Making Beads Brings Hope

This is the fourth in a four-part series from our experience in Haiti with Feed My Starving Children.

Thanks for following along on our journey to Haiti with Feed My Starving Children. As the final part to this series, we will land the plane with “Hope.”

I’m sure our team leader planned some of this on purpose, but each day we gained a little more hope in our experiences. What started as a complete sense of overwhelming hopelessness, we finished our time with glimmers of hope shining bright.

Before we boarded a plane to head home, we spent the morning with Callie and her friends at Papillon Enterprises. Papillon means butterfly in Creole.

This place is a beautiful expression of learning to fly and by the strength gained in breaking free of a cocoon. These men and women, mostly single parents, were full of strength. Full of determination to make a better way for their families.

We met Stephanie. Stephanie is a Haitian woman with a 6 year old son. She came to Papillon for a job, with what she describes as “no skills.”

She now runs the pottery team at Papillon. She learned to work with her hands to form the most beautiful pieces. Now they are being sold, and she is able to provide for 10 people in her family. Her smile is contagious. She is full of beauty and grace.

Papillon is located in Delmas. We saw more smiles and beauty in this area of the country. This area was free of trash. This is monumental in a country devastated by natural disasters.

Here was another glimmer of hope that beauty in this land is possible. Beauty already lies within the people of Haiti. And here is hope that they can also be surrounded by beauty.

We closed our time in Haiti by having lunch at the cafe at Papillon. Here is another way for those to make a living. The food and atmosphere were a delight.

At Papillon we saw beauty being made into jewelry from clay. We saw dolls being sewn together. We saw people learning computer skills. Pottery being thrown and made out of clay native to the land.

There was a daycare center for parents who needed child care while they earn a living wage at Papillon Enterprises. This place was full of beauty and hope.

My favorite moment at Papillon was gathering with the Haitian people to sing How Great Thou Art. Two languages, one song. Two people groups, one God.

This experience with Feed My Starving Children was life giving to me. It opened my eyes and heart to serve our people. We belong to each other.