Vassar Haiti Project

Fourteen VHP members are officially en route to Haiti, where they’ll assess and advance our projects in Chermaitre. We’re sending them our love and best wishes from home. Read their first dispatch below (and don’t forget to check back over the next two weeks to hear more):

On Saturday March 3rd, our group of 14 Haiti trippers packed into Lila and Andrew Meade’s home for what is fondly termed among VHP veterans as “The Infamous Pack Day.” We spent the day packing (and re-packing!) medical supplies and school supplies for Haiti, as well as our personal luggage, trying as best as we could to do things systematically and patiently.

The day was a flurry of activity and included frequent excited squeals – often indicating that somebody had just forgotten to pack something, or that somebody had just been hit by a wave of realization that we were actually going to Haiti after months of preparation and fundraising!

It was just past 11pm when we finally finished packing. Many of us were more or less near the point of hysteria, grateful for a few hours of sleep. We couldn’t have done it without each other, and the support of the friends and family who stuck around that day to assist the packing.

By 3:30 the next morning, we piled into a van to JFK Airport, ready to begin the journey. Our first flight was from JFK to Providenciales of the Turks and Caicos Islands. We were able to get some much-needed rest and recuperation in Providenciales after “The Infamous Pack Day” and the hectic months of planning.

As we type this, we are all winding down both emotionally and physically, and recharging ourselves before we fly off to Cap Haitien, Haiti tomorrow morning. So far, with the exception of a few minor hitches, everything has been smooth-sailing, and we feel as pumped and prepared as ever to begin the next leg of our journey.

We are all so proud to be here representing the Vassar Haiti Project and all our fellow volunteers, and to be channelling the energy of our donators and supporters.

More to come! With love,
Tamsin, Laura, Alex, Lila, Andrew, Caryn, Francis, David, Sahara, Sarah, Cindy, Charlotte, Fiona, and Caitlyn