Kites and Kids

It was a simple plan, capture the names, birthdate, school grade, and take a photo of all the kids at the orphanage. We even thought we would be clever and I created a form on the iPad to capture the textual information. Piece of cake.

Things even looked promising when we got to the orphanage and the kids were all on the bedroom floor as there was some sort of meeting going on at the orphanage; so they were contained. And, the house mothers agreed to help us. 

The problem started when we attempted to gather the information. Quickly it was determined that the iPad was too much work and we reverted to paper. Then one house mother brought out their records on the children. It was a single, well used piece of 81/2 x 11 paper; partially torn on the folds. On it were handwritten notes about each child. Some had last names, others not. Some had birthdates, others not. Some had birth day, but not birth year. There was no information about parents, village of origin or anything else. There was one birth certificate that was pulled out for one child with a mother listed, but no father and the child didn't know his father's name. 

As we were collecting information and several children didn't know their birthdays I asked if the orphanage celebrated birthdays. The answer was no. The orphanage is not overly funded, so I was not surprised that they didn't throw parties for each child, but it appears that the birthdays are not even recognized. More on this later. 

After we were done I have to admit I was feeling a little down because these children were not being celebrated and told how valuable they are on the anniversary of their birth. I know how I feel when I see my children beam on their birthdays and we typically have relatively muted celebrations. 

As I was heading down the stairs I noticed some boys playing with some handmade kites in the stairwell. It made me both happy as the boys were clearly having a good time. It made me sad with how little they have; yet even in this they find happy moments. 

We don't and may not be able to get the birth date of each child and I don't know how we might even get a card mailed from outside Haiti to the children, but if I can solve these problems is there anyone who would commit to sending each child a card on their next birthday with a simple happy birthday note? Please don't take this commitment lightly if you say yes, it is a year worth of work. But I can promise if it can happen it will bring joy to a child and they will feel how very special they are. Email me if you are really willing to commit. 

Tonight I pray for the children of the Source of Light orphanage, that they realize that they are beloved children of God and that they are valuable. I pray for the doctors and nurses that will soon be leaving their homes to come to join us for next week that they might have safe and easy travels. I pray that anyone that reads this blog will spend 1 minute and pray for just one child somewhere in the world that needs to understand their value.  Amen.