Help from a little boy in Haiti
A few years ago I interviewed a young man who was then in charge of Information Technology at HAS. He had been born in Deschapelles. His single mother supported him and his siblings by selling peanuts in the hospital’s vicinity. He was later befriended by the family of the hospital’s administrator. They helped with his education – and here he was - in a highly responsible position in charge of computers at HAS.
Remarkable as his story is, it is not the main point of this blog. In the course of our conversation, he mentioned that as a young child, he first became aware of HAS when his mother took him there after he broke his arm on the edge of “Dr. Mellon’s swimming pool.”
“Dr. Mellon’s swimming pool?” I exclaimed with some surprise. “You mean the pool in front of Kay 11?” “No, no,” he said with some emphasis “Dr. Mellon’s swimming pool. Dr. Mellon built two swimming pools for the community.”
On the very next Sunday afternoon I set out to find Dr. Mellon’s swimming pools. I knew that he was not especially fond of swimming pools and not quick to spend funds on recreation, so my curiosity was piqued. Walking on a narrow foot path, I knew I was on the right track when I began to hear the happy sounds of fun and splashing - the noise of young people everywhere enjoying a Sunday afternoon at the pool.
Suddenly and unexpectedly my path was blocked by four young men, men, I guessed, in their late teens or early twenties. Arms crossed on their chests, scowls on their faces, their message was unmistakable: “You don’t belong here; don’t go farther.” Soon their girl friends appeared behind them with the same slightly menacing expressions on their faces. And as happens in Haiti, a small crowd quickly gathered, aligned opposite me on the path.
I did not want to turn on my heel and run away or even walk away. So for a few seconds, I just stood there trying to gather my thoughts and my Creole. And just then, a little boy, maybe 8 years old, broke through the crowd and came toward me with a smile. He took my hand and walked me through the crowd, The tension broke just as quickly as it began. Everyone smiled and went back to doing what they were doing before.
When I tell the story to some of my friends at home, they are amazed. I am not amazed, however, because acts of kindness, courage and good will happen in Haiti every day. I conjure up the little boy’s face whenever I need a reminder of what’s great about Haiti.
I did see Dr. Mellon’s two “swimming pools.” They are two good sized above ground pools and they were meant to be cisterns to catch rain water for the community’s needs.
