Sometimes I get more than I give

Sometimes I get more than I give.

“He can make anything. Just let him know what you want.” I walked into a workshop in Haiti with a sketch of a backpack and handed it to this young man. He looked at it, nodded, and made a motion of size. I showed him with my hands how big it needed to be. He took the sketch and went back to his workstation. Did he understand what I was asking? No words were exchanged because he is deaf. 2 hours later he found me in the workshop and handed me the backpack prototype.  He made the backpack in the picture in less than 2 hours!! I looked at him smiled and gave him a thumbs up. I looked at the interpreter and said, “Going forward I will call him Rockstar!” When they signed that to him, he got a big smile on his face.

Please meet Daugens. He is one of the artisans of Vi Bella who works in the sewing center. Not only is he deaf, he can only see from 1 eye. A couple of months before joining the team, he was working on his own trying to sell bags by the side of the road. 1 of Vi Bella’s artisans asked in they could give him a job and they did! 

Daugens in spite of his circumstances never quit. How many of us with less obstacles allow our circumstances to determine who we are and what we are able to do? Daugens truly is a rockstar! While I gave Daugens a new design, he gave me a new perspective.

Sometimes I get more than I give.