Local group finds reward lending aid to Haitians

Only a couple hours by plane separate Miami’s South Beach from the mountains of Haiti.

But, in truth, they’re worlds apart.

Trendy, affluent South Beach is a magnet for the world’s rich and famous. Haiti, by contrast, continues its struggle to build a modern society in the wake of repeated natural disasters and unstable governments.

La Conner teens and adult sponsors were among a dozen area residents who saw both last month.

South Beach, they say, was okay. But it was Haiti that touched their hearts.

The local group spent more than a week on mission in the Caribbean, tending to the needs of Haiti’s most vulnerable, its impoverished children and scores of the island nation’s physically and developmentally challenged.

During their stay the volunteers fed more than two dozen babies in a hectic hospital nursery, played ball and bonded with Haitian youth, and learned to cope without air conditioning in a tropical summer climate.

Plus they survived all sorts of zany traffic — often akin to an out-of-control amusement park ride — with cars, bicycles, and even pack mules sharing streets and roadways in no particular order.

They wouldn’t have had it any other way, says Holly Christmas, of La Conner, whose son, Zach Harris, made the trip.

“We all came back with what’s called the Haitian Glow,” she said. “We were working with people who had very little in a material sense but have everything because they have such joy and hope.”

The Skagit and Island counties entourage helped provide still more hope.

They worked primarily with the famed St. Joseph’s Home, an often cited Christian-based refuge for Haitian boys that embraces a caring, family atmosphere, and Wings of Hope, a group home for children facing serious health issues.

“At St. Joseph’s,” said Christmas, “the aim is to make the next generation stronger.”

It was there that the group met Bill Nathan, the home’s 29-year-old director and former child slave, whose story made international headlines two years ago when he was seriously injured in the devastating earthquake that reduced much of the country to rubble.

The infrastructure in Haiti has yet to be completely repaired. Nor is that likely to happen anytime soon. The local volunteers adjusted to power outages and were introduced to what they called “bucket showers.”

Even the Haitian capitol remains in disrepair due to lack of ready financial capital, Christmas said.

“There aren’t a lot of loans being made to rebuild things in Haiti,” she said, “so they work on something when they have money and then stop when it runs out.”

One thing that is never lacking in Haiti, said Christmas, is a sense of family.

“The Haitian people make quick bonds,” she said. “They’re very appreciative.”

As an example, she pointed out how tour coordinator, La Conner teacher Sara Harlan, was able to gain entry for the group to volunteer at a Haitian hospital.

“Sara used to teach in Haiti,” Christmas said, “so she knew what to do. She walked right up to the hospital and knocked on the door and said, ‘we want to help.’ It was that easy. They invited us into the nursery, where two women were trying to feed 28 babies. They were glad to see us.”

Harlan had retained enough command of French Creole from her previous Haitian teaching stint to overcome initial language barriers. After that, a shared sense of purpose assured all parties were on the same page.

One of the first students Harlan enlisted for the Haitian mission was her niece, Morgan Harlan, of La Conner, a student at Burlington-Edison High.

Morgan said the experience was uplifting and powerful, unlike anything else she had done before.

“I would definitely do it again,” Morgan said Monday. “It wasn’t something I had thought of beforehand, but the opportunity was made available to me and after the fact I decided it was something I wanted to do. I’m glad I did.”

She hopes to return as soon as next year.

Ditto Harris. During the course of playing basketball with his hosts he was overcome by the Haitian Glow his mom had described earlier.

“All in all, it was a pretty mellow trip,” Christmas said. “We were well protected and taken care of.”

And, in a very real sense, well-schooled.

Morgan Harlan, whose travels have included entry in a national young entrepreneur’s competition in Atlanta, found Haiti to be a classroom unto itself.

“It really helped us gain some perspective as to what life is like in developing countries,” she said. “There’s just so much that we have here in terms of services that we take for granted, and that they don’t have in places like Haiti. It makes you so much more appreciative.”