Student volunteered in country with church group in December
Over winter break, Francesca Duran, a San Benito High School
senior, volunteered in Haiti. She was far away from home and the
only person she knew on the trip was her sister. Through God’s
Chosen One’s ministry she traveled to Port-Au-Prince to help
children in orphanages and in doing so, she said, formed a better
relationship with God.
”
I now appreciate what I have [after seeing the children in
Haiti],
”
she said.
”
They have nothing.
”
Student volunteered in country with church group in December
Over winter break, Francesca Duran, a San Benito High School senior, volunteered in Haiti. She was far away from home and the only person she knew on the trip was her sister. Through God’s Chosen One’s ministry she traveled to Port-Au-Prince to help children in orphanages and in doing so, she said, formed a better relationship with God.
“I now appreciate what I have [after seeing the children in Haiti],” she said. “They have nothing.”
Only weeks after her return, Haiti came to international attention when a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hit the island nation.
When Duran first heard about the earthquake, she said she thought, “They don’t deserve such a big disaster.”
She also wanted to make sure that the people she met were safe. She also had an instant reaction that she needed to return to Haiti and help.
However, that wouldn’t keep Duran from volunteering in the future.
“I would be afraid of another one [earthquake] happening, but it wouldn’t stop me from going if I could … I want to go back but during the summer after I graduate high school.”
While watching the news, and updates on Haiti, Duran recognized some of the places shown on television.
“Some spots looked familiar,” she said. “We walked right in front of the president’s house when we went downtown. It was weird to see it on TV with most of it collapsed compared to when I saw it in person.”
She went on: “God’s Chosen One’s Ministry is a church-affiliated program that goes to Haiti three times a year and does anything it can to give as much help as they can.”
Before her trip, Duran volunteered at the Community Pantry, and her experience in Haiti has made her want to volunteer more.
“[The experience] has made me want to go to other countries and help as much as I can,” she said. “I would also love to return to Haiti and help a lot more.”
Duran’s sister was chosen to recruit people to take part in the program, and Duran agreed to go. They boarded the lengthy flight from San Francisco to Florida and then to Haiti on Dec. 13.
“On a typical day we would eat breakfast, then go to church, visit the orphanage, eat lunch, and go to the church ceremony,” Duran said.
Duran’s favorite part of the trip was visiting the orphanage.
“When we arrived all the kids linked onto us within seconds as if they had known us their whole lives,” she said. “We took them toys and candy, and had three full days with them. They truly didn’t care that much about the things we gave them. They just wanted to be held, and be loved.”
Duran said she loved all of the children at the orphanage, but there was one boy that stuck out in her mind when she heard about the earthquake.
“There was this little boy at the orphanage we went to that I wanted to contact after I heard about the earthquake,” she said. “I found out that the orphanage was completely safe and that the kids were frightened but not hurt.”
After Duran heard about the trip, she did research on Haiti. She said she found out that Haiti is the poorest country of the Western hemisphere, the average income is $3-4 dollars per day, and many children only live to the age of 4.
“In the richer part of town the houses were made out of cinder blocks,” she said. “In the poorest parts of town the houses were shacks made with tarps as roofs and sticks to hold them up. There were no paved roads. It was all rocks and dirt and huge pot holes.”
Duran also explained the exterior of the capital. She said Port-Au-Prince consisted of dull colors until she went into the downtown area, which had buildings, but if they had been in America they would be abandoned.
“Haiti looks like a very poor country, but at the beach the water was warm and beautiful. There were a lot of palm trees,” Duran said.
Duran said she hopes the tragedy will end up helping the country.
“Haiti is a very poor country and I think now that everyone is aware of the earthquake it will only give them [the people of Haiti] more attention and help,” said Duran.
