24467: Hermantin ( News) 17 students embark on mission to Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Mon, Mar. 07, 2005


WESTMINSTER ACADEMY | FORT LAUDERDALE
17 students embark on mission to Haiti

BY EVAN S. BENN
ebenn@herald.com

Since late August, the students at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale
had been dumping their spare change into an empty water jug in the
cafeteria.

They knew the money was going to help build schools in Pignon, Haiti, but
for 17 Westminster high-schoolers, the money was only half the mission.

They wanted to visit the country, live with the people they were helping,
roll up their sleeves and pitch in with the hard labor.

On Feb. 22, the students returned from a six-day trip to Pignon.

''All you ever hear is horror stories about Haiti,'' said Kirby Williams, a
Westminster computer teacher who arranged the collection and trip. ``But the
fact is, it's a beautiful country with beautiful people. Unfortunately,
there just aren't enough resources to go around.''

This is the second year Williams has hosted a mission to Haiti, but he has
been working on goodwill projects with a pastor there, Sidoine Lucien, since
1998. Lucien founded the Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pignon in 1977, and
since has worked to open a number of Christian schools in the area.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and has a literacy rate
of about 53 percent for those older than 15, according to the Central
Intelligence Agency's World Factbook.

So far, the students, their parents and members of the Coral Ridge
Presbyterian Church, which founded Westminster, have raised about $12,000.

The money has been spent to build three schools -- a new school costs about
$4,500 to construct -- that can each accommodate 300 students, Williams
said.

There are free, government-run schools in Haiti, as well as religious and
foreign schools that charge tuition to attend. In many cases, Williams said,
there simply aren't enough public schools, and many residents cannot afford
to pay for education.

YEAR OF TUITION

A year's tuition at the schools the Westminster students helped build is
about $20, Williams said. The Westminster donations were able to cover a
year of tuition for all students at one school.

The Fort Lauderdale students also donated their old school uniforms and 12
computers from their school's recently upgraded technology lab. They brought
goody bags full of school supplies, and they attended church services with
the Pignon residents.

''I expected to help out these poor people, but I think I actually learned a
lot more than I gave,'' said 17-year-old Whitney Whitaker, a senior at
Westminster and the only student from last year's group who also went on the
February trip.

Students said they found the Pignon residents to be spiritual -- a common
bond that helped the two groups overcome a language barrier.

''We played soccer, and we played card games, and we worshiped on the roof
pretty much all night long,'' said Andrew Nichols, 17, a senior.

In Pignon, the daytime church services, where congregants clap, dance and
sing their praises to God, serve as the town's entertainment.

''They don't have TVs or radios, all they have is God,'' Whitney said.
``It's really easy to take for granted all the distractions we have here.''

LACK OF LUXURIES

Whitney also counted among the distractions some luxuries that she and her
peers had to go without while in Pignon: hot showers, indoor plumbing and
dependable electricity.

One of the most satisfying parts of their trip, the students said, was
setting up a computer lab for the Pignon children. Access to the Internet
and e-mail will allow many of them to see beyond the boundaries of Pignon
for the first time.

And Williams is already planning next year's trip, even though the recently
returned students say they'd be ready to go back tomorrow.

''Sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone and rough it a
little,'' said 17-year-old Anna Rosn, a junior. ``God has put it in all of
our hearts to help people, no matter where they are.''