HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-02-11, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016.
Blyth -area residents return from Haiti mission
Boots on the ground
When it comes to foreign aid, Mission to Haiti Canada
thinks the best way to handle helping the third world
country is to have the Haitians identify what they need help
with and having Canadian missionaries fill those needs.
Sometimes, it's building a church, mending a roof or
running a Vacation Bible School. Other times, it's giving a
hug, like Dawn, left, and Tiffany Uyl did above during their
trip to Haiti last month. (Lisa Pot photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Several Blyth and area residents
recently returned from Haiti as part
of a mission trip to the community
focused on constructing the roof of a
school and church building, running
a Vacation Bible School (VBS) and
helping out the locals as best they
could.
Run through Mission to Haiti
Canada, approximately 30 people
from all over southern Ontario,
including Woodstock, Forest and
Blyth, travelled to Haiti on Jan. 18
for 10 days.
Lisa Pot, Auburn -area resident and
editor of The Rural Voice, an
agricultural magazine produced by
The Citizen's parent company North
Huron Publishing, was one of
the locals to participate in the
trip and she said she got involved
to put action behind her faith and
to keep up a familial tradition.
"My dad was a regular," She said.
"He asked me to go the year after the
earthquake hit Haiti, but we didn't
end up going until the year after
[2011 ] when I brought my
daughter."
Pot has since taken the trip with
her children, making sure to share
the experience with them.
"I wanted to have something with
my kids that showed them how they
can help in the world and show them
how the world is for those outside
our bubble," she said.
This year marked the third trip for
Pot, who said she feels it's a blessing
to share the responsibility of the
mission with her children.
"So many people live like those in
Haiti do," she said. "They are
hungry, they have no water,
inadequate housing and no
electricity. Every time I go I come
back changed, as do my children."
A connection
One of the best parts of going to Haiti through the Mission
to Haiti Canada program, according to missionary Lisa Pot,
is connecting with people there. Pot, shown here
connecting with one of the orphans in the community that
she visited earlier this year, spoke with The Citizen about
what keeps her returning annually. (Photo submitted)
Pot said there are different trips
every time that usually consist of
medical practice, the VBS and
sponsorship opportunities. This
particular trip focused on building a
roof for the local church which
functions as a school for the
rest of the year as well as the
annual giving of goats to local
families.
"It's a pay -it -forward kind of
thing," Pot said. "We give people the
goats and, when the goats have their
first kid, [the people] are supposed
to give it to another family."
The goat donations are for the
people on the trip as well as those
who can't make the commitment to
travel to Haiti for 10 days in January.
"Anyone can pay the $75 for a
goat and have it delivered," Pot said.
"It really helps out."
The missionaries also distribute
food, according to Pot, providing
rice, oil and soup mix along with
clothes and toys and staples like
toothpaste.
"We put those items in bags and
distribute them to the people," Pot
said. "It's really a meaningful day
because of what you see when the
families get those bags. We take
turns, giving out the bags, but it isn't
just handing them to the people
there. You take them by the hand,
and you connect with them, which is
a great way to do things."
Pot believes in the missions
because they aren't dictated by
people in Canada, but by Pastor
Charles, a Presbyterian leader who
decides what needs to be done by the
missionaries.
"He's Haitian and figures out the
projects," she said.
People are drawn to the trips,
especially after they have
experienced them Pot.
"It's something people do
repeatedly," she said. "You get there
and you connect with the
community and the orphans and it's
really a special thing to be a part of."
Pot points to her own experience
during a slow day on the
construction site as how she feels
that the trip is magical.
"I took some French books and
went to the courtyard at the site," she
said. "Within minutes I had 20 kids
teaching me French. They were
telling me what words mean."
She said the bonding experience is
amazing. Proof of Pot's statement
that people keep coming back can be
found in the youth attending the trip
like Tiffany and Dawn Uyl and
Herman Thalen who spoke to The
Citizen previously about the trip and
Ben Nonkes, who returned this year
after a serious motor vehicle
collision prevented him from
attending last year.
"I was there two years ago, and I
had heard about it because people
from my church [the Blyth Christian
Reformed Church] attended it and
my grandma told me about it,"
Nonkes said.
Nonkes was excited to return,
saying that he looked forward to
being a part of the construction
project as well as the VBS team that
organizes activities for the orphans
at the complex they visit.
"During the first VBS session, I
think there were 350 kids there," he
said. "It just kept increasing from
there each day the VBS was in
operation."
The children that take part in the
VBS are the main reason that
Nonkes came back and plans on
returning, possibly after he finishes
his post -secondary education.
"They are why I want to keep
going back," he said. "They are so
happy to see you. They love to get
picked up or to [have you] hold their
hand."
Nonkes said that anyone who
wants to make a difference should
get involved by visiting
mthcanada.org.
"You just have to apply to go
there," he said. "It has all the
information and what the
organization is all about and all the
money donated goes to Haiti and the
projects there. They don't have any
paid employees."
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