it was all in good fun. It was truly an inspiring experience.

Bob Dylan/Jackie Chen:
The visit to the Haitian shelter in Santo Domingo made me experience the pathetic outcome of the earthquake in person. Witnessing kids without arms or with just one leg, I knew what I should give them was a smile of hope rather than complexities of sadness. Embraced by some kids as “Jackie Chen,” I decided to act as Jackie Chen. I knew that it would bring great happiness and hope to them if they believed that “Jackie Chen” had visited them. The only regret today was that we did not meet with a politician from Canada (Morgane’s country), who was supposed to visit the orphanage today.

Daniel Choi Lee:
Today, we visited the Haitian shelter and got to meet many survivors from the earthquake. Despite going through such a catastrophic event, the kids were extremely cheerful and energetic. The kids were shy at first but after getting to know them, we colored together and played with my camera. I met a boy named Blanc Rosley who had his leg amputated during his operation. He is extremely good at drawing and was really fascinated by the paper rose I made him. It was a moving experience to see the kids so happy by such little things such as asking their name. It was tiring but it was definitely worth the experience.

Cerel Munoz:
Today we went to a shelter for amputees and the still recovering Haitians. I had a lot of mixed feelings about the whole situation. It was a sad sight but all the children seemed so happy even with their severe injuries. The most moving thing I saw was a 3 pound 2 month old Haitian baby with a broken arm. During the quake it was in its mother’s womb and she sadly died but the baby was alive and born artificially. It was a sad day overall for me.

Emmett Horvath
Today we visited a shelter for Haitian children injured in the earthquake. Even though all of them were cheerful and happy to see us and we were happy to be there, it was saddening to see those who had lost limbs and had other injuries. Our group played dominos, checkers, cards, colored pictures and took pictures. It was a very moving experience.