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"Now I know Haiti doesn't need me to help it, Haiti needs me to be a cheerleader.  A catalyst." Guest post by Shannon Kelley 

7/7/2013

11 Comments

 
Picture
It's your typical story. I came to Haiti on a missions trip and fell in
love with this country.  I didn't know much about Haiti then-only what I
perceived through my American colored glasses and what the media
portrayed.  Although, ironically, I looked around then and thought I knew
how to help. Silly me. Looking back I now realize that wasn't true at all.

I went home-sat in the Miami airport and told my friend "I think Haiti is
my home"- sold everything, packed up and moved here.  I spent the next
year and a half realizing I knew nothing about Haiti or how to truly help.
 I lived as close as I could to Haitian-not behind big walls but in their
community, getting water from a well with them, doing life with them.  As
the perceptions of what I thought of Haiti when I first arrived fell away,
I only fell deeper in love with this country.

Haiti taught me more than I could have ever imagined.

Haiti taught me how to love.  How to truly help without the guise of
organizations.  How to live simply.  How to enjoy the moment.  How to
laugh.  How to appreciate beauty, survive hardship, help your neighbor,
share.

Haiti saved me.

Years ago when I was boarding that plane I would have never imagined the
life I was going to find was one of beauty.  I got on that plane thinking
I was going to a third world nation to struggle and "do good".  Now I know
I was really going to find hope and beauty in ways I didn't expect.

It is walking down a dirt path holding hands under a blanket of stars.
It is jumping into the crystal clear Caribbean Sea.
It is eating grilled lobster on the beach with a guy playing the most
beautiful music with just a stick and empty rum jar.
It is mountains meeting beautiful beaches.
It is laughing-truly laughing.
It is watching the goats getting herded home in the afternoons.
It is littles in their uniform walking to school in the morning.

Now I know Haiti doesn't need me to help it, Haiti needs me to be a
cheerleader.  A catalyst.

If you tell a child they are naughty, they will-after a while-believe they
are naughty. If you tell a girl she is ugly, she will look in the mirror
and here your voice in her head.  If you abuse someone long enough, they
come to identify themselves with that.  I personally believe that we have
more power and responsibility than we realize in the history and fate of
this nation by how we perceive it and what is said of it.

It is time, my friends, to start telling Haiti that she is beauty.  She is
worth it. She can succeed. It is time to join together and make our voice
strong.  Because L'Union Fait La Force.

Bio:
Shannon Kelley lives in Port Salut, Haiti where she manages Dan's Creek
Hotel
as well as writes her journey on her blog,
www.shannon-kelley.com/blog.  She is a former wedding photographer and
believes in Haiti as a wedding destination.  She is founder and editor of
Haiti Weddings, a Haitian wedding resource at www.haitiweddings.com.  Her
favorite Haitian food is Dous-a coconut candy, and every Sunday afternoon
you can find her at the local beach eating fresh grilled lobster:)

Picture
11 Comments
James
7/7/2013 04:10:59 am

What a beautifull story!

Reply
Sylfat Fritz
7/7/2013 05:46:32 am

Thank u for being a catalyst. I know you are being sincere because Haiti really deserves it. It is a place where we can reinvent life and be more human.
thanks once again.Haiti really appreciates it!!

Reply
Diana Pierre-Louis link
7/7/2013 09:29:32 pm

Absolutely it is! I'm so happy she shared it with us!

Reply
Sandy
7/7/2013 07:10:00 am

That's a beautiful story!

Reply
Diana Pierre-Louis link
7/7/2013 09:30:10 pm

Yes, it is!

Reply
Belinda link
7/7/2013 07:46:09 am

I absolutely love your blog and I am inspired to actually come back to my home country and do the best I can i truly wnat to give my all , you are such an inspiration I have been telling my boyfriend who is Haitian as well how we should get married in Haiti I will make sure he reads this

Reply
Diana Pierre-Louis link
7/7/2013 09:31:12 pm

Thanks for visiting the site! Make sure you check out Shannon's other site at www.HaitiWeddings.com and share it with your future husband :)

Reply
Dena Maria
7/7/2013 11:53:14 am

Excellently put... would that we could all function from this perspective & attitude. Hoping to meet you sometime Shannon after I move to Haiti in August.

Reply
Kyle Vitasek link
8/21/2013 07:12:57 am

I had the amazing opportunity to experience Haiti first on the heels of a friend who has been there about 10 times since the earthquake.

So my experience of Haiti in 10 days was so much more full than most can get in that time. Our first night we were headed to a bar to take in some local music and bumped into a local friend who convinced us to stay and 'chill like a bucket of meat' at his dad's corner store about 50 yards outside of the gate from the communitere where we stayed in PAP. Come to find out in chatting with him for some time that he and his 'little cousin' aptly nicknamed 'Lil' Cool' along with some 6-10 teens on any given night are the neighborhood protection.

I sure didn't see all of Haiti in 10 days, but I sure saw a great deal of the 'real haiti' and I too fell in love with it.

You are right, Haiti does need to be told she is beautiful, and that she is strong. The amazing drive of the folks I met at a school where we volunteered teaching English blew me away. I cannot imagine having so much hope in the midst of so much strife.

I too want to learn from these people, and share their stories with the world.

Thanks for writing,

Kyle

Reply
Diana link
8/26/2013 10:56:08 pm

Hi Kyle! Thanks so much for your input!!!!!! Great story :)

Reply
Yakima Strippers link
10/12/2013 06:03:18 am

Love this Weebly site, I had no idea I could make a free blog so easily, thanks!

Reply



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