Although easily one of the shyest of the bunch, this particular student had the most beautiful radiance to her – as if she was angel in starched white clothes that had somehow fallen into a world in which I couldn’t perceive that she belonged. Not to say that any of these children belonged in this situation, but there was something about this child, something inexplicable; an aura she possessed that spread itself across the room. It is something I cannot define, but this girl almost felt like a movie star; mysterious, reserved, untouchable…inexplicably beautiful.
While much of our days were spent helping rebuild the children’s school and playing outdoors with the children (they too were on holiday, but to put things back into perspective for a brief second, winter holiday doesn’t mean vacationing in St. Barths, winter holiday simply means an absence of homework. The kids still showed up at the school, although unrequired, nearly everyday). Personally I wanted to interact with all of the children, whether they were students of Wings Over Haiti or not. A child is a child, and if they want to laugh and play, who am I to pick and choose? As such, I asked that we visit some of the refugee camps. While the adults were significantly more guarded and uninviting, the children would often run up to me, sometimes in overwhelming crowds, eager to have their photo taken or touch my hair or show me their dolls.