“Want a different ethic? Tell a different story”
–Thomas King
As the news page of our web site shows, lots of stories have been told about Jamie and Ali and their work before the earthquake that devastated Haiti two years ago today. Chances are you’ve heard some of these stories. Perhaps you saw the press coverage of the dramatic evacuation of the children in their care one week after the earthquake. Maybe you follow Jamie and Ali through the fantastic blog of our board member Virginia Montanez, That’s Church. Or perhaps you’ve read the eloquent article another board member, Jonathan Wander, wrote about Jamie and Ali for Pittsburgh magazine.
And I’m sure you have heard a lot of stories about the frustratingly slow process to rebuild, about contaminated drinking water and impassable roads and tent cities and rubble yet-to-be-cleared. Those are probably among the first images that come to most people’s minds when they think about Haiti, along with images of tragedy, poverty, scarcity, despair.
It is true that most Haitians live in poverty. It is true that too many still live in tents. And it is true that many, many parents place their children in orphanages for the sole reason that they are too poor to take care of them. And here is another truth—the one we around here find the most tragic: orphanages are usually the only places families in crises can go to for help.
At least that was true before Jamie and Ali returned to Haiti and decided to refocus their dedication to children by helping families rebuild themselves. Before they dedicated themselves to changing what we think of when we think of Haiti.
Today is a painful day for Haiti, and a painful one for those of us who feel a connection to Haiti and its people. But it is also the first day of our January campaign to raise awareness about Jamie and Ali’s Haitian Families First, a day that honors the past by changing the future. In the days to come, you’ll hear more about Junia, who we’ve introduced on our web page already, and you’ll meet other brave Haitians with whom Jamie and Ali work. You’ll hear about those of us in the U.S. who support their work. And you’ll hear in great detail how Jamie and Ali spend their days and the impact they have on people’s lives. As they go about their days living and working in Haiti, among Haitians, Jamie and Ali have noticed that, to many of the people they meet, family has become even more important than it was before the earthquake. It is the hope that remains amidst the despair.
Rubble. Tents. Scarcity. Poverty.
Family.
As we all approach the celebration of a New Year, we also look back on the years that have passed. For those of us at Haitian Families First, the New Year brings memories of the destruction caused by the January 12, 2010 earthquake, and of the heroism of our founders, Jamie and Ali McMutrie. They kept the children of the orphanage they were then directing safe and healthy despite the destruction of their building and despite the scarcity of food, water, and medical supplies in the earthquake’s immediate aftermath.
The week that followed January 12, 2010 was a dramatic and traumatic one for many of us. Jamie and Ali saved a lot of lives and a lot of families in those days, a fact to which the media coverage of them has testified. But what hasn’t been caught on film—not yet, anyway—is the fact that they have saved a lot of lives and a lot of families in the two years since the earthquake.
Every day, all day, they travel all over the city and all over the small nation of Haiti helping families in need: men who have lost their wives in child birth, who do not have the means of feeding their newborns, let alone access to reliable childcare. Single mothers who, despite having employment, still cannot afford to send their children to school. Parents who, because they cannot afford medical care, are forced to relinquish their children to an orphanage or watch them suffer at home.
This has been the daily reality Jamie and Ali McMutrie have faced alongside many families since their return to Haiti almost two years ago. And it is a reality we at Haitian Families First want to share with you.
Starting on January 12, 2012, we will be launching a social-media campaign to share with our supporters what Jamie and Ali’s work in Haiti is like now, and what we at Haitian Families First hope to accomplish in the future. Every day, we will tell a different story about our organization and the people with whom we work, both in the U.S. and in Haiti. So be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Our journey continues, and we want you to be part of it.
Jean C. Griffith, Executive Director, Haitian Families First