Tues. Dec. 2, '08

In case I haven’t given you enough to think about, Patrick and I had a conversation tonight on some of the things we have always taken for granted. I don’t share this with you to inspire guilt. I share these things to remind you of the miracle of our American society, the successes we’ve had in developing our country and working for justice and education. I give you reasons to celebrate where you live, and pray for a similar day when Haitians can celebrate equally with us.

1. When we are thirsty, we take a drink. Even if the milk in the fridge is sour, and we are pinching our pennies enough to not buy soda or juice, we can always turn to the tap and fill up a big glass of safe, clean water. I have been amazed at how many children, midway through school, who admit to have had NOTHING to eat or even to DRINK during the course of the day. They come to me with a headache. Of course they have one. It is 94 degrees, they’ve been in classes for 6 hours, and they haven’t had one drink of water. Where are the water fountains? If kids are thirsty, they pool their goudes and go down the lane to the woman who sells little bags of water. I remember lunch money. I have no childhood memory of water money.

Patrick and I are looking into how much a water cooler would cost to have and maintain in the school. Seems a small thing that might make kids feel better and concentrate a little longer on their class work. Not to mention keep them a bit healthier. We’ll keep you informed.

2. When we are sick, when we have a fever, we’ve learned since childhood that you stay home from school or from work. It is as much for our own rest and recovery as it is for the well-being of our class-mates and co-workers. Yet the school is full of sick people: sick children, feverish teachers, coughing janitors. (and there is no place to wash hands) I don’t imagine they all are there because of a school-or-bust attitude. There is just not a choice in the matter. I imagine illness is relative here, and work, if you are lucky enough to have it, is necessary. You do not get paid if you stay home. People are forced to plough ahead. I imagine the roots behind this are multi-fold: education, opportunity, the luxury and support of a system that allows a sick day. And I imagine parents look at their sick children and think, “at least they’ll get lunch, and maybe a check up at the clinic.”

3. Food dominates all conversation. Even in the States. The first word we were able to recognize in Creole was “manje." It means “food” or “to eat.” Today, attempting to engage a child in conversation, Patrick asked him what he was going to do after school. The child shrugged. "Are you going home? going to play? going to eat dinner?" Patrick asked innocently. "No dinner, " said the child in a matter-of-fact voice. Even though we know that the kids in the school don't eat 3 squares a day, we still are shocked every-time the reality is uttered from their mouths. In Haiti, lack of food is behind so much of the suffering, the illness, and the apparent apathy. When Patrick and I get hungry midday, and note a bit of sharpness to our attitude, we wonder how the children sit in their seats to learn. In the States, health care responds to problems of too much consumption (or consuming the wrong things). Here, illness is a result of not-enough to consume. Food is cultural, is a source of pleasure and comfort. Ultimately it is a life source. If only our world could find a way of eating together, sharing our resources, so trends of consumption were not so unbalanced. I imagine we all would be healthier in the end.