Delegates from the Hollister Christian Fellowship encounter
poverty on island nation
When former Hollister resident Nathan Pierce took a vacation to
Haiti last month he was awakened to the harsh realities that exist
for third-world residents.
Delegates from the Hollister Christian Fellowship encounter poverty on island nation
When former Hollister resident Nathan Pierce took a vacation to Haiti last month he was awakened to the harsh realities that exist for third-world residents.
Pierce traveled to Haiti as part of a two-man delegation sent by the Hollister Christian Fellowship to work on establishing an orphanage.
Accompanied by Dane Skow, son of pastor Don Skow, the two men traveled to Haiti to photograph orphans and interview them about their experiences in Haiti.
During their nearly month-long trip Pierce became aware of the hard realities that exist in Haiti.
“I found out that something like 20 percent of Haitians don’t live past the age of 40 and I’ve heard that something like 13 to 35 percent of Haitian children won’t live past 5,” Pierce said. “I learned later that most people in Haiti make less than $1 per day. The statistics say that 70 percent of the country is unemployed, but the locals say it’s more like 90 percent.”
And yet, the people there were warm and friendly, according to Pierce. They get the majority of what little they have to eat through bartering. For example, if one person has rice and another beans they might swap, but if someone doesn’t have either of those things they still find a way to get by.
The streets are lined with trash and the water is completely unsafe to drink, or even to bathe in.
“The government takes care of all the trash and burns it,” Pierce said. “So the air really isn’t very safe to breath. A lot of the time you can’t even see the horizon because the air is so bad.”
Because there is so much unregulated development in Port-au-Prince there is no running water or sewer services.
“If Haitians had more clean water and sewers I don’t think they would have nearly as many problems with disease,” Pierce said. “Something I took for granted was washing my hands and face. When we got back to the airport I washed my hands and arms and face in the airport bathroom.”
Pierce said that a lot of the time they were in Port-au-Prince – the capital city of Haiti, which houses between one and two million residents – it rained, but when it didn’t it hurt their throats to breath the air.
Still, conditions there have improved slightly since Skow’s first trip to the island nation last November.
“When I first arrived [in Haiti] it was like you step outside the airport and immediately realize you’re in a third-world country,” Skow said. “I didn’t see any police while I was there at all. This time there were more police officers – they travel in packs – and there were U.N. soldiers as well. It felt more secure.”
One would never suspect that so many of the children in Haiti are sick, since they all appear so happy and go-lucky, but of the 105 children Skow and Pierce interviewed during their stay, only six didn’t have health issues.
“Pretty much all of the kids are sick,” Pierce said. “We brought things like candy and beach balls and toys to the kids and they really appreciated it. Everything that they have they appreciate more, even the things that we take for granted.”
Children at the orphanage Pierce and Skow visited often sleep 12 to a room, but most children sleep outside.
The Hollister Christian Fellowship is working with Pastor Josue Joiffaint who originally contacted the fellowship about seeking aide. After years of talking, Joiffaint suggested that the group visit and get a sense for what life is like in Haiti.
Now the fellowship is raising funds to help with relief efforts and building a new orphanage.
Skow will lead another group of visitors back to Haiti in November. And while Pierce won’t be with him, he wants to go back. He wants to see the friends that he has made and help people who genuinely need assistance.
“I consider these people my friends. When I got back and I had my first three squares meal, I thought that most of these people wouldn’t have two meals that day,” Pierce said. “Hopefully, I’ll get back there next May, but I do want to go back.”
For more information on what Hollister Christian Fellowship is doing in Haiti, visit their Web site at www.hcfonline.com.
