Jonas…

What a sweet, cute, 14-year-old, young boy. He is smiling, but it took many months before he learned how to smile. We were filming for our Love A Child Television Program, “up in the mountains” of Haiti, showing how hard the poor farmers work. The mountain men use a very heavy farming tool called a “wou.” It has a long, dry, heavy pole, and on the end is a “very heavy” type of shovel. But this was not a shovel. It was a wou, a heavy, long pole, and a very heavy shovel-like piece at the end. They raise it high and then “slam it down into a hole.”

I watched as the tough Haitian farmers worked with “rivers of sweat running down their faces.” I was horrified as I saw a small, little boy working with the men! Then, a big, heavy, muscular lady across the garden would yell at the little boy! The young boy was horrified! I realized that the little boy was being made to work hard. This child was a “restavek slave child,” and would have been one for the rest of his life! We knew we could rescue him, and we did! We took Jonas home with us, but his story is sad. Be sure to read the rest of Jonas’ story tomorrow.

Sherry