Episcopal Students, Alumni, and Staff Help Sister School in Haiti

J-Term is well known at the Episcopal Academy for its many rotating travel trips. Most have a community service element, and this year, these trips included Cuba, Costa Rica, and Montana. However, since it’s creation four years ago, the Haiti trip with Reverend Gavin has been a constant at J-Term. J-Term Journalism interviewed Reverend Gavin to better understand the program and it’s success.

This year, alumni Leigh Adalizzi, a sophomore at University of Pennsylvania who graduated in 2015, participated in the Haiti trip with the J-Term group. Adalizzi shaped her major at Penn based off of an initial J-Term Haiti trip she took as a student at EA. Reverend Gavin says, “The alumni network is very important, and one of our future plans is to have an alumni trip, for students who used to be there.”

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Haiti community service trip, which started in March of 2012.The trip was originally created by former head of school Ham Clark, who attended a meeting of national Episcopal Schools, in which partnerships with schools in Haiti were discussed. Clark believed that Episcopal Academy, one of the largest and oldest Episcopal schools in the country, should be an active participant. The Episcopal Academy is aligned with Saint Marc’s school in Sirka, a remote village nearly three hours from the closest road. Reverend Gavin says, “I was the first one up the mountain, before that the kids had never seen a white person. At that time, there was no electricity, no plumbing up on the mountain, it was a very primitive and remote place.”

On Reverend Gavin’s initial trip to Sirka, the team assessed Sirka’s initial needs, which included a new school building, clean water, food, teacher’s salary, as well as miscellaneous items such as desks and various school supplies. The Episcopal Academy raised money for the schoolhouse, and it was completed in late 2014, all while utilizing Haitian labor. No American companies were outsourced for its construction. The following year, a water purification system, as well as a solar panel on the roof were added to the village. Currently, there are plans to develop a small farm on the school campus, allowing for the village to become more independent and self-sufficient.

Initially, the Haiti trip was a stand alone option for Episcopal students, as it began before the creation of EA J-Term. Currently, Reverend Gavin arranges multiple Haiti trips for school. “...we usually have adults and alumni in October, and a mix later on in April. The medical trip is usually pretty important, we pull teeth, give glasses out, as well as overall health examinations.”

When prompted about the reaction of students to this remote village in Haiti, Reverend Gavin responded: “Most of our students really appreciate what we have, and when they see other people who don’t have all the things they have, it really gives them a whole new perspective on life, that even people who have very little, they’re happy. That’s one of the big surprises, not just for kids to go to Haiti, but for kids who go to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Haiti, Jamaica, even North Philly, to see people with so little and are so genuinely happy and joyful. And when we look at our own happiness, it’s not the material things, because when we get that car, that jewelