Vassar Haiti Project

Hassan Ragy ‘21: Why Haiti? We were asked this question on our very first morning by the Haitian-American musician Richard Morse and, to be honest, it was a question that I had myself often wondered about the answer to. While I had the medium of art try to understand the vitality and vibrancy of Haiti the truth was that, to me, the Vassar Haiti Project could have been the Vassar Anywhere-In-The-Universe Project and I would have happily dedicated myself to it. But as the airplane grazed onto the runway in Port-au-Prince, there was a moment when I looked outside the window and saw tall, mottled green grasses bent gently in the wind, backed by blue-purple mountains and I saw not only the reality outside, but the exact image of a painting I had seen many times before. This trip to me was a chance to reach through the canvas and experience that art in every dimension. Ten days in Haiti have not made me an expert, nor will I ever claim to be. However, in remaining present throughout my time I was lucky enough to be welcomed wholeheartedly into new experiences. Why Haiti? Because Haiti has a heartbeat, an energy, a vitality that is palpable and inextinguishable.

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Jillian Hornbeck ‘20: The most memorable experience I have from Haiti was one fleeting moment as I was brushing my teeth over the side of a cliff, on the top of the mountain in Chermaitre. It was our first night there, and the primary school had finally settled down from the excitement of the hike. The previous hours had been spent playing games with the children, and reflecting on our journey up the mountain. As I stood there brushing my teeth I turned my head up to the sky and was taken aback by the beauty of the sky, and the enormity of it all. There had to have been millions and millions of stars in the sky that night, and the sight of it all evoked an emotion I have never felt before. The best I can describe it is an ache: an ache to learn more, an ache to hear the stories of Haiti, an ache to experience life and be present like I never have before. In the preceding days I would hear stories, and experience the raw emotions of life, but I still feel a pang of that emotion I first felt that night: an ache to hear the millions of untold stories that are still out there, stars in the sky waiting to be seen. I believe that VHP is working to uncover these stories, and I hope that we will never stop listening and learning from the beautiful country of Haiti.

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Annicka Rowland ‘20: My trip to Haiti with the Vassar Haiti Project has opened my eyes to the true meaning of VHP. Before the trip, everything we talked about – from the clinic, to the primary school, to the artists we buy art from – were abstract concepts far removed from my everyday life. Now, I have seen all of this and more, allowing me to better understand Haiti. What’s more, Haiti taught me the meaning of community, hard work, and patience, ideas that are difficult to learn in a classroom setting. I have returned to Vassar with a renewed energy and passion to continue to work with the people of the Vassar Haiti Project to make it the best it can be.

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Catherine Wu ‘21: Life-changing, breath-taking, overwhelming… these words are not sufficient to describe my experience in Haiti. Haiti became another home, and the people that we met along this journey became another family. Going there definitely took me some time to adjust to a new way of life, but coming back from such a vibrant and multi-dimensional place is what really challenged me. Every aspect of this journey and the emotions that we felt—joy, sadness, frustration, disappointment, surprise, determination, etc—made this experience complete. Going to various art galleries, stores, and the market to purchase paintings and handcrafts, to the health clinic and up the mountain to Chermaitre to lead meetings with our partners, to the schools and churches, to the hospitals and children’s home, and even to the guest house and hotels… all led me to acknowledge the number of possibilities that exist in Haiti despite the “Haitian situation” that many artists told us about. Dreams and hopes are manifested in the children’s smiles, the women’s harmonious voices, the vibrancy of Haitian art, and in the way that many Haitians lead their lives—with dignity and courage.

There is so much to learn from them, and I have come to admire the mens’ persistence in helping us through many difficult situations on the trip, the womens’ strength and power in taking care of entire households, the artists’ talents and resiliency, and of course the love, care, and hospitality that all these people have shown towards us. Having encountered these various experiences, I finally understand more about our project and the notion of being—being present, observant, aware, and open-minded to our surroundings and the people around us. But, there is still so much to learn, to listen, then to take actions in order to provide consistent support to our partners in Haiti as we continue our projects here at Vassar. Having the opportunity of seeing both the beauty and hardships in Haiti, I can now feel the weight of responsibility pressing more urgently on my shoulders, as I am even more committed to making a difference there. Ti pa ti pa, wazo fe niche li—little by little, the bird builds its nest.

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Annabell Su ‘21: Being in Haiti feels like it happened decades ago, yet the faces, laughters, and memories are still vivid in my mind. The experience has been so special, that it seems very difficult to connect with my “ordinary” and “routine” life. Indeed, so much of our sense of being is different from what we have experienced in Haiti–the weather, the people, the conversations…Yet, when we note only the distance between two kinds of life, it separates us from communicating and connecting with Haiti; the more I think about how unique the experience is, the more I feel I am keeping a safe distance from “reality;” this is not the purpose of the trip. In fact, there are so many connections I drew and should draw from Haiti: colorful and noisy Port-au-Prince reminds me of my childhood in Bangkok, Thailand; undrinkable tap water is what I deal with everyday back in China; the positive energy of the people is no less powerful than what I saw in Nepal a few years ago…

Somehow, even though this was my first time in Haiti, I feel more rooted in Haiti than in America. The places around the world are more similar than we thought, the world itself is so much more interrelated than we imagined, and when we emphasize the differences between two kinds of life and two worlds of human beings, aren’t we missing so much that is in common, that can act as a bridge between the so-called “developing countries” and “developed countries”? As I try to normalize the experience, I stop considering it as a “once in a lifetime” experience, but as something that I will build on in the future, that I will return, both physically and spiritually, holding the feelings and inspirations I have for “remote areas” even beyond Chermaitre, beyond Haiti. Again, I appreciate the opportunity to be in Haiti, to feel (even just a small part) Haiti, and to experience Haiti with all of the amazing trippers. They are talented, sweet, kind, considerate, reflective, and I am just so proud to be part of this amazing team. As for now, I am ready to be bonded with the trippers and VHP for my whole life.

