“The Story of Jonas”

While our “feeding team” was preparing for a food distribution in a new village, they met this little boy, Jonas. Jonas was born high in the mountains of a village called Manacou, near Peyi Pouri. (It takes a “four-wheel-drive vehicle” to get there.)

We noticed this little boy working hard in the heat of the sun, in the fields. He had a Haitian “wou” in his hands, and with each grunt, he brought the heavy piece of equipment down hard into the earth. (A “wou” is a Haitian hoe, with a long, heavy pole and a “very heavy slanted piece of metal” at the end! This has to cut deep into the hard, dry ground!) The little boy worked with older men and never stopped to take a break.

We asked him what his name was, and where he lived, and where were his parents? He said, “My parents are dead. I have no home, so I sleep in the field.” Then he said, “I miss my parents.”

He told us that he wakes up each morning and works for someone, and they give him food, but if he doesn’t work hard enough, they will beat him! He has never been to school, doesn’t know anything about his parents, and doesn’t know how old he is. The only thing he knows is “fear.”

I noticed his hand had been burned, and I asked how it happened? He answered, “I burned it when I was making a fire to cook for them.” “Them” are the people who owned the field and made Jonas their little “slave.” The little boy “worked for food.”

Jonas sadly hung his head and said, “They said that I wasn’t worth the food I ate.” We brought him back to Love A Child and gave him a “big plate of food.” This morning, we will take him to Dr. Barthelemy for an exam. We will make sure that Jonas is taken care of.

We will keep you updated on Jonas.
Sherry Burnette