How to properly feed you children...in Haiti.

So before I begin I just want to fill you in on the Christmas things for the CHOAIDS kids situation.
It is way easier for me to just buy the gifts down here, rather than hauling them all back from the states with me. So I had an idea: There are 23 kids, each needs a gift. What is we did a sort of sponsor program? Anyone who is interested could donate however much they feel is best for one child. Then you don't feel like you have to empty your pockets, you know? I could write about the gifts I got and maybe make you feel more involved? I can't really get bios of all the kids, but if you're curious, check out our website: CHOAIDS Haiti. That's all you have to google. You could drop the money by my mom and she will deposit into my account dedicated to the volunteer work I am doing on this trip. I do that because I do not want anyone to feel that I am spending their money on things for myself. I assure you that I would never EVER spend any donations on anything except for the kids. I hope that goes without saying. Obviously you can donate to sponsor more than one child if you want, totally up to you. If we don't get them all of them covered I'll just cover it.
So anyway, I just wanted to put that out there. Any donations help, I've got 23 kids to shop for. I'll talk to them about their interests but obviously I'm not going to do anything extravagant, present wise.
Okay, I'll tell a story now.
In Haiti, for families with limited means, food is very expensive. No matter how frugal you are. So when you are presented with food you eat it all. If you don't eat it, someone else will. DO NOT WASTE FOOD.
This goes for kids more than anyone. Don't ever let a child go hungry if you can help it.
One day I walk out of the house to a very interesting sight. Gabrielle had Kerry laying across her lap on his back. The child is screaming as she is virtually waterboarding him with porridge. As she shoves another spoonful into his already full mouth she explains to me that she made the mush, and then he didn't want to eat. So she had no choice. "When your child don't want to eat, you do this." She gestured with the spoon at Kerry. Soon Filo and I were both watching, all of us laughing, them at how ridiculous they thought the child was being, and me in pure shock at the entire situation.
"Sadie, when you have baby you can bring him here and we will help teach you how to make him eat."
And I'm thinking "....Hmm....".
After a few days I became desensitized to this. After all, it is their child, their culture, and I came here to fully embrace Haiti, however different the culture may be.
One day we were readying Jersey for school. She still had to eat breakfast and be bathed (we use buckets with a cup to pour the water over our heads. That's a shower. Quite fun actually.) Anyway, I was given the job to feed her. Her breakfast that morning was boiled potatoes chopped into fairly large chunks. I'm spooning them into her mouth because if she's allowed to eat by herself she goes too slowly. Gabrielle walks by and says "Hurry! Hurry!" in creole. So I'm shoving the food into Jersey's mouth so quickly that she can barely chew. I'd pause and motion for her to chew faster. On the last spoonful I shoved it into her mouth and sent her off to bathe, still with her cheeks bursting with potato.
At home when I am nannying and it's dinner time I say things like "Okay, take one more bite of your PB&J, then you can be excused. Good job! I'm very proud of you."
Here it's "Eat your mush darn it!"
Because like I said, in Haiti, food is expensive, and you have to feed your kids.
Just something I found interesting. I will write again tonight with a story of my day.
Until then...Have a great day everyone. And keep CHOAIDS in your minds for Christmas.