As we wind down from the holidays and settle in for a long winter, my hope is that we don’t lose the spirit of the holiday season and the act of giving to and serving others. Reflecting on the season of giving, the first thing that comes to mind for me is my most recent trip to Haiti.
As Thanksgiving approaches, while I get ready for hosting, preparing the menu, watching football and of course, cleaning, I am always reminded of the meaning of the season. As a family, we volunteer at a local homeless shelter to give back in a small way. I began to think about what more could we could do to serve others in need. The first thing that came to mind was Hurricane Matthew.
On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti. It was the strongest hurricane since 1964 to hit the already devastated country, which continues to recover from the deadly 2010 earthquake. Strong winds and heavy rainfall ravaged the country, leaving survivors to pick up the pieces and, for many, start their lives from scratch. Families were left with nothing and were unprotected from the elements as homes were washed away and roofs blew off buildings.
After Hurricane Matthew, we contemplated what could we do immediately to get relief to people and provide basic necessities. It was reported that many of the people in the southern part of the country had limited access to clean water and food—these continue to be scarce months later, exacerbated by a lack of rain. My family and I decided to ask for donations from our affiliated institutions. We raised donations of water purification tablets for about three weeks, which resulted in us being able to bring over 6,000 tablets to the area.
I have a strong bond to Haiti, and although it is not my native country, I feel as though the people and the country have played a significant role in shaping me into the person that I am today in their compassion even in the hardest times. My husband and I felt called to not only collect donations, but to be with the people of Haiti to help out in any way possible.
As we were planning our five-day trip, we thought about what would be the most efficient way to help, so we thought of people that we knew were already involved in restoring Haiti prior to the hurricane. My husband has a friend, a retired doctor, who was in the process of building a hospital in one of the places hit by the storm. The hospital is part of the Chantal Hospital Project, and though it was not finished, it housed over 150 people who were left homeless in the small town of Chantal. We decided that that was where we should focus our efforts.
We boarded the plane knowing that for the first time, our Thanksgiving would be spent in a country that, with all of its current and past natural disasters, had little to be thankful for this season. Upon arrival in Haiti, we were greeted by people that were thankful to be alive. We met people that continued to possess hope and even daily routines in the midst of all of the chaos. People in Haiti showed the same resilience they had in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. Our family gave thanks, not for all of our accomplishments in life, but for the essential things we have everyday access to that others around the world do not.
As I begin to reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am reminded yet again of my responsibility as a human being to serve others. I am reminded that the world is made better by the memory of Dr. King, who left a legacy of commitment to serving others. As I celebrate his life on Monday, I will use that day as he would have— as a day of service, and not just simply a day off.