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Meeraal Zaheer ‘20: One of the things I was confronted with when I went to Haiti was my thoughts. With all of the things you take in, your brain is moving a mile a minute and it’s not easy to process everything that’s going on around you; especially with the busy days that we had during the trip. With all this in mind, by the end of our trip to Haiti I learned that self-reflection cannot be instantaneous. Rather, it needed to settle with me before I could respond to my thoughts and the conclusions that arose from them. That being said, being in Haiti taught me the true meaning of being present. I don’t think I personally have been aware of my presence – physically, spatially and temporally – as intensely and transparently as I was during those ten days. After the self-reflection and the being present, I’ve come back to Vassar with a stronger desire and motivation to work on both new and old projects in VHP. By strengthening our existing partnership with Chermaitre and continuing to expand beyond the village to partner with others in Haiti to help us achieve our mission, I am excited to see where this project will take us.

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Laura Yang ‘21: On hiking day, we stayed at our clinic at the bottom of the mountain until 3 pm. Suddenly, there were children from Chermaitre running down the mountain to the clinic. We were surrounded by these cute children with the biggest eyes and purest faces. They were in green uniforms, which told us that they go to the primary school we built in Chermaitre. They just started to hold hands, grab at clothes, give pats on the shoulder, braid hair, play clapping games, and sing in Creole, just like we were their long-time best friends.

Then, they followed us all the way to the point where we started hiking. One or two children grabbed each of our hands and led us up the mountain. I was awed by how they skillfully managed the steep track in the mountain, jumping around in places that I could never imagine walking on. But they never let go of our hands. And occasionally they would even save us from slipping and then give us a big smile.

That was the time when Chermaitre started feel real to me. Those children were no longer figures in a narration of one or two sentences. They are concrete, alive human beings to me.

That was the time when everything we’ve done in VHP turned from 2 dimensional to 3 dimensional. I realized that what we are doing is not only holding sales, handling paintings and putting down numbers on inventory but really, connecting and communicating with those people.

We had never met with those children. But on the way from the clinic to Chermaitre, I felt like we’d known each other for a long time. And I realized that it was the continuous effort of every VHPer in the past 18 years that made us so close. They didn’t know us as individuals, yet, but they knew us as VHP as a whole.

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Ayumi Haremaki ‘20: One of the most impactful moments for me in visiting Chermaitre was when we got to visit the primary school, and sit in on some of the classes. As I sat in on a sixth grade class studying biology, the teacher brought in a real plant, pointing out the roots, stem, and leaves to explain each of their structure and function. This made me think back to the times when in my educational experience, professors would bring in artifacts, and invite guest lecturers. I remember how important it is to have a dynamic and engaging learning experience. Even though the classrooms in Chermaitre look vastly different from those on campus, I was reminded of the universality and importance of education. Education is where VHP started, and where I feel a strong connection.

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Sohaib Nasir ‘21: When I first joined VHP, I joined an organization that bought artwork from Haiti, sold the artwork, and used the returns to support a village known as Chermaitre. Upon my return from the March trip, I’m re-entering an organization that buys artwork from Benoit, Fedlin, Meerat and Jimmy, sells the artwork in Greenwich, Sag Harbor and DC, and uses the returns to facilitate Axilion’s education, furnish Dr Gueslin’s clinic, and support Edwa’s financial independence. The trip added color and character to the project I had been a part of for so long, bringing to life all the people we help and adding context to all the work that we do. The trip was, in short, an amazing learning experience, a rewarding opportunity to partner with others, and the start of wonderful relationships that I hope will last me a lifetime.

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Oshin Tahsin ‘20: The March trip to Haiti 2018 was one of the most exciting and memorable times of my life. It was just not an experience, but a glimpse of another sort of world. I got see the work VHP does for real and meet the wonderful people of Haiti – cheerful kids filled with pure happiness and laughter, hard-working, strong men and women filled with passion, and talented artists painted by inspiring dreams and aspirations.

The galleries we visited and streets of Port Au Prince we roamed were flooded with art and crafts that seemed even livelier than what I see in the closets of Main building. The primary and secondary schools had children bursting with enthusiasm and curiosity, each having a dream of their own. It was very emotional to visit the clinic in Chermaitre where I got to work with nurse Julie and see patients. Dr Gueslin was very insightful and taught us a lot about medicine while we took notes and he saw patients. The meetings of the committees were very informative about the ongoing situation of Chermaitre’s five initiatives and aided immensely in our planning for upcoming projects. And, the debriefs were quite emotional and inspiring, where it was fascinating to be able to experience Haiti through everyone else’s perspective at the same time besides my own. Everyone had their own stories to tell, own feelings they encountered, and own way of absorbing it all and having notions. Every day was a different story, with different adventures it their own colors. The hikes up and down on sunny and rainy days were quite an experience for me, both wonderful in terms of breathtaking sceneries and strenuous since it was my first hike. The wild exciting car rides and our cars getting stuck in the river for hours seemed like a scene from a movie, both stressful and also relieving to see so many helping hands from generous kind-hearted Haitian souls. At a time, it felt like we could all camp out there under the gleaming stars and hear the croaking sound of river to sleep. However, our destination for that night was nearby so that did not happen. We felt comforted by the soothing wind as we encouraged all the men hard at work to get the cars out of the river, their hearts filled with sheer determination.

The journey has engraved many cherished memories in my mind and has touched the deepest corners of my soul. It has made me feel every kind of emotion, some I have never felt before. If I could go back in time at an point of my life, I would definitely relive it all again.