Our little family so far away brings to surface a message of hope and opportunity for hygge.
Romel, our trusted friend has recently gone through a frustrating time when his mother was sick and needed what should be easily affordable medicines for us though out of reach for him. Romel asks for little but once in a while he might tell me he is out of food or low on fuel or needing some help with rent. We do so little but it is always so much appreciated. Work for money is very elusive in Haiti. Does not mean they do not work very hard simply to live, it is just the payment that is elusive
I have known Romel for well over a decade now and met him when he worked for me in the Dominican Republic. We were living there on a mixture of charity work, retirement and kept busy with property management for expats and building a hostel. It was the hostel construction where I met Romel and saw him as a dedicated and honest worker.
He ended up working for us after the completion as a watchie and guarded the property and our daughter with enthusiasm. He left the Dominican Republic for a bit taking a welding course in South America and before getting a job in Mexico as a welder he stayed in Pignon with his mom and their eight orphan children. This is when I helped with medications. She had such a role to play in the lives of eight young girls and she needed to be well. A grandmother running an orphanage needs health and nutrition.