Students Recall Mission Trip to Haiti

Jane Ehlers reflects on her spring break experience with Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church.

Each year our church youth group goes out into the world during spring break to help others and build connections.

 This year, we split into two groups. One group went to Atlantic City to do rebuilding work to homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy, and another group went to Haiti. I was part of the team of nine youth (eight of which attend Columbia High School and one who graduated last year) and three adults that went to Haiti.

The purpose of our trip was to make connections with the people and build a bridge, metaphorically of course, between the HAPI mission in Mizak, and not only our church but our town as well. The HAPI mission is located in Mizak, Haiti which is about one hour from Jacmel, and four hours from Port Au Prince. While we were there, we stayed in the guest house built by the people of Mizak and funded by the Methodist Church and Pastor Paul, the pastor of the mission in Haiti.

HAPI stands for Haitian Artisans for Peace International,and it is a faith-based community development ministry whose mission is to empower Haitians to grow their capacity to lead with integrity, to develop solutions to their own problems, and to help their families and communities to live to their fullest potential. Along with the part of HAPI that empowers artisans, there are programs for youth and a clinic build by HAPI.

While we were there, we brought water filters to expectant mothers and mothers with young children around Mizak. We traveled on motorcycles and got to see much of the beautiful countryside on our journey. Those who received water filters from us, which we ordered from a company called Aqua Clara that creates powerful, long-lasting water filters for developing countries, were very grateful. We saw the direct affects of people there drinking dirty drinking water and heard stories (through translators) of sickness as a result of the dirty drinking water. In addition to delivering the water filtration systems, we shared dances, led a Vacation Bible School for the children, and visited a local school.

Visiting the local school was very interesting. We met students who had a real appreciation for their education and work to their full potential because they know how hard their parents have had to work to send them to school. No schools in Haiti are free and some cost several month’s wages.  We also learned that grades in Haiti have no correlation age, as people are sent to school whenever their parents or they get the money to go to school.  So a 25-year old could be in 3rd grade with an 8-year old and it is not seen as strange. Being in the school was particularly interesting because we could see the similarities between our schools and theirs despite the obvious differences.  We met some of the most amazing people there, who we try to keep in contact with via the Internet and phone calls.

One of the coolest things to see when we were there is how generous and kind everyone is to each other. The community ethic is that neighbors look out for each other, and often when a family did not have food another family would share with them. I think one of the most important things I learned from the experience is that friendship transcends language and culture boundaries. I was able to communicate with the children and adults there despite knowing no French/Creole. We shared a lot with them about our town and our church and we hope to go back as soon as possible. As we landed, Charlotte Gagnier, a junior at Columbia High School summed up all of our feelings in a sentence saying "I feel homesick being in New Jersey,"