haiti

19 VSU students spent their Spring Break reaching out to Haiti physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Mission to

Haiti

Members of Team Haiti, which included 19 VSU students and a staff member, packed donated supplies to bring to Haiti.

The team began their journey on Friday, March 13.

Supplies included medicine, food, clothing, toys, arts and crafts, school materials and construction tools.

This truck of rice and the supplies behind it are only some of the supplies stuck at the Haitian border, tragically out of reach for the refugees that so desperately need them.

Team Haiti visited Port au Prince, the area that sustained the most damage during the earthquake on Jan. 12, and witnessed the destruction that displaced so many.

The presidential palace, a symbol of Haitian government, sustained significant damage.

Haitian refugees paint a plea for help on the side of a building.

This porch is where the twenty-four members of Team Haiti slept during their trip in a Haitian Christian Ministry compound in Fonds Parisien. The compound provides medical care, housing, and fellowship.

The volunteers preformed a skit for the refugees that told the story of creation from Genesis.

The volunteers held a camp for Haitian children at the compound. Camp activities like Red Light, Green Light, balloon animals, and other activities brought smiles to their faces.

The church at the compound provided spiritual refuge and encouragement for displaced Haitians. It was important to the team to include Evangelicalism in their volunteer efforts.

This is the symbol for the 823 Fighting Jesters of the United States Air Force. The team stopped by to boost morale by hanging out and bringing a small comfort from home: Starbucks!

One student balances on another’s back to reach the higher parts of the compound walls as they painted. The team participated in restoration in Haiti by painting, installing plumbing, and pouring concrete for sidewalks.

Hands on work was the point of the volunteer mission and it wasn’t limited to construction, team members organized the compound’s medical supplies, cleaned up the operating room and delivered five babies.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

Special thanks to Erika Faulkner for taking the photos and Jason Van Nus and Tim Allred for giving interviews.

Slideshow assembled by Francesca Zagami and Ashley George