Help to Haiti: One bracelet at a time

Many people are interested in helping around the community with local organizations. One sophomore here at south, Abbey Guevara ’19 hopes to bring those interests all the way to Haiti.

During the time in Haiti, Guevara will be helping those in need and hopefully bring a smile to the faces of the people in Haiti, Guevara said.

“I was originally looking for a mission trip, and my dad was invited to go to Haiti with a group of doctors to serve people, and I decided I wanted to join,” Guevara said.

Guevara attended the trip last summer with the Grosse Pointe based organization, The Haiti and Africa Relief Team (HART). Guevara will be focusing on meeting the needs of those in the Caribbean country.

“I mostly look forward to the gratitude that people give you,” Guevara said.

To raise money, Guevara and friend Kate George ’20, will be selling bracelets for five

dollars. They ask everyone who donated to receive one should wear it June 28 through July 6, for support during their time in Haiti.

“We’ve had pretty good success with the bracelets; we’ve made around 200 to 300 dollars so far and we are hoping to make more,” George said.

According to Guevara, this year they are traveling with an opthamologist, so the experience will be different from the year before.

“They are going to be doing eye exams and giving sight to kids who have never seen before, so that will be a cool experience,” Guevara said.

The ophthalmologists will be checking people’s eyes to see if they need glasses or not and hopefully give them a pair to keep, according to George.

“A lot of people [in Haiti] don’t know what it’s like to have good vision and be able to see well, so our goal is to be able to hand out glasses and eye drops to Haitians to help fix this,” George said.

The trip last year to Haiti influenced Guevara’s life spiritually and mentally by showing her how much she has to be grateful for.

“It has definitely shaped my view and put things in perspective for me,” Guevara said.

Those attending the trip along with Guevara have a lot in store to look forward to during the trip such as spreading the vision of their organization to those in Haiti whose lives they touch.

“I’m mostly looking forward to visiting the orphanage because I’ve heard the children are very loving and grateful for everything they recieve,” George said.

Along with the many things Guevara and the rest of her companions joining her on the trip will be participating in, their focus will be on one thing– helping those in need.

“This year we will be providing medical and humanitarian aid to over 2,500 very poor Haitians,” Martin Petz, Hart Vice President and planning committee chairman, said.

Guevara hopes to use her privilege of attending this trip to bring happiness to those in need and  receive the great feeling of gratitude that is received from all the Haitians.  
“I’m really look forward to the gratitude that the Haitians give you,” Guevara said.