DAY 1: F A M I L Y
Every day this week our team members will be sharing based on a different theme that makes up our #HDCFAM! Today we are excited to share an essay on a topic that is especially close to our hearts and the core of why we exist- to support families staying together.
“Hi, my name is Fednold, but everyone calls me Fefe. I am married, and my wife’s name is Guerdine. We just had our first child together, and our daughter’s name is Wenshell. My wife is quiet and funny, and I love my family.
I work with an organization called Ansanm, who’s purpose is to help empower families to stay together. Ansanm helps children attend school, has parenting and spiritual formation classes, helps parents find ways to earn income, and helps with big needs like housing or medical needs. I have taught literacy courses in the past to teach parents how to read and write, I run errands on my motorcycle for different programs, and I am a Bible teacher for the spiritual foundation course.
I have been so excited to become the head of a family, and now as a father, I realize that this is the greatest privilege I can have. It was so exciting to see my baby, and to see the different ways she looks like us, and I feel so proud as I watch her sleeping on my chest. I love watching her smile. I am looking forward to bringing her to church and taking her to school. I can't wait to see her dance and hear her sing.
I hope for a lot of things for my child. I hope for her to love Jesus and to follow Him. I hope for her to always remain with us and to never have to live in an orphanage. All I want for her is to be loved, and to always be in a place where she will find tenderness, affection, and respect, and I know she wouldn’t find this in an orphanage.
When a child lives in a family, they find strength to reach their dreams. In an orphanage, children often times don’t know how to love others well because they are treated badly and don't have good examples to follow. Sometimes they suffer from violence and abuse from workers, directors, and even older children.
The reality of an orphanage in Haiti is that all of their lives children are living in fear and they grieve in their hearts, and they are just waiting for a foreigner to come and give them something for a week out of the year.
In Haiti, we have different levels of abuse happening in orphanages, and social workers are used to placing an orphanage in a certain level. I have personally witnessed some of the bad treatment that is happening here. I have watched directors teach the children to lie to visitors about being orphans so that they can make money. They don't go to good schools, they give them expired medicine, and those are just the small problems.
Because of this reality, with Ansanm, we are trying to restore these children in their families, and prevent children from being sent to live in these kind of situations.
Through attending English classes at Haiti Design Co, I also get to see another organization helping families stay together through creating stable jobs- and I’m glad that there are many different organizations working in Haiti towards the same goal.
Through a family, a child can have a better life, and receive the love they need. I used to believe that one day if I had a child, it would be amazing to find an orphanage for her to grow up, as many people here believe. I thought it was the best thing I could do for her, but now that I have witnessed the true reality, I can’t imagine my daughter ever spending one night in one.
And this is why I am so happy to get the chance to talk about this, so that I can help other parents realize this too.”