By Dorothy Brotherton

FRANCINE Carruthers spent spring break in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and became someone’s answer to prayer.

With Kelowna Christian Centre’s Building Beyond Borders ministry, Carruthers intended to help any way she could; but her skills as an art therapist were quickly in demand. Carruthers works as a certified education assistant for the Central Okanagan School District.

In Haiti, she met Peterson Georges, a pioneering missionary in charge of YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in that area.  

“Peterson asked if I could engage in a relationship with a female leader who could open doors to a major ministry in Port-Au-Prince. He also said she was praying for an art therapist,” said Carruthers.

The woman’s name was also Francine, which helped form a quick connection.

“Francine was the leader of a tent city of 200 families. Francine expressed her concerns about many people coming, taking pictures, looking for good stories and then leaving.”

Carruthers spent more than three hours being interviewed by Francine’s board of directors, who wanted to make sure God had sent her – and that her work would glorify him.

Each tent of the community held six families, of four to seven people. Heritage Christian School had donated funds for four tents.

Carruthers explained: “I worked doing trauma art therapy with over 200 children of all ages. I also trained the staff to pursue that work when I would be done. We laughed and we cried together; but mostly, we shared the love of Christ. Every day there was hope.”

Carruthers’ techniques make use of scientific findings about how images influence emotions, thoughts and well-being.

“The brain and body react to the experience of drawing, painting and other art activities,” she explained. Art helps reduce chronic pain and stress, and reframes how people feel or respond to an event.

Carruthers’ impression of Haiti’s devastation, even months after the earthquake, was overwhelming. She spoke of walking down a street where buildings are crushed – some standing by a wall, others accordioned.

She told of dust rolling under her steps as she covered her nose because of the unbearable smell – also corpses still caught in the rubble, and insects creeping out when the rain comes.

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“How awful this nation must feel,” she wondered. “Hurt and suffering from physical injuries or trauma; loss of their loved ones; worried, hungry, thirsty and scared of tomorrow. What will the future be for them?”

Carruthers noted more than $2.4 billion has been donated to rebuild; but she said it had so far not shown a lot of results.

“Where is all the food? The water? The wells? Why are there still so many children without shelters, sleeping on sidewalks with just an old sheet over their head?”

Still, she saw positive things. Missionary Carl Thompson  showed her an anti-earthquake house made of foam blocks and metal rods. Thompson shared his dream of building a model village this way.

She witnessed a crusade, with 10,000 on their knees thanking God for life. “I met a little girl who lost her leg caught between concrete walls – and to my comments of feeling sad for her, she replied: ‘It’s okay. I still have another leg.’”

Carruthers slept with a group on the roof of the police building, after being told it was the safest place. In the mornings, she saw 300 – 600 people lined up at the gate waiting for medical care. “We helped any way we could: holding a child, comforting, praying. Sometimes we were sorting clothes and food for distribution.”

She told of seeing a fire in the street, with smoke as black as burning tires, and an unbelievable smell. They were informed that 10 corpses had been found and burned.

She said some of the problems are not just due to the earthquake, but to greed and corruption.

Of help sent from around the world, Carruthers said simply: “It’s not enough.” She noted mothers wash disposable diapers two or three times before discarding.

Besides Haiti, Carruthers and her husband Larry have gone with Building Beyond Borders to Kenya, where the church sponsors a children’s home.

She’s hoping to go back to Haiti in September, with supplies that include underwear, feminine pads, baby formula, tents, mattresses, blankets, pans, food and diapers.

July 2010