This past Christmas the Tabor United Methodist Church, Sunday School class (where my mother is a pastor in Big Stone City, SD) decided to do an alternative Christmas gift exchange. My mother called me with options for giving some gifts in Haiti. With Living Media International (LMI) we have 2 Kids Clubs groups that we work with. The first was started in LaVoute because there was little being done for the children in that area and there was a need. Living Media has sponsors for that group to help with giving the kids a small snack and activities for the club each week. The second group was actually developed by local young adults in the area; they saw a need for activities in the community and decided to start doing something at the local school. They call the group CCEM – Children’s Cultural Club of Mizak. They were searching out different funding options in the area and asked LMI for help.
I shared with my mother about CCEM and said it would be amazing whatever the church could do for the group. It is also close so I could share and be involved in the process to share with the church. The Tabor UMC, decided instead of getting gifts for the kids or the teachers they would just give money to be used for Christmas gifts for children in Haiti. I think the general church also got inspired by what the kids were doing and donated some money to the project too. When I was back in the states I shared more about the group and about the kids in the area, the church ended up raising a little over $200.
When I returned to Haiti, I was ready to shop for the kids in Jacmel, for their Christmas Party. I thought it wouldn’t be that difficult to find small toys for the kids; maybe some coloring books and colors and soccer balls and jump ropes. I was wrong which saddened me. Jacmel is a good size city – maybe the size of Sioux Falls, SD or bigger and you can’t find kid’s toys! It is because there is not that great of a demand, I was told you could find more in PaP. Feeding, and clothing your children and education is more important than giving them toys to play with, this is a sad reality of Haiti.
We decided to buy soccer balls and other bounce-y balls for the group as a whole. Then we bought little sacks for each child to stuff with cookies, candies, and colors (these were bought by previous teams in Haiti). We also had jump ropes to give them too. The rest of the money will be used to buy materials to use for weekly activities throughout the year. The kids had a great party with lots of activities, music, dancing, and theater, as well as a small meal. They were very happy about all the gifts and couldn’t wait to play with the soccer balls.
It was great to see this whole thing transpire and be involved in all parts of it. Children in any country have amazing energy and life. It was beautiful to see the children in Big Stone City, SD involved in international missions at such a young age. They are so inquisitive and want to be a part of something that will make a difference for tomorrow. The kids in Haiti also wanted to give gifts back to the kids in the U.S., so they made bracelets to send back to the states for the kids in SD.
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