Delivering Baby Formula to Les Cayes

Our trip to Les Cayes to deliver baby formula to an orphanage in need was exciting and educative. Eddy, Marie Michelle and Edwichge came along to learn and help. None of them had ever been to Les Cayes before, so you can imagine how excited they were. We stopped several times to get treats and we sat down for a full meal. This is comparative to taking your kids to a fancy restaurant in America – it was a very special treat.

Our trip took us to several towns. We passed through many towns on our way -- Dufort, La Cul, Focher, Grand Goave, Petit Goave, Miragoane, Saint Louis Du Sud, Aquin, then finally, into Les Cayes.

Due to poor weather conditions, we were not able to take the small boat to the island of Ile la Vache where the orphanage is, but visiting Father Oblah’s residence on the mainland where we left our precious cargo of formula was an eye opener for our kids. Everything there was neat and orderly. The landscape was beautiful and the warehouse nicely kept.

They rarely see such well-kept places in their country. Their ideas of orphanages are places that are not so nice and where kids are warehoused more than cared for. Fortunately, their experience with our girls’ home, places such as this and a few of the others that we are networking with are providing proof for our teens that such nice, clean places for children do exist here. We at PPM all share the hope that these types of experiences and exposure to quality endeavors will encourage them to want to reproduce quality like this in whatever they choose to do in their lives.

Our kids asked questions along the way, and it was worth noticing that the highway going to Les Cayes was freshly built or renovated except for two areas that was still under construction. The countryside of Haiti is beautiful along the highway. I just wonder if that is because not too many people occupy the areas. I also noticed the effect of cutting trees for cooking and not replacing them. Beyond Miragoane, the earthquake did not really do any damage. In Les Cayes, there was just one house in the whole city that buckled. No injuries or deaths were recorded there.

This trip had a lifetime impact on our teens. They had the opportunity to be part of a corporate decision and to understand the value of team work. In addition, now any of them could potentially take charge of delivering baby formula or other life-saving necessities to Les Cayes or any other area in the country should the need arise. Their voluntary involvement in the process from start to finish is so gratifying – I think they are finally “getting it” -- getting the idea that as they participate and offer their services unto God, their country and their fellow man, they will share in the special blessings God bestows on those who serve Him. We are counting our successes in baby steps…

In His Service,
Roody