We decided that despite how tired we all were that this was our final evening together and that we wanted to share reflections of the trip before we parted ways in the morning. So we once again gathered for a meal and we each spoke a bit about what the trip meant to us.  Our take-aways were very much aligned:

This trip was a bonding experience for us all. For those who knew each other before this trip, they now shared another important experience with each other. For those of us new to the Mona family of contributors and activists, we’d made wonderful new friends who shared our passions and values. (In fact, the women on this trip likened ourselves to the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” crew…we have to come up with a more appropriate handle though).

There is much to be done, and we each want to find our individual sweet spot for making a difference.  For example, one volunteer is a writer – she has decided to come back to Haiti and work with the children at the schools to document their family histories – to help them learn to preserve their culture, use what they are learning through writing and art, and help them be proud of who they are. Another volunteer is an OB-GYN with familial ties to India – she wants to research how she can put her medical training to work in the Mona projects in India.  I am more convinced than ever after this trip that the way I can make the best contribution is to get more involved in the relationship-building and ongoing needs assessment part of the Mona Foundation work – I look forward to evolving my role in this direction.

The way to end suffering and deprivation in this world is to help others to lead themselves. The solutions have to grow out of the two-way street of mutual respect for differences – cultural, religious, racial, and economic, with an open, ongoing dialogue of solving problems together.  It is apparent in Haiti – a country where there have been nearly a dozen government coups in the last decade – that the government, past and present, looks out for its own interests ahead of the interests of its people. This has to change…only when the commitment and the actions take place to build the framework for better quality of life for all citizens can people pull themselves out of destitute circumstances.  There needs to be mutual respect and a much larger measure of selfless behavior.  I met a handful of individuals living in Haiti who embody this precept, and they are changing the lives of children, one at a time.  We all agreed that we want to be part of that process.