Haiti 2014 part II | The Team, the Talent and the Timing

Yesterday I was telling some of our team’s stories and I was asked if the trip was overwhelming. It was question that caused me to pause and think. I didn’t answer right away and as I thought about it more, that is not a word I would use to describe this trip. The greatest reason is because of what we, as a team, were able to accomplish. In my first blog post about my trip to Haiti, I told you my story and my experiences. Today I want to tell the some of the stories of the amazing people on my team, what we able to accomplish while we there, the timing of our trip and what we are continuing to do now that we are home. The confluence of people, talent and timing that took place on this trip is nothing sort of extraordinary and this story needs to be told. This trip was physically and mentally very demanding and without each other to lean on and to process our thoughts, it would have been a very different trip. We had full time photographers, videographers, nurses and even a Hot Shot firefighter on our trip. What I soon found out though is that we had much more than just that. These team members were also at one point Speech Therapists, Art teachers, Business Coaches and so much more, watching how these talents unfolded was nothing short of amazing.

All the photographs from the team are being compiled into one gallery of awesomeness and going through them I realized just how much I did NOT get to be a part of. This is something that I am actually excited and proud of. We had 22 insanely talented people on this trip and if I was able to be a part of everything, we would not have utilized our skill sets and time there efficiently.  I am so proud to call this group of people, friends and without question, the experiences and grit we shared have forged bonds that will remain for the entirety of our lives. I want to share with you a few of people I had to chance to watch and how their talents specifically changed lives.

As the team loaded up in the cattle car, yes we got all 22 people into that truck, we had our first experience of Haiti as we made our way to the guest house. The sights, colors and even smells were so much potent than what we used to in the US and Canada, that we all were mesmerized. After we hit the guest house, one of the first things we did was dump and sort all the items we smashed into our suitcases that we brought to help the orphanage. This was something that was announced almost last minute but to see the amount we able to contribute was amazing. Soap, cakes, vitamins, sheet sets, crayons, paper…I have no idea how we managed to get all of that there but that was my first sign this was a special group.

That first couple of nights we took some of the art supplies to the Bens (a gathering area and the concrete soccer field) and just hung out with the kids. So many things were happening at once. So much laughter, so many stories being shared, it was great to bond with the kids but all us wanted to do more than just hug on the kids and we soon found out that they wanted so much more too.

Having a specific timeline and plans ahead of a trip of Haiti are difficult to really effectively prepare. Much of Haiti is truly a third world country, the infrastructure is very damage and the electrical grid is shaky at best. You have to be flexible with your plans and be open to having your course changed almost daily. Through the weekend and talking with many people at Child Hope, Josh was able to put together a solid but far reaching plan. There are so many programs that we wanted to put our stamp on.  Child Hope has such broad range of programs, the Boys home, Girls home, Transition house, feeding program, school, bakery, jewelry making… plus other programs not under their umbrella like the ApParent Project. Then add in we were doing as many free shoots as we could, painting and the 4 nurses spent 2 days at a free clinic, yeah we were stretched.

Starting Monday morning we split up and all attacked what we could. Kaitlin and I went to the roof of the girl’s home to paint while a few members painted the entry way below us and a few went to the boys home to paint as well. A desire of Child Hope is to make the boy’s and girl’s homes feel like, well, homes. If only we had some people who could create these drawings and paintings…. Jessica, Hannah and Darryl jumped at the chance to do something special. It may seem small but turning an empty wall into a daily reminder that the kids are not alone is something that I know they will cherish.

We were asked to do little landscaping for the guest house. A simple task right? Well the ground is more like clay and by clay I mean borderline concrete, plus it is 95 degrees, with 90% humidity. If only we had someone who would love to take on a physical task and can handle the heat….

I followed along as the four nurses spent time at the free clinic. This clinic is funded fully by a church in US and has no restrictions, anyone can walk in and received basic medical care and prescriptions. I spent part of the morning watching these amazing woman do what they do. Haitian after Haitian came in, each received the care they needed, prescriptions were given and guidance was received.

We scheduled as many free family and portrait shoots possible and we even had a stylized fashion shoot highlighting the jewelry and scarves made at the transition house. I know a few of our team member’s even photographed head shots and classroom photos for an entire 300 person school.

With Haiti at 80% unemployment and the average yearly income of those working at only $350, there are no jobs to walk into. If you want a job it is up to you to create one. If we only had someone to dig into their lives and pull out their why’s and give them guidance and encouragement….

Once Jane got their “Why’s”, lit a fire under them and opened their eyes to what is possible, Jeremy Kester stepped in. He took all their ideas, took all their roadblocks and the problems that come with creating a business in Haiti present and hammered out dedicated, specific business plans for each group.

So these kids now had a Why and a How but they need exposure and content to execute a business plan. Good thing we brought some talented photographers and videographers around to develop a catalog of jewelry, to create a promo video. The other Jeremy (for you sharp people, yes that is THAT Jeremy) filmed and documented. I followed the two Jeremy’s as they interviewed each group, documented their jobs and heard their story.

This was all so powerful but also very demanding. There are real concerns about health and safety and when you bring 22 people to Haiti, the law of large numbers say that someone is going to be affected. Our group was no exception and Dave drew the short straw and was put down for the day. I know multiple other people, especially towards the end of the trip had their bodies fight against them. However what you did not hear is a complaint or even a frustrated moment. We knew why we were here and we just grinded through it.

There were some tough moments, especially the first feeding program we were a part of. So many things we say, we heard, we experienced were difficult to process. We spent many nights and even some sunrises, on the roof of the guest house. This quickly became our oasis to hear each other stories, to offer encouragement and to decompress. I know personally some of the conversations I had with others on the roof are ones I will remember forever.

The last day of the trip, literally a few hours before our flight left, I found myself in the home of founders of Child Hope, Bill and Susette. I was there with a handful of others from our team and while we knew what we wanted to talk about with Bill and Susette, we did not know where the conversation would take us. The details of the conversation I will keep to myself but I will say that what happened is that we discovered just how desperate of a need our team was to Child Hope. We also discovered the timing of our trip was nothing short of perfect. If our team came down in November, the needs were not yet know. If we came in April, it would have been too late. The next thing I know, Andrew is throwing the FULL weight of Showit and PASS into helping Child Hope, Jeremy and Jeremy are filming and interviewing Bill and Susette and we are creating content that with all of our combines resources, very very few groups of 22 other people could create. In a short time, I will be able to share more about this conversation. Truly talented people are creating the narrative in a way that I could never explain, so just hang in there and believe me when I say that our trip may be over but our mission is just beginning.