Mainers make a difference in Haiti

Mainers make a difference in Haiti ; Visits to the impoverished island nation convince volunteers to offer their skills, time and money.

16 June 2008
Portland Press Herald
© 2008 Portland Press Herald. All Rights Reserved.

Lorraine Mitchell wasn't prepared for what she saw when she traveled to poverty-stricken Haiti five years ago with a plane loaded with volunteers.
"I knew what poor was, but I never really knew what poverty meant," the resident of Strong said. "People have to endure living conditions that I'm not sure an animal should live in."
Several years ago, Mitchell listened to a presentation by Jamie Charles, a New Vineyard volunteer for the His Hands for Haiti organization.

"I sent the $80 donation to sponsor a little girl, which paid her year's tuition, bought her a school uniform and paid for her school lunch every day," the 70-year old grandmother said.
Charles sent her a picture of a little girl in a bright uniform.
When Charles asked her to go to Haiti, she decided to take the chance. A chartered plane and bus took them to the most impoverished rural parts of the island country, where many children do not live to see their fifth birthday.
"It was hard for me to come back and see all that I have here and how much I took my life for granted," she said. "I looked around my house and saw this so differently after that trip."
Extreme poverty in Haiti is nothing new. The nation remains among the poorest in the Western Hemisphere and was designated the world's third hungriest nation by the United Nations in 2000, after Somalia and Afghanistan.
Churches, organizations and individuals from western and central Maine chose to act directly, bypassing foundations and red tape.
Clinton resident Mary Russell, a nurse and member of the Faith Evangelical Free Church in Waterville, worked in a clinic on her first trip to Haiti in 2007, but she said she spent most of her time staring in disbelief at the horrendous living conditions she saw everywhere.
"I learned that a local mission brings 13 people to a church three times a week for a hot meal," she said. "Imagine that you would get to eat only three times a week!"
She didn't plan to return to Haiti, but Charles asked her to help with the school sponsorship program.
"I prayed about that, because Jamie was so desperate for the help, and I went," she said.
On that trip, she met Cap Hatien missionary Pat Moore, who asked for donations of Croc-style plastic shoes as basic footwear. Children can't go to school without shoes, Moore explained.
When Russell returned to Maine, she bought 13 pairs of shoes and shared her plans with her church. Within two months, she had collected 400 pairs for children and adults. She traveled with her daughter Valerie McFarland to Haiti in May and again in December.
"On this trip, I was completely immersed in the Haitian culture, something that could not have been planned or scripted, but just was, and it was a wonderful experience," she said. "For one week, we saw only Haitians and learned to speak a fair amount of Creole."
Her goal is to return in December with 1,000 pair of shoes.
Allan Stanford was the first team leader for many of the dedicated volunteers who return annually. Charles gives him the most credit for pulling groups together and expanding the different programs.
"He really keeps us all going," she said. "He's inspirational."
Aaron Shorey, the Hope for Haitians Foundation director, said he plans to move to Haiti with his wife and three children to become part of a support team, finding translators and moving the groups of volunteers to areas of greatest need.

HOW TO HELP
The Maine Haiti Network enables churches, groups and individuals to share their skills, services and experiences. Contacts for several groups in Maine: * His Hands for Haiti: Jamie Charles, 652- 2911
* Maine Haitian Ministries: Pam Brochu, 990-1410
* Faith Evangelical Free Church: Haiti missions, 873-1667