Streethearts

And then we met Linsey.  Here is a brief profile to give you a better impression of how amazing I think she is.

Linsey is pictured far left outside of the safe house with two of our team members Jennifer and Jaci.

Linsey Jorgenson is from Virginia and a 2005 graduate of East Carolina University. With a degree in Communications she spent some time in corporate marketing before working with a non-profit in Cap Haitien.  She began working with an orphanage and focused on multiple projects with the "street kids."  This is where her passion took flight.  In October 2012, she founded Streethearts. The model she created focused on 6 areas necessary for children to cultivate and maintain a healthy heart.   To read her current newsletter from April:
http://www.streetheartshaiti.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015-Q1-newsletter.pdf

Inside of the safe house is decorated with inspirational quotes and bible verses in English,  French, and Creole.

Unlike most Haitian orphanages that just feed the child, clean them, then kick them out at age 18 with no resources, Linsey and her team have created 6 different programs.  They learn to cook for themselves, they do fitness, they all have chores, and they have a work force team to actually prepare them to exit and make their own money.  Pretty fascinating right? The website: http://www.streetheartshaiti.org

We taught the boys the Cupid Shuffle!

Our team member Leigh letting some of the kids play with her hair.

Then, stupid me, I asked the dumb question: "When you say they come from a rough background in the U.S. it usually means some economic hardship but along with physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; but when you say that in Haiti, are they the same social problems or is it mostly economical?" And here is what I learned:
Its not economical because no one here knows they are poor, its just normal for them.  90% of street boys are male prostitutes to make quick money.  When they enter the Streethearts program they have to be treated for syphilis.  Other situations result from cruel measures such as one kid who was repeatedly electrocuted by his mother, because this was how she was raised. Kids live in homes where one or more parents have died and a grandparent has difficulty caring for them so the boys take to the streets.  Haiti is slowly moving into second place in the population of street boys.  The Bahamas, due to drug trafficking problems, is slowly taking its first place position, followed by Jamaica.  Operations such as Linsey's are reducing the numbers in Haiti.  At Streethearts while receiving programs to change their behaviors, the boys are placed under very strict orders because otherwise they would take out their aggression on each other.  Then Lindsey told us about 12 year-old Franky completely unaware that he was my student helper at camp that week (and with behavior problems that are hard to manage...walking off....  I could see how in the US he would be a student who would be quickly "labeled").  I immediately started looking to the sky, widening my eyes, stopping the tears that were growing without control.  When you want to hear his story I'll tell you one-on-one, but rest assured he has been saved because of Streethearts. I then noticed one of the boys making friendship bracelets.  This is one method that they boys are responsible for raising money and learning a skill to work for a living.  I bought four on the spot.
     On day five of camp I was able to keep Franky busy all day by making him feel like my special friend.  I taught him how to play Tic Tac Toe, had him pass out papers, he tied shoes for the little ones, and in the end I got a good bye hug and a picture.  If you could see inside my head the reflecting practice that was going on about "hard" students to teach, why they act the way they do,  and how to mold the behavior before labeling and writing off..... HUMMMMMMMMM........  No doubt about it, Linsey is my new hero for believing in a child.

Franky and I on the last day of camp.

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