Don't Forget About the Children

HOPE's Haiti Representative, Charles Prospere is busy working to establish health programs in Haiti that will not only provide long-term care to those with earthquake-related injuries, but also educate physical rehabilitation health care providers so that they may better serve their communities. Prospere, who is a Haitian American, took some time out from his work to visit his village after the earthquake. This is his personal account:
I could not believe my sight. Here was Gerard, the once fastest and strongest man in our village of 200. I found him sitting in front of his half-destroyed house, his eyes were closed, his look stoic, his mind was still under the ruble, where rescuers, digging with their bare hands, found him two days after the earthquake.

Gerard wanted to live. He lost his legs some months before the monster earthquake which tried to kill him. But just recently, and with the little saving he had, he bought himself a pair of prosthetic legs.

It was hard to see a man whose livelihood always depended on manual labor, but... before I could even finish my thought, Gerard stood fast, looked at me straight in the eyes and said,

“I don't want your pity or your mercy, I just want you to remember where you came from, and many of us, many of those you cannot see right now, need you... Do not dare forgetting about them."

Before he walked away to never look back, he left me with this:

“Charles, tell Project HOPE do not forget about these children. Me, I'm fine, I'm a survivor, and I can make it with or without legs. Those kids, and many other Haitians, will see hell on earth soon. So go ahead, and tell them never forget about the others."

Thanks for Reading - Charles

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