Kelly Bates
CFL.ca
Eight months ago I was approached with an idea.
I was asked if I would be interested in helping put together a project that would send CFL football players on a humanitarian mission to Haiti. At the time I can remember thinking and asking myself the question, “Why not?”
The naivety of that answer would not hit home for me until I had returned home from Haiti.
Let me begin by outlining the entire delegation that made their way to Haiti as a part of this project. WestJet was represented by five amazing people: Robert Palmer, Jenifer Van Meenen, Valerie Dupre, Danielle Klapwijk, and the old guy (I say that tongue in cheek) Mike Johnston-Stewart.
CFL Players from left to right, Chris Cvetkovic, Jason Jimenez, Rolly Lumbala, Kelly Bates, Yvenson Bernard, Aaron Fiacconi and Graeme Bell pose with the Haitian flag.
The Media was represented by Dave Naylor, Mike Farrell, and Owen Korbeld, all representing TSN, and Rob Vanstone of the Leader-Post (referred to more commonly on this trip as Lord Robert Allen Vanstone III).
The CFLPA was represented by myself, Aaron Fiacconi and Graeme Bell of the Edmonton Eskimos, Rolly Lumbala of the BC Lions, Yvenson Bernard and Chris Cvetkovic of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Jason Jimenez of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Add in Yvenson Bernard’s girlfriend Michelle Marie, Tammy Robert (originator of project), and Tammy’s good friend Carly DesGagnes and we have our delegation. I know that seems like a lot of people to list but to not do so, would not do the project justice as everyone was integral.
I have been asked a gamut of questions by family, friends, and media in regards to our trip. I have always attempted to have an answer ready for the questions I believe will come up as I like to attempt to put thought into my answers. This time, however, as the trip came to an end I found myself pondering how I could possibly articulate my experience.
I knew I would be able to express the importance of certain events; however I was having trouble figuring out if I would ever be able to tell anyone exactly how this trip impacted me. Eventually I came to the conclusion that it may take a very long period of time to figure out how I feel about the entire experience. More so, I may never actually figure out how to express my thoughts.
What I can do is attempt to relate an experience we were so fortunate to be a part of as well as paint a few other pictures of what we saw.
January 12th was the one-year anniversary of the earthquake. That day, our plan was to take part in a local church service in an attempt to further understand just what the Haitian people had gone through. We arrived to a service that had already begun. The church was full and, in fact, people were standing outside listening. All 19 of us stood at the back of the church taking in the amazing music. By the way, it is my personal opinion that absolutely everyone in Haiti has an amazing singing voice (Haitian Idol anyone???).
The Huddle for Haiti group aided in reconstruction a year after a devastating earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010.
>see more photos
As we were all standing outside one of Yvenson’s relatives directed us to follow him. He took us to the front stage of the church, while the service was ongoing, and had bench seats brought to the stage for us to sit on. The person running the service proceeded to hand our very own amazing Val Dupre a microphone to allow her to translate everything that was spoken and shared with the congregation. Jenifer Van Meenen was also invited to the podium to express gratitude and thoughts on behalf of our group and did so in a very touching fashion.
By having this invitation extended to us we were no longer just bystanders, but rather we had been integrated into the service. These people had gone through a horrific experience and yet, on the day of the one-year anniversary of this tragedy, they were willing to allow us to establish a personal connection with them and their story. This spoke volumes to me as it can be very difficult for anyone to let people in during a time of pain and healing let alone perfect strangers, yet the Haitian people continually created a welcoming atmosphere everywhere we went.
Next let me try to relate a scene that we saw all over Port au Prince. In comparison try to picture what the side of a road looks like in the middle of winter on the prairies just after the grader has cleared the snow off to the side of the road. Picture a row of snow extending the entire length of the road, as far as the eye can see, that is piled anywhere from 2-6 feet in height.
This is a very common scene anywhere it snows in Canada. However, in Port au Prince and throughout the Haitian countryside that beautiful snow is replaced with endless mounds of garbage and rubble as far as the eye can see. Picture 60 feet wide canals that run from the upper parts of Port au Prince to the ocean, completely overrun with garbage, waste, and rubble.
The power of the internet allows people to view pictures of the destruction coupled with the living conditions in Haiti. To experience those pictures first hand, for me, is indescribable. There is one aspect of looking at pictures that can’t be fathomed. For me, only by experiencing the situation in the flesh did I come to truly understand that what would make the pictures I had looked at online complete was the addition of the sense of smell. The sense of smell brought the pictures into complete focus for me and, for lack of a better explanation, made everything become real.
Maybe all I can do, for the moment, is tell you how I hope this trip will enable me to grow as a person. Or possibly how I hope it will make me understand that when I answer, “Why not?” to being a part of a project of this magnitude that I actually understand what I am agreeing to and how truly fortunate I am to be a part of an opportunity like this throughout its entirety. Maybe overall, I just hope it enables me to continually experience life through an ever growing perspective.
Thank you to the Haitian people.
