Caritas asked survivors of the 12 January earthquake in Haiti “if a miracle could happen, what would you wish for?”
Baptiste Chadaël, 16, Lakay street kid center; PAP.
“If a miracle could happen, I would become a doctor and help the people in need”.
Baptiste in an orphan. He lost his mother and father 6 years ago. After their death, the family was sent to the grand parents’ home, in Bel Air, one of the poorest area in PAP. Baptsiste was deeply unhappy there. His grand father used to bit him up very hard. After a few years, Baptist left and decided to go to the street. His 3 brothers stayed with the grand parents. Now they all live in “Piste”, an IDP camp located next to the airport.
Like most homeless kids in PAP, Baptiste lived near Champ de Mars, together with 5 other friends. To survive, he would make a little money helping people with their small business (food mainly). After 2 years of this, Baptiste met people from the center for street kids who invited him to come over. A few months later, he finally moved in the center, where he has been living together with 525 other street kids ever since.
When the quake hit PAP, Baptiste and three of his friends were on their way back from the local school nearby. At first, the noise was such that they thought a bulldozer was coming from behind. We had no idea what an earthquake was like, he explains. They started running, until one of his friend got hit by a falling wall that broke his ankle. Baptiste helped him get back to center.
Intense fear and sadness is what he remembers from the quake. Never again so many injured and helpless people, he says. If a miracle could happen, he would like to become a doctor to ease the pain and help all those who need it.
