Vantage students take trip to Haiti

Vantage information

Spring break will hold special memories for three members of the Vantage Interact Club and their advisor.  Club Advisor Peg Bollenbacher, Interact Club President Danielle Taylor (a senior from Lincolnview), senior Tiffany Hahn (Paulding) and junior Samantha Spangler (Wayne Trace) all travelled to Cap Haitian, Haiti.

The purpose of the trip was to deliver hand tools for the Vantage carpentry class in Bordes. This year, 10 Haitian students graduated from the carpentry class that is sponsored and sustained by the Vantage Interact Club and their Rotary partners. Since Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, it is necessary for the club to not only teach Haitians a skill, but to also provide the hand tools.

The Interact Club also collected and delivered 20 boxes of medical equipment and supplies, which was given to a Haitian medical clinic that treats orphans for free. While they were there, Bollenbacher and the students worked to sort the tools and medical supplies. They also visited the carpentry class at Bordes, Haiti, where the carpentry students, told the Americans to continue the educational program because it is just too important to end.

“Seeing what little they had at their school made me feel very fortunate for what we have,” Han said. “They don’t focus on what they don’t have, but are grateful for what they do have.”

On Easter Sunday, a graduation ceremony was held during which diplomas and hand tools were distributed to the graduates.

The Vantage crew spent the week visiting friends, exchanging educational and cultural ideologies and visiting Haitian historical sites. At Milot, Haiti, the team visited Christophe’s Palace. The Haitians built the palace in appreciation of Christophe’s leadership to repel the French from Haiti. The palace was destroyed by an earthquake around 1840. The students were impressed with the Haitian’s ability to carve and their other artwork. As a reward for their labor throughout the week, the team spent a day at the beach near Labadee, Haiti.

The students were initially shocked at the standard of living that Haitians must endure. It is difficult to imagine what daily life is like in Haiti. No running water, sewage systems, garbage pick-up or traffic laws, are just a few of the things that Haitians live with every day.

“Looking out the window of the plane when we first arrived, and only seeing shacks and garbage, I just wanted to cry,” Taylor said. “But the people are nothing like what they live with. They are amazing and so friendly.”

New friendships were made, and a better understanding of other cultures was learned. The three American students said that they would never take their standard of living for granted ever again!