I'm sure many of you remember my post about my students' mama who died just before Christmas. The day that she died, the boys' father (who had been an absent parent) unexpectedly took them away from their aunt and uncle. For a while, no one knew where he had taken them. After some time, we learned that he had taken them to some relatives in the rural countryside.
That was almost two months ago. For the past three weeks, I have been speaking with their family members in Jubilee trying to figure out where they were and how to get there. Their uncle explained to me that their father didn't want to take care of them and he didn't want them to be suffering over the death of their mother. The uncle told me that he would do his best to provide for the boys because they would have a better life in Jubilee. He said he would take us to them so that we could bring them home again.
Two of our Haitian teachers volunteered to go with the uncle to try and get the boys. They wanted me to go along, but I explained that I wanted the boys to see THEM: their Haitian teachers fighting for them. I wanted the boys to see their Haitian teachers bringing them home again.
So, the four men left early in the morning. It was a two hour trip out of Gonaives and then they had to take a motorcycle up a mountain. Both of our teachers said they thought they were going to die on that ride up the mountain, it was treacherous. But, they made it to the top to find Manius and Manickson. They said there were no other houses around, no other children to play with, and no school. Our teachers said when they arrived, they could see the suffering and sadness in the boys' eyes. They said that when they told the boys' family that they were teachers, the family did not believe it. They could not fathom that their teachers would travel so far to make sure the boys could continue their education.
They successfully got the family's permission for the boys to return to Jubilee and live with their uncle again. When they arrived in Jubilee, both boys looked shell shocked and acted shy, and rightfully so. Not only did their mama die two months ago, but they spent all that time away from their home, school and friends.
When I told Manius and Manickson how much we had missed them and how much their friends had missed them, I got both boys to smile. I can't wait to see their faces back at school on Monday!
As they left the school to go home with their uncle, I told them, "It is a miracle to see your faces today!" Fresnel one of the teachers said, "No, today was more than a miracle!"
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