Waking up Hungry

Travelling to Haiti is always an eye-opening experience, no matter how many times you have been there.  We will never forget what one of our "family" members in Haiti said one day when we were there in January ... it will forever stick in our minds.  He said, "If I wake up with a few dollars in my pocket, I don't wake up hungry, but if I wake up with no money in my pocket, then I wake up hungry".  He went on to explain that if he wakes up with a few dollars he knows that he has the means to purchase some food for himself and his family that day, but if his pockets are empty, he starts off the day without any idea how (or if!) he and his family will be able to eat that day.  What a shocking reality to the way of life in Haiti!

We experienced something similar to this during our most recent time in Haiti.  We have all been hungry in our lives, but never before had we experienced the concept of there not being any food to eat to satisfy our hunger.  One night we were watching a movie ... our first instinctive thought was "we need a bowl of popcorn to go with our movie" ... not even a concept for most Haitians.  Later on in the evening, many of us experienced one of those nagging "I need a snack" feelings.  Our first instinct of course was to jump up and go downstairs to a cupboard full of crackers, chips and other snacks that would instantly fill this need.  The reality being that the cupboards where we were staying (as it is in most homes in Haiti) were completely bare, not an extra crumb to be found.  They live from meal to meal (IF a meal is to be had) ... there are no extras!  The stark reality of their way of life hit us hard (as it tends to do when one actually experiences something personally)! We had never in our lives not been able to eat when we were hungry!  Those living in Haiti experience this on a daily basis ... something most of us can't even imagine.

We have no idea here in Canada how lucky we truly are!

A Haitian meal we enjoyed while staying in Tigoave