Haiti Day in Zutphen
white mothers with adopted curly haired children
A report by Petra Boersma
Finally, the time has come, we are going to Haiti Day again. Usually about once every 2 years, such a day is organized by parents who have a Haitian child themselves, in collaboration with Wereldkinderen, where the addresses of the people who have adopted a child or multiple children from Haiti come from. It is always quite an experience and you hope to see parents from the group in which your child came to the Netherlands. Experiences are exchanged about the adoption and about how things are going with the children, school, sports, you name it. Piet Dijkhuizen is also always there with his stand with Haitian stuff. Well, that is always popular, because there is always something new that we do not have yet.
Do you remember Dominga from maties? Her mother cut her hair really short after a relax fiasco and compare the hair growth.
In the photo on the left, Dominga is seen with Jackson and Collin. They were in October 1996
came to the Netherlands together from Haiti
Photo right: integration is never a problem for children.
More reactions from the mothers: Children
The day itself is held in a school, so plenty of space and when the weather is nice, you can play outside. Another hot item is, of course, THE HAIR of the children. And their dry skin, because yes, the climate here is different from Haiti and you try to get as many tips from each other as possible or if you have a good tip, you pass it on.
This year I was pleasantly surprised to see that Lori from Mariposa was present at Haiti day, and of course I went to watch and listen to her demonstration. It is always nice to hear that you are doing well with your child, because whether you like it or not as a white mother you always have the idea that you have to prove to yourself that you can take good care of your beautiful brown child, in terms of appearance,
because education is just like any other.
I watched closely how the hair of a girl of about 12 years old was braided. I found it very sad to see that the hair was not a beautiful black, but a bit brown and full of tangles. Her mother did not do much more than smear some grease in it in the morning, even comb it
she didn't, because it hurt so much.
I explained to her that I have always combed my girl's hair since she was here and that it was no fun, but that she gets used to it and that it is much better for her hair. Her mother couldn't braid her hair either, because it hurt her fingers. Well, after 5 hours of braiding I want to do something else, but you either have a girl or you don't and I don't have a problem with that.
You also saw that the boys generally had very short hair or almost bald, nice and easy. There was one who had dreads with blonde strands at the ends, looked really cool.
The small children whose hair still had to grow often only had a pin or bow in their hair and I also said a few times that it is very important to comb their hair every time so that they can get used to it and that it remains tangle-free. I also said, given my experience with Dominga, that it might often be better to cut the hair really short once and then let it grow again, simply because it is in bad condition, also due to malnutrition in Haiti.
I also said that it is very important not to give up and just try and of course referred to Kroeshaar.com and recommended the book.
Furthermore, we were very lucky with the weather and it was another very nice day.
As soon as there is another Haiti day, I will certainly let you know so that you can be represented again, because there are always questions about hair.”
With thanks to Goos who emailed the report and photos, Willeke Keizer who contacted kroeshaar.com and Sorrayda van Ommeren who cooperated.
The picture of the little girl with so much hair is from Magda Marten. This is what she wrote: Hi, this is a picture of my lovely daughter shanaya she is 2 years. I am a supporter of kroeshaar for a couple of years.