Evens smiles as he walks onto a work site. He attacks jobs with enthusiasm and grasps new skills with ease. He stops to joke, laugh and talk with American volunteers from Hope for the Hungry who are in his native Haiti to put roofs on houses in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake.
He asks questions. He practices his English.
He is flirty. He is playful. He is intense. And he is smart.
But 13-year-old Evens and his twin brother Evenson had never been to school before they moved to the village of Guibert, Haiti.
Things are different now.
The two are enrolled in the Hope for the Hungry school. With the help of local pastor Jean Alix Paul, a tutor has been hired to get them caught up in classwork with kids their age.
Critics say not enough has been done in Haiti with aid money that has poured into the country.
Desperate residents claim they have not received money or enough help from the Haitian government or the non-government organizations responding to the crisis in the country.
It's true there's still many who need help and still much more to do.
Yet groups like Hope for the Hungry, Samaritan's Purse and Love A Child make a difference in the lives of individuals like Evens - and they do it everyday.
Homes are built. Orphans are loved. Children attend school, and the sick and injured receive medical care.
All because people care and choose to follow the commandment to love their neighbor.
