Five years ago, my friend Rico shared a vision with me. He wanted to start a youth home for kids in his childhood hometown of Carrefour, Haiti. He had an available 8 bedroom home and Haiti had an endless number of homeless children. It seemed so simple yet so profound. Fast forward five years and he did it. We did it.
I've been travelling to Haiti with Rico since 2011 and since then, my travels have furnished me with no shortage of experiences and emotions ranging from heartache, to abounding joy, helplessness, to hopefulness, devastation to gratification, love and reverence.
People often ask me about this organization that I'm so passionate about. The organization with the name they can't pronounce that benefits some kids in some other poor part of the world. I tell them, 'It's called The Vertile Foundation. We're a small organization that provides orphaned and abandoned youth in Haiti with a safe, stable and nurturing home and we empower them with opportunities to develop healthy futures for themselves. We pay for their education and everything else they need to lead happy lives and be successful down the road.' 'Wow! That's amazing!' they say, 'How many kids do you have?' 'Twenty-two," I respond. And that's where I usually lose them-as if twenty-two completely changed lives is not quite enough to warrant continued attention.
To me, this work is so important. I imagine it will be one of the most important things I am a part of in my lifetime. Constantly, I ask myself how something that is so critical and urgent to me can seem so minute in the eyes of others. This is why I volunteer my time (roughly 10-15 hours a week on top my my full time Teaching career) to build this organization in the best way I know how. My life has changed by knowing the kids at The Vertile House and I hope to spend my life ensuring that these children have all of the opportunity they deserve. Can you help me change their lives and continue changing the lives of these sweet souls and more in the future?
Review from #MyGivingStory