Reflection: Morgan Rubosky

Even though we have been in Haiti for six days, it is still unreal to me that we are here.  I had hoped but never actually thought that I would get to go on a mission trip here.  There is something about being here that will be hard to explain when I get back to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

On our way to EBAC last Saturday, I was expecting to have a hard time getting to know people because I am not the most outgoing person.  As we pulled into the orphanage, kids followed the taptap until it stopped because they were so excited that we were here.  That is when I really started getting nervous about talking to people.  As we got out of the truck, the EBAC kids were all over the returning Americans.  It was incredible to see how the relationships lasted since last year.

Not long after we put our luggage in the apartment, I started talking to a seventeen-year-old girl named Roselene.  She began by asking me my name and how old I am.  Throughout the past few days, she told me about her life here at EBAC and her life before she got here.  She started living here when she was four because her parents had too many children to care for.  From that point on, she was taken care of and fed by the orphanage. 

Coming into this week, I had no idea how the orphanage worked or who is really in charge.  I was surprised to hear that once the orphans turn a certain age, they become “parents” to the younger children.  Roselene once had someone taking care of her and once she turned thirteen, she started caring for herself and another child.  She does almost everything for him.  It blew my mind that this orphanage can run without Kathy and Alice having to do much at all.

So back to Roselene.  She is such a sweet person and I can relate to her so much because we are so close in age.  It has been great getting to know her and to be able to form a relationship with her.  I definitely plan on writing letters to Roselene so that I can keep up the communication with her and hopefully get to see her again next summer.