This trip, which I will be making with friend Rachel Prusynski, has been questioned multiple times by my family and some close friends. “Why would you go there? It’s a hell hole that has nothing going for it.” And while it sounds harsh, I agree. Haiti has been ravaged by so many destructive forces over the last 100 years that chances of fully recovering seem minimal. However, does that mean you just leave millions of people to fend for themselves and ignore the pain and suffering that they are going through? You just can’t do that. My ideas of how Haiti can be fixed differ from other people who care deeply about the country and we could debate both sides for hours and come to no conclusion. But no matter what approach to rebuilding Haiti one subscribes to, all sides believe that Haitians need help right now.
So why am I going to Haiti? I have two takes on why I’m flying down to Port-au-Prince. Professionally, I’m hoping to approach this trip with a researching angle, gathering insights and opinions that I can reference when I go to graduate school. This trip will give me some exposure to unstable political and social situations that will give me experiences that I can write about or report about in the future. I’m also going because I want to push myself into a uncomfortable situation and see how I react. I want to take pictures and write this blog to share with people what I see and how I grow from being in complete culture shock.
Haiti will likely be the most difficult and horrific two weeks of my life. It won’t always be the safest situation to put myself in and things will be sketchy at times. But I think with the two weeks I spend in Haiti, I will come back with a new lens to look at life through, giving me a perspective and angle on the world I had never considered before and will hopefully take this new approach with me for many years to come.
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For more information on the trip, efforts to improve Haiti, news updates, opinions, and ways to help, please visit Haiti: Heal, Help, Hope.
