Most days in Haiti you can see joy on the faces of children or hear the giggles and shouts of fun. When you look closer you can see they are very creatively playing with plastic bags tied to sticks, plastic bottles as footballs or using rocks for marbles. Thanks to the generosity of some students at the University of Minnesota and the ARC Children’s Program the kids at several of the camps American Refugee Committee manages are also able to enjoy beautiful, handmade kites.
The ARC Children’s Program at Terrain Acra currently has over 900 kids enrolled. The staff does an excellent job of keeping the kids busy with lots of activities including painting, singing, and dancing. I happened to be there on Friday and noticed the kites were out. Unfortunately there was no wind so there weren’t many kites flying but the kids didn’t seem to care. They were just excited about the possibility.
Why is it that the University of Minnesota will do volunteer time over in Haiti to put smiles on children's faces, but they won't spend actual money on giving real toys out. That's great that they are getting them to use their imagination, but doing it with just plastic bags, bottles and rocks? The situation in Darfur is even worse. Has anyone caught a glimpse of Uwe Boll's "Attack On Darfur"? The closest thing to painting sad realities in film.
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