By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Julianne Hughes and her brother, Tyler, were in elementary school when a major earthquake devastated Haiti five years ago, killing thousands and leaving the already poor island nation in shambles.
The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, to which the Hughes family belongs, already had formed a relationship with the Rev. Luc Deratus and Harmony Ministries in Haiti, and the earthquake stepped up church members’ involvement with the group.
Church members have visited Haiti several times since the earthquake to help the Rev. Deratus and Harmony Ministries to rebuild the sanctuaries and schools that it operated in Port-au-Prince and two outlying villages that suffered damage.
It was natural for the Hughes children to listen as their parents and church members spoke about Haiti and the devastation caused by the earthquake. And of course, being curious, they always wanted to know what life was like in Haiti.
"I said to my mother, ‘I want to go there. I want to see what it is like,’" said Julianne, who is a junior at Lawrence High School.
So when Ms. Hughes asked Julianne and Tyler if they would like to go on a mission trip to Haiti, the sister and brother jumped on it. They spent Oct. 21 to Oct. 25 in Haiti with others from the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville.
Going on the trip meant missing four days of school — Julianne is a junior and Tyler is a sophomore — but they agreed that they built relationships and saw things they would never see at home.
The group from the church had embarked on a humanitarian mission, bringing along food, school supplies and a few other items. Tyler brought along some soccer balls to hand out to the children.
On their first day in Thoman, where Harmony Ministries operates a church and school, they distributed rice and beans — a staple in the Haitians’ diet — to the families. One bag will feed a family for three days, Julianne said. They gave school supplies to the teachers, too.
Moving on to LaSalle, which also has a church and school operated by Harmony Ministries, the volunteers painted the church and school, and also distributed school supplies. But the humanitarian mission in LaSalle quickly turned into a medical mission, Tyler said.
"We were supposed to give only food," he said. But when the people heard that The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville had sent a team of volunteers to LaSalle, they descended on the group to seek medical attention.
"The people got there at 3 a.m. They walked there in the dark. They waited outside (for what became a medical clinic)," Tyler said. The Americans did not have much in the way of medical supplies, but they were able to hand out vitamins and pain pills.
"It was hard," Julianne said. "You couldn’t give the people what they wanted. Rev. Deratus said this was a ‘food’ mission — a humanitarian mission, not a medical mission. We didn’t have the medical supplies."
Asked about the living conditions in Haiti, Tyler laughed and said, "We are soft Americans." The visitors slept on the floors in Thoman, and on church pews they pulled together in LaSalle. They did spend a night at a hotel, complete with a bed and air conditioning, in Port-au-Prince.
There is electricity at the hotel, but not in the villages, Julianne said. There was no electricity in the homes, unless the family owned a generator. But that’s not for the average Haitian, she said. The lack of streetlights meant there was no light pollution, and "it was amazing, how many stars you could see," she added.
"You get up with the sun and you go to bed with the sun," Tyler added. "They re-build their homes with as much money as they have. They build until they run out of money. There is trash in the streets, an open sewer and dogs, dogs, dogs."
While Julianne and Tyler worked alongside of the adults on the trip, they also took time out to play with the Haitian children. Tyler was a huge hit because he brought along some soccer balls — "the universal language," he added.
"I think you could tell (the children) were really interested to learn about us," Julianne said. "You would see the children gather around and hide behind a post and look at you. It was really cute. We could not really communicate with them. They speak Creole. Some know a little English."
Julianne also pointed out the lack of mirrors in Haiti. She and Tyler would take photographs of the children and they wanted to see the image of themselves. They do not know what they look like because there are no mirrors, she said.
What struck Tyler was school — in the United States, it is mandatory and free, but in Haiti, parents pay for their children to attend school. It opens the door for a better life, and parents do so much for the child to have the best life possible, he said. Those who go on to college generally do not return to Haiti.
Overall, the trip was an eye-opening experience for the Hughes siblings.
When they returned to school, Tyler said, their friends asked them about their trip to Haiti. Most of their friends thought it was a vacation, but when the Hughes siblings told their friends what they did, the reaction they mostly got was, "Oh, cool."
That’s because they don’t know what Haiti is, Tyler said.
"My dad says, ‘We want for nothing and we have need for nothing,’" Julianne said. "It’s sad to see other people do not have what they need. On a day-to-day basis, we do not have to say, ‘Where is our next meal or water or medicine coming from.’ We are fortunate."
"It’s hard to comprehend what we saw," Tyler added. "That’s their life and that’s how they live. It shows how far out of touch we are. We want the next piece of technology, and they are happy with the small stuff. They don’t seem to let little things affect them."
Would Julianne and Tyler go back to Haiti?
In a heartbeat, they said.
"I never thought I would get so much joy out of helping people. You learn a lot about yourself (on the trip). I learned that the feeling that goes with helping other people was unbelievable. I feel I can’t do enough. I want to go back," Julianne said.
