By Tricia Light, Co-Editor-in-Chief
Recently, sophomore Kayla Parks spent a week in Haiti volunteering her time for a Lebanon organization called Practical Compassion. This group is not a religious mission but is instead a humanitarian organization that is “making a difference in Haiti’s future NOW through the Practical Compassion of food, education, housing, medical care and jobs.”
The organization is run entirely by volunteers like Parks, who traveled with her mother and about 12 other local individuals. As Parks explained, “We went to Haiti to start a medical mission.”
They would wake up early each day and spend time with the children in the local school and then head off to complete their other duties.
During her stay in Haiti, they set up three clinics in three different cities. They would help run the clinics in the daytime.
“I was helping put information in the computer from the doctor and writing their prescriptions,” explained Parks.
While in Haiti, the group stayed in a compound that Parks described as a “very nice facility [and] very rich compared to the rest of Haiti.”
For Parks the most exciting part of the trip was meeting the family in the compound. The Haitian family that lived in the compound run by Practical Compassion was very welcoming, throwing parties each night with lots of dancing.
“They even had American music,” exclaimed Parks.
Parks found it most surprising that in Haiti there is no difference between the rich and poor portions of the country. She also noted that it is all dirt, and sewage is strewn all over the streets.
“The sewage is the most disgusting thing because it is all over the streets and people [even] bathe in it,” explained Parks, “The airport wasn’t even nice.”
Parks definitely had a memorable experience in Haiti and one which she will always remember.
To learn more about Practical Compassion visit: http://www.practicalcompassion.org/index.html
