When Helping Hurts
"What would you say to someone wanting to come to Haiti for one week to help?"
"...Don't come."
A few weeks ago I was able to join the weekly Monday Leadership luncheons held at the Marketplace in Gonaives. Kathy posed this question to our group, made up that week of Kathy, Rachel, Maya, about 7 Haitian men, and myself. These luncheons give space for discussions to happen about how we see Haiti, how we want the world to see Haiti, and what we need in order to move Haiti forward. The response struck me, because I myself was thinking it but didn't expect to hear it out loud, as a Haitian man in the group said simply, "Don't come."
Now after some discussion, we all agreed that we wouldn't say exactly that, but we would say come under certain conditions. Don't come build houses for us, when we can provide jobs for Haitians to build our houses perfectly well, and it's likely you've never built a wall before coming to Haiti. Don't come to read to our students if you are a gifted artist - because our students need to see the beauty that can be created using imagination, and they need prompting to create their own. Don't come to build a well providing clean, accessible drinking water if after one week it will be left with no one on the ground who is responsible for maintaining it.
We even pressed the questions further to ask, "If you could have anyone in the world come to Haiti for just one day, a day spent just with you, who would you want to come?" And the answers, to our surprise and absolute delight..
"An investment banker. Show me how to multiply the money I am already making."
"A motivational speaker. Help me inspire the people around me to greater works."
and so many others as overwhelmingly beautiful as this.
The people that are needed here are needed for the skills they already use each day in America. We need professionals. We need people with specific skill sets who are passionate about sharing them with others. We need tourists - people to see the beauty of this astounding, breathtaking, resilient nation and to stimulate the Haitian economy in the process.
It was, by far, one of my favorite conversations I've had in this country thus far. The idea of giving and serving "well" has been on the forefront of our minds, especially in the wake of Hurricane Matthew's destruction. It is important to be paying attention to how our desire to help affects the people we are so passionate about helping - and it is too risky not to do so. Because we may not realize that the skills we possess are exactly what is needed, while we're busy trying to meet the needs we see on the surface.
We are not saying don't come - we are saying come with the skills you have, because they are enough and they are needed.
We are not saying don't give - we are saying give to organizations already established on the ground here who have invested the time and work it takes to form relationship and truly understand where the needs are.
If you have any interest in joining our discussions about how to help without hurting, please contact me! I have so many fun resources and we can discuss it all together. None of us know how to do this perfectly - we are human and we never will, but we can use the knowledge we have and the wisdom from past mistakes to try our best to do this well.
Now after some discussion, we all agreed that we wouldn't say exactly that, but we would say come under certain conditions. Don't come build houses for us, when we can provide jobs for Haitians to build our houses perfectly well, and it's likely you've never built a wall before coming to Haiti. Don't come to read to our students if you are a gifted artist - because our students need to see the beauty that can be created using imagination, and they need prompting to create their own. Don't come to build a well providing clean, accessible drinking water if after one week it will be left with no one on the ground who is responsible for maintaining it.
We even pressed the questions further to ask, "If you could have anyone in the world come to Haiti for just one day, a day spent just with you, who would you want to come?" And the answers, to our surprise and absolute delight..
"An investment banker. Show me how to multiply the money I am already making."
"A motivational speaker. Help me inspire the people around me to greater works."
and so many others as overwhelmingly beautiful as this.
The people that are needed here are needed for the skills they already use each day in America. We need professionals. We need people with specific skill sets who are passionate about sharing them with others. We need tourists - people to see the beauty of this astounding, breathtaking, resilient nation and to stimulate the Haitian economy in the process.
It was, by far, one of my favorite conversations I've had in this country thus far. The idea of giving and serving "well" has been on the forefront of our minds, especially in the wake of Hurricane Matthew's destruction. It is important to be paying attention to how our desire to help affects the people we are so passionate about helping - and it is too risky not to do so. Because we may not realize that the skills we possess are exactly what is needed, while we're busy trying to meet the needs we see on the surface.
We are not saying don't come - we are saying come with the skills you have, because they are enough and they are needed.
We are not saying don't give - we are saying give to organizations already established on the ground here who have invested the time and work it takes to form relationship and truly understand where the needs are.
If you have any interest in joining our discussions about how to help without hurting, please contact me! I have so many fun resources and we can discuss it all together. None of us know how to do this perfectly - we are human and we never will, but we can use the knowledge we have and the wisdom from past mistakes to try our best to do this well.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
