Thursday night I had the incredible opportunity to attend A
Night To Shine put on by the Tim Tebow Foundation in Haiti at My Life Speaks.
The night was absolutely incredible. I had seen on facebook that the event took
place last year and remember thinking I got to go see this in person. A night
in Haiti all about celebrating children with special needs and making them feel
special. A day to show the community the worth and value of each and every individual.
I had the wonderful opportunity of helping Respire take some
of their children to the event. They had the kids show up at 2PM to start doing
hair, nails, and try on their clothes to make sure they fit. We made popcorn
and put on music and enjoyed the time getting ready together. The kids were so
excited about their new fancy outfits. The incredible thing is that the kids
get to keep their new outfits after the event.
This is awesome because many people in Haiti say they can’t go to church
because they don’t have a nice outfit to wear. For all the children who
participated they now have a nice church outfit!
After everyone was dressed in their outfits we paired them up with their escort. Respire had some of their children without special needs escort the kids that did. It was precious! We took a group picture then pictures of the couples. Some of the parents came as well.
After pictures we all loaded into 2 vehicles and did a 20-30 minute drive to My Life Speaks.
When we arrived everyone received name tags. Then the children got flowers (girls around their wrist and boys pinned to their shirts).
Then they announced each couple and they got to walk down the red carpet into the event. Where they then got a professional picture taken.
After the professional pictures we took pictures with the kids & their parents. I just kept thinking what the parents must have been thinking and how this night must have made them feel...Such JOY & HAPPINESS seeing a night all about their child. Who by cultural standards is look down upon & seen as worthless. Most Haitian kids never get to experience a night like this let alone a special needs child! It brought tears to my eyes thinking about this.
We had a few minutes to wait for the DJ and so I caught this picture of everyone anxiously waiting to start dancing :-)
It did not take long before everyone was out on the dance floor having a GREAT time. I just loved watching the kids dance and dancing with them. That is 1 thing all Haitians love to do…Dance! And to be honest they have some pretty awesome dance moves.
During the dance the kids could take a break and go get a snow cone or a cotton candy which was a fun treat!
Later in the evening we all circled around a screen where they showed a short film that told about Night To Shine. A Night that was happening all over the world. Tim Tebow shared about how we are all daughters and son’s of the God which makes us prince’s and princesses. Each child then received a crown!
After they received their crown they proceeded to walk back down the red carpet with their crowns on their way to dinner.
Each child received a full Haitian Party Meal and a drink. As I walked around all I saw was HUGE smiles!
After everyone at it was back to the dance Floor!!!!
As I watched the kids dance and have the time of their life, I noticed tears forming in my eyes. The view of disabilities in Haiti is not good. They are often ostracized or hidden away. There are not many services available to help them. BUT last night all of that faded away as the night was all about them. They were in the spotlight. They were prince’s and princesses. The SMILES, the JOY, the LAUGHTER was all that was shining last night! In the back of my head all I could think is how I wish my kids could be here.
I am thankful that I got a few minutes to talk to Tim Tebow and ask if he would consider putting on A Night To Shine in the Northwest Part of Haiti. He said to email him. How amazing if we could host this event at the Mission for the Miriam Center kids and the outreach families.
A HUGE Thank you to My Life Speaks and the Tim Tebow Foundation for putting on this amazing event.
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