AFD day 3-Kalli's take on Haiti

Day 3- Healing Haiti

Well its day 3 now, we have experienced so much it is difficult to put it all into words. From the moment we got to Haiti it has been so much more eye opening then any of us anticipated. The Haitians live their lives unlike any other lifestyle we’ve seen thus far. They don’t have all the “necessities” that we think we need, and they survive just fine. They find things fun, interesting, and amusing that we completely take for granted. For example, today we delivered water to a village in City Soleil, one of the poorest places in Haiti. We brought along a jump rope for the children to play with, and before we knew it, they were fighting over who got to use and keep it. It’s these little things that they cherish, that we completely overlook.

Today, tomorrow and Friday we will be working in a place called Grace Village on various patients’ dental needs (orphans, staff members, and the elderly). We have gotten the opportunity to see first-hand how fortunate we are to have regular dental visits. Some of the patients we worked with have never seen a dentist at all, or can’t remember the last time it was. Majority of them were so willing to sit in our chair and get the chance to get their teeth looked at, it was humbling. Others were a little apprehensive, but once the translator let them know that we were there to help, not hurt, there defiance was turned around. Knowing you can help someone, who would probably never get the chance otherwise, is a miracle in itself.

This experience is incredible, and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.

Kalli Flaherty