VERO BEACH – The Engle family of Vero Beach has returned from Haiti after spending more than a month in the earthquake-devastated nation and already they are planning their next trip.
They arrived home on Friday, Feb. 5, and have tickets to fly back to Haiti on Feb. 21. They plan to stay for months.
John Engle, co-founder of Haiti Partners, and his family, along with many volunteers have spent the last several weeks since the massive earthquake ripped through the country assessing the damage and the needs.
“There’s so many people, so many needs,” Engle said.
Haiti Partners works to establish schools in the country that promote community leadership and parental involvement. Engle said the educational philosophy in Haiti is that the teachers are experts and parents don’t have much to add to their children’s education.
Haiti Partners works to get parents involved and has seen success in that arena, Engle said.
The organization has three partner schools in Haiti that were destroyed in the earthquake – displacing hundreds of students and disrupting their routine.
“The education of children must go on,” Engle said.
In the weeks following the earthquake, Engle, Haiti Partners, and other volunteers have focused on relief efforts – providing food, water, shelter and funds to affected Haitians.
The next step is to bring a sense of normalcy back to the people. Haiti Partners will be focusing on reestablishing schools.
They plan to build several learning centers – open-air pavilions next to the destroyed schools. The pavilions would serve as schools during the day with student stations and dividers to separate the grade levels and as shelter at night for the area’s homeless.
Engle said the learning centers would each employ 40 to 50 people to build and staff.
“They need jobs more than ever,” he said – which also would bring a sense of normalcy back.
Once the schools are rebuilt, the learning centers are expected to be used as places for large school gatherings and functions, he said.
Education, “it’s got to resume, the minds have to be stimulated,” Engle said.
Haiti Partners is also working with an organization called One Laptop Per Child, which will provide 125 laptops for partner schools.
Along with working to bring education back to the children of Haiti, Haiti Partners has been helping to bring medical assistance to the injured.
Dr. Russell Meetze, Trish Grezenbech and Kathryn Johnston recently returned from Haiti after staying with the Engles for about five days, tending to the sick and injured who traveled to the Engle family home.
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Johnston said of traveling to Haiti to help. Without medical experience, Johnston said she ran the “pharmacy” – kept track of supplies and grabbed whatever Dr. Meetze and Grezenbech needed.
The trio plans to return to Haiti in the near future to continue helping the people, inspired by the Haitians’ positive attitude and lack of “woe is me.”
“It truly changed me,” Johnston said. “I’ll never forget it.”
She added that she believes it has made her a better person and she hopes to pass that along to others here in America.
Haiti Partners is looking for specialists in several fields to travel to Haiti to help get the learning centers established and work out a game plan for the coming months. Such specialists in need include doctors of all specialties, educators, engineers, architects, those in high tech fields and others.
Those who wish to help but cannot offer their professional skills can donate items or funds to Haiti relief effort.
Specific items the people of Haiti need are tents, vitamins and even eyeglasses. Tents give temporary shelter and a place they can call their own. Vitamins – for adults and children – would help improve their health, and eyeglasses would replace those that were broken or lost in the earthquake.
Items can be dropped off to Kathryn Johnston’s office at 1962 26th Ave., Vero Beach.
Those wishing to make financial donations to Haiti Partners may do so online by visiting www.HaitiPartners.org.
