Life on the Street

The kids living at Maison de Lumiere are sweet, loving and kind (mostly - boys will be boys!) to one another. When you are around them a lot sometimes it's easy to forget the life so many of them left behind when they walked through the door - until you look at some of the physical scars they have on their bodies...permanent reminders of their pasts.

More than 50 percent of Haiti's population is under the age of 18 (nearly 40 percent are under the age of 14). Before the earthquake it was estimated that there were 340,000 orphans in Haiti - a figure that doubled (or more) after the earthquake. There are many kids that live on the street and many kids who may have a home to go to at night but because there is no money to send them to school, they spend their days on the streets with their friends. This situation translates into a pretty tough one for many kids.

The other night some members of our team witnessed in a small way just how brutal the streets can be. As we were walking back to the guest house we had stopped in the street to say "hi" to some kids that were just hanging out. There was a group of boys playing next to us and at first they seemed to be getting along alright. At first. Then at some point one of the boys got a hold of what was left of a belt and started trying to hit the other boys with it. This caused a kerfuffle between him and another boy in particular. As they wrestled with each other, another boy grabbed the belt and hit the boy wrestling with the one who originally had the belt - hard on the backside of his legs. All of a sudden both boys were reaching down for rocks to throw at each other and as we were about to step in an older boy came over to mediate and calm everyone down. Thankfully the rocks were dropped and there was a cease fire, but the truth in many cases the rocks are thrown.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds and it was a sad reminder of what life is like for so many Haitian children. They have to be tough as nails and always ready to protect themselves in an environment that is just as punishing as it is unforgiving. As someone put it, the ones in the orphanage are in many ways the lucky ones - they have food, shelter, school, love and a safe environment to grow up in.

Some members of our team walk down the street - joined by kids. This happens nearly every time we're out and about - and they come right up and hold your hand, ask to be picked up or just walk with you.