Tayasha and Betneyflor

I grip Jaydens’ hand firmly in mine as we make our way across the dusty, rock filled path to the river. As usual the trail is busy, but today my attention is drawn to a little girl carefully cradling her doll. I pick up Jayden and balance him on my right hip as I walk a little faster to catch up to her. “Kijan ou rele?” (What is your name?) I ask her. “Tayasha,” she responds and smiles shyly at me. “Mwen remen pope ou,” ( I like your doll) I say, and smile back. “Eske mwen kapab kinbe li?” (May I hold her?) I ask. She looks at me intently for a moment and then deciding she can trust me she carefully hands over her treasure. “Kijan rele pope ou?” (What is the name of your doll?) I ask. “Betneyflor”, she says.” As I hold Betneyflor, I take a moment and examine her a little closer. Betneyflor is missing most of her hair, and both of her wrists. She has no clothes, but instead has a piece of cloth tied around her waist. She is dirty and the wisps of blonde hair she has left are rather matted. But although she is in a sorry state, I can tell she’s well loved. Tayasha doesn’t take her eyes off her the whole time I’m holding her.
A few minute later we arrive at the river and Tayasha gently takes Benteyflor back. I watch as she carefully unwraps the cloth around the dolls waist and washes it in the river. She then does her best to wash Betneyflor, but she can’t get the knots out of her hair. Sharing Tayasha’s love for dolls, and now babies, I desperately try to think of something I can do for her.
Suddenly, I remember I still have a piece of material in my suitcase. I had bought it a year ago, but had never done anything with it. It would be perfect to make a dress for Betneyflor, I thought to myself, already imagining in my mind what it would look like. “Esk ou vle mwen koud yon rob pou Betneyflor?” (Would you like me to make a dress for Betneyflor?)I ask. Her dark eyes widen and she smiles! “Wi,”(yes) she says excitedly. “Vini avec mwen” (Come with me) I say. She walks back to the camp where we live and then lets me take her doll. I take off the piece of cloth, wash Betneyflor with soap and water and then using shampoo and conditioner get to work on her hair. She soon looks a lot cleaner and I manage to get all the knots out of her hair too. Then I get to work measuring, pining, cutting out, and stitching a little dress for Betneyflor. Once the dress is done I cut out a square piece of material and make a little hat to cover Benteyflors’ baldness. Betneyflor looks very pretty all dressed up and Tayasha is thrilled when she sees her. She hugs Betneyflor close and then allows her friend Katie to hold and admire Betneyflor. Then shyly she looks up at me and says “Eske ou koud menm pou mwe?” (Can you make the same for me?) I don’t have enough material to make a dress, but I do have enough to make matching little hats for her and her friend. When I finish them, they put them on and dance around excitedly. It’s heart warming to watch how happy they are over something so small. Like I said earlier, they may not have much, but they treasure what they have.