This place is unreal. I don’t even want to write it down because I feel like it’s going to ruin how surreal this experience is. Trying to think up words to describe what working here is like is impossible. Magical? Supernatural? Miraculous? All of those words have this bizarre connotation to them that make you think of crazy people who cast spells, not save children’s lives.

There is more drama here than in high school. Criminals and gangsters are more polite and pleasant than anyone you came across in college. There are enough celebrity stories to fill a gossip magazine. And yet there is more heart than I could ever imagine. Almost daily I have a moment of being completely overwhelmed with happiness and passion for the work we’re doing. The volunteers and employees have a level of commitment to the children and the patients that is blissfully overwhelming. Never have I been a part of an organization or company where there is so much dedication to the work being done. And considering how much has been accomplished, it’s not surprising that each person has devoted themselves wholeheartedly to this organization. What they have collectively built is astounding. By spreading their passion to generous donors, the founders of this organization have created an entire social services network for the people of Port-au-Prince. We serve sick children, abandoned children, mentally and physically disabled children, adults with acute disease and adults with chronic disease. We provide jobs to thousands of Haitian people, we send students to university, we freaking built internet cafés in one of the worst slums in the world.

Nothing I write could possibly do justice to this organization or my experience here. It is amazing.