The other night we did the evening shift at Better Days for Moria. I was curious if it would be different from the night shift, but it really wasn’t. I worked in distribution helping women and children find warm dry clothes. There were so many babies and children that night, so exhausted that several of them fell asleep on the bare floor in the changing tent, amid the chaos. One baby fell asleep face down and got buried under some coats. Her mom was busy trying to get her other baby clothed, and seemed so tired and overwhelmed. I moved the sleeping baby to the side, used a jacket for a pillow, and put a blanket on her. I was relieved when the family (4 small kids) was outfitted and ready to move on to sleep.

There was one kid that I totally fell in love with. He was maybe 9 or so. He was so sweet and eager to take care of everyone, and his smile was infectious. He kept stopping all the volunteers to enthusiastically say “merci!” then rushing over to help one of the other kids. I told him “merci” as well, because his energy and eagerness to help was such a blessing on a night when most of the other refugees seemed to be too tired to function.

I also heard about a couple that just found out they are pregnant. They were so happy that the father started to cry with joy. It was a reminder to me that life goes on, even in the midst of all this turmoil.

-Kathryn McCarthy