Today has been the best and most productive day we’ve spent in Haiti on this trip. Both Lee and I agree this day was the day we were hoping for before we ever left the Sates.

We spent the entire day with Pastor Leon and his brother touring his schools and clinics, examining the storage and use of our meals, playing with the children and seeing firsthand the extreme poverty of Citi Solei. It was the kind of day I live for, and one that makes me proud to be a part of Stop Hunger Now.

Seeing the smiling faces of hungry school children as they shovel large spoonfuls of our meals into their mouths makes all the hard work and long hours worthwhile. I just wish everyone who has helped package a meal could have been with us as we watched the joy-filled faces of the children as they ate their hot lunch. There wasn’t a child I saw that didn’t clean their plate.

Compare that scene with one less than 100 yards away. We mentioned to Pastor Leon that we had read of people in Citi Solei being so despretely hungry they were buying and eating dirt cookies. He didn’t miss a beat, but responded, “of course, do you want to see them?”

Five minutes later I was escorted by a couple of Citi Solei locals through a couple narrow alleys to a “bakery.” Once there I saw several large metal tubs of the mud cookies ready for sale. I was able to get a few photos and even bought a half dozen of the cookies before having to leave.

I had to go to the area alone as it would not have been safe for all of us to go. (And Lee, being Lee,  quickly pointed out that she had a husband.) Even alone it wasn’t wise for me to be there long. Citi Solei is a dangerous area even for most Haitians.

In the four square miles of Citi Solei hunger stalks everyone. People are so hungry they buy and eat cookies made of mud, shortening and salt. They will eat anything to fill the painful void of their empty stomachs.

Yet, Pastor Leon’s school in Citi Solei is an oasis. Clean, laughing children in bright uniforms are getting an education and the food they so despretely need. The meals packaged by Stop Hunger volunteers are making a difference. Never doubt it.

All of us working together are changing the world for the better. All of you who helped package meals, those that donated money, SHN staff, and the wonderfully dedicated folks of Haiti Outreach Ministries working with Pasor Leon, all of us are demonstrating that we can and we will end hunger in our lifetime.