Day 6: K I N D N E S S
Today’s feature is written by Courtney Sanon, our social programs coordinator and advanced english teacher at HDC. Courtney and her husband Jimmy are also the executive directors of Ansanm Haiti.
“Something that has always struck me about Haitians is their kindness and hospitality. When I first moved to Haiti, I was 19 and very much alone. It was a little scary being in a place where I felt so different and didn’t speak the same language. Haitian culture seemed so foreign to me back then. Little did I know that I would end up marrying a Haitian man, and would gain a family so literally here.
I have been living in Haiti for 5 years now, and as I reflect on all of the kindness I have experienced here, I’m not sure if I could pick just one moment, or speak of just one experience that I feel like encompasses how kind Haitians are. But there are a few that stand out to me, and the greatest times the kindness of Haitians seemed to show, was in the times of greatest stress for me.
I remember a few years ago, I was headed down south to bring some needed resources to families from the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. It was such a long drive, and on our way there, there was so much flooding and debris that we ended up getting stuck in a small town in the dark. We had no where to go, and no where to stay- as the hotel nearby had lavishly raised their prices for their rooms at seeing so many stranded vehicles in need of a room. Luckily one of us had extended family a few miles away, and they invited us to stay with them. It was a tiny home with two large beds. We got there in the dark, fully expecting to have a sleepless night, but would just be thankful to stay dry- but instead, this family gave us their beds, and spread out blankets on the cement floor for them to sleep.
Over the course of my years here this has been the same experience. When you stay at someone’s house, they give up their bed and sleep on the cement floor, and you are kindly told to take their bed. It’s strange that in our American culture our guests are usually told to take the couch or blow-up mattress, and we keep to our comfy beds. But that’s the thing with Haitians. They always give their “first fruits”. They give what is best- the most ripe piece of fruit, their favorite item of clothing, their only day off to help you. I have known moms who gave up their dinner portion in order to feed a guest, have had friends walk miles with me just to make sure I get home safe. I have gotten lost in the slums without any money and have had strangers pay my way back home. I’ve had people I have barely met get soaked trying to help me cross a literal raging river.
There can be a lot of fear coming to a third-world country. But as you live here, you come to realize that there is much more kindness than there is not. I was translating for an American man a few years ago, and we were on our way to deliver some new mattresses. The mattresses barely fit on the top of the vehicle and were tied badly. He was nervous and kept going on about how if the mattresses fell off the vehicle, it would turn into a madhouse of people trying to steal one. Obviously, this man had been to Haiti many times, but never came to understand the kindness that exists here. I tried to reassure him and be patient with him, and told him if the mattresses fell off, what would actually happen is that people would run up to us and try to help us. A few minutes later, a mattress fell off, and he jumped out of his vehicle, as if he was ready to fight a mob off. Instead, several Haitian men ran up to him with some rope and helped him tie the mattress back on. I feel like that might sound silly, but in the moment, I realized that so much of the world doesn’t understand the Haitian people, and how inherently kind they are.
Since moving here I have learned so much about selflessness- and how much I still have to learn about selfless love myself. I fell in love with a Haitian man because of his kindness to others. Our wedding was then made possible because of the kindness of a Haitian friend. Every part of my story in Haiti, the big and the small, is interwoven with the kindness of people that I have met along the way here. I can only hope that many years from now, others will be able to look at me and see that Haiti has impacted me in such a way that I have the same kind of kindness imprinted in my own soul.”
