Haitian Mother's Day

You may think this is a little late for Mother's Day but in Haiti, it was just last Sunday. This Sunday was special and I was proud of our Haitian men honouring the mother's. When so many countries in the world do not honour women, it was nice to see. 

Now in Haiti, woman are not seen on the same level as men and there are many very chauvinistic practices for sure, but they do see the woman as essential to their being. As one of my Haitian doctors said in his mother's day speech, "today we honour women because without them there would be no perpetuation of life. We praise God for creating women so that life can be renewed and continued". 

At church on Sunday, one of our elders in the church who likes a good party (who also looks like a Haitian biker with a big moustache) called out to find the oldest mother in our church. He stated at 100 and counted down until he hit the age of the oldest lady in our church. In Haiti the average life expectancy is only 56-58, so anyone over 60 is pretty old. He made it down to 85 before 2 ladies came forward. You can see them both in the photo below (the one in the blue dress and the one to her left. At 85 years old, they have seen so much in this country and what an accomplishment it is to live that old. 

If you have ever seen a Haitian lady this old (and I have met a few that are 98 and even one that claimed 101), they are the sweetest things in the world. He proceeded to count down until we had the group of oldest mothers in our church. 

Here is the photo of the oldest "mommy's" in our church. They range from 75 to 85 years old. These women have a legacy for sure, praise God.