Months back, I enjoyed a lovely visit with Laura Lynn Nichols, on her ocean view porch in Jubilee.
It was a perfect morning. The sun was shining and the breeze gently blowing. We sat and talked peacefully, like the old friends we have become.
I have known Lala for over 10 years now. This young woman carries her heart full of the needs of the kids of Jubilee and their families. She is a dread warrior for the cause of justice and mercy. And sometimes it is a heavy thing.
Afterwards, I climbed back down the ladder, to find three barefoot kids squatting there in the shade. They each had bags and were going through the contents.
Unmistakably these were goods they had just found while combing through the dump.
There were plastic spoons, some broken plates, tiny packets of shampoo and a hot sauce bottle with fragments of usable juice that they took turned up into their mouths, happy to get the drops.
There was an old computer keyboard and some broken figurines. These kids were maybe 5, 7, 8 years old. And this is what they do. Every Day. They scavenge among the garbage of Gonaives on the edge of beautiful Jubilee.
For me, it was a sacred moment. Squatting there with these kids. Watching and listening to their reactions as they went back over the proud findings. Can I just say that at that moment, the connection between the School and these kids’ futures became a stark reality?
Now I have nothing against using recycled materials…in fact, it is what I do. And I think that it is great for children to be smart and help their families.
But, honestly, picking through the dump can be a desperate attempt at life, if it is all there is. Not to mention, it is dangerous to pick through garbage that is set on fire with each truck that dumps it. It is scary that these kids are barefoot and that the fumes are surely toxic that they inhale.
More kids in school, less kids going through the garbage.
This I know.
The School is the difference between
bare survival and hope for a healthy future.
This young woman, Laura Lynn Nichols, Our Lala, carries the weight of this truth. She carries it in her mind and body and her soul, day in and day out.
Jubilee Kids has taken on the huge task of getting as many kids as possible
out of the literal dump,
out of the danger of being sex traffficked,
out of severe malnutrition,
and into classrooms with strong loving teachers, nutritious hot meals and huge amounts of HOPE.
It is a great honor to introduce one of my forever heroes, Laura Lynn Nichols.
By Kathy Brooks
Jubilee Kids 10th Anniversary Celebration, October 24, 2019
