Children's Book to Inspire Us All

Some might say visiting Haiti and interacting with its people is enough to inspire anyone. This is true. After visiting the Louverture Cleary School in 1999 I knew that I would work to bring social justice to Haiti until that goal was achieved. Not everyone can make the trip to Haiti, but everyone needs to know that even one person can make a difference. I'd like to share the story of how I was reminded of this fact this past weekend.My 6 year old son and I were in a small town library in rural, western New York State. I was reading the paper and he was milling around on the edge of boredom. I pointed him towards the children's section of the library and suggested he pick out one book and then we would leave. He browsed the children's books for about 5 minutes and returned, one book in hand. I didn't notice much about the book as we checked it out. When we returned to our relative's home, my son handed the book to my wife and asked her to read it. As she started reading it aloud to him it was immediately apparent that it was about a young boy in Haiti. The book is called "Circle of Hope" by Karen Lynne Williams. It is beautifully illustrated.My son had his choice of perhaps 1000 books at the library. He chose this one. There is no basis for his choice other than it came to him or he came to it. He cannot read and could not have known how beautiful the story and the illustrations would be. Perhaps there is analogy here for all of us. Somehow we too came to know Haiti one way or the other. And when we first arrived we likely had no idea how much this country would capture our hearts. Haiti opened itself to us and each of us is filled with many stories and beautiful images from our time there. And we know that one person can make a difference for Haiti.The story of this book reminds us of that fact. It tells how a young boy's efforts are contributing to a better Haiti. I found it moving, and I believe you will too. I plan to circulate copies among my colleagues at The Haitian Project and among friends of mine who are also friends of Haiti.Kevin SchuylerBethesda, Maryland