One of my favorite parts of my experience in Haiti was spending time with the children, and as I spoke, played, and took pictures with them, I realized how happy they all seemed. But it made me begin to question what happiness is.

 

According to the Merriman-Webster dictionary, Happiness is defined as “a state of well-being and contentment.” But how accurate is this definition?

 

Does my view of happiness depend on my lifestyle? Does happiness manifest differently depending on culture, socioeconomic status, materials, or opportunities? Is the happiness I see in others just based on my own unhappiness?

 

While in Haiti I saw happiness everywhere.

            In the eyes of the children as they smiled for picture after picture

            As children ran around Canaan barefoot and without pants, excited to have playmates back again for the day

            In the creation of spinning tops, jump ropes, and makeshift toy cars made of string and tin cans

            As the children ate our leftover sandwiches after lunch.

   When the Haitian construction workers accepted our gloves and water bottles with gratitude after our long           week of work

            On the faces of the children I spoke French with, excited that for once we could actually speak the same                         language and say more than “hello”, “what is your name”, and “how old are you?”

 

The happiness that I saw every moment of every day in Haiti was authentic. This happiness was based in love, compassion, respect, and gratitude.

 

I had a hard time grappling with the happiness that I saw in Haiti. It floored me because from my perspective Haiti is a broken country. How can anyone be happy living such an impoverished life? How can a person be happy when they don’t even have their basic needs met, such as a stable roof over their head, clean water to drink, and food to eat each day?

 

I think I’ve realized that much of our understanding of happiness in the United States relies on our social standing and our attachment to materialism. We find “happiness” in things. I put happiness in quotes because I don’t think our happiness in the United States is authentic. We are merely satisfied. When we get bored we buy the newest, nicest product, and for another length of time, depending on our attachment to the material item, we are once again filled up with mock happiness.

 

This is not the case in Haiti. Haiti thrives on community. In my perspective, from my time in Haiti, Haitians focus on building relationships within their families and communities. Their relationships are the source of happiness. If they have love and compassion, they can be happy. Their happiness does not depend on their material possessions, because many of them do not own anything extra. They don’t have apple watches, x boxes, or in-ground pools at their houses. Haitian people have each other, and that is all that seems to matter.

 

Now I am not saying that everyone in Haiti is happy, and the happiness I saw was based solely on my own perceptions and interpretations. I saw a lot of happiness each day, but I also saw sadness and sorrow, and that was mainly seen in the lives of the mothers and fathers who have sick children, who don’t have a safe home, or access to food and water.

 

For example, Mr. Genois, the director of sponsorship at PID, introduced us to a woman named Nadia. Nadia has seven children, and her husband left her to fend for herself, not uncommon in Haitian culture. Nadia is awaiting an emergency house in Canaan, but is struggling immensely as she waits. Nadia works from sunrise to sunset selling goods on the street. She would borrow money every morning to buy the goods, and hope throughout the day to make enough to pay her lender back, also hoping that she had some money left to feed her children. Nadia and her family barely eat one meal a day, the don’t have access to clean water, and their house is not a home. With muddy floors that flood when it rains, and a roof that leaks, her house is unsafe for her and her children.

 

I felt what I could only perceive as Nadia’s sadness as Mr. Genois spoke. Her struggles seem to be taking the life out of her. She looks weak, frail, all skin and bones as she walks throughout the compound. Her eyes looked sad, as if she is overcome by her failure to provide a safe and healthy life for her family. From my perspective, Nadia has hit rock bottom. She is unable to be happy, because she has too many worries in her life.

 

Nadia is only one of many Haitians living a life of worry. Some are lucky and have a house and food for their children, but they are still facing challenges each and every day.

 

But many of these people can somehow be happy. They appreciate the little things in life. They push forward. They don’t give up. They have hope. And hope keeps people going more than any material object ever will. Hope sustains life, and Haiti is filled with hope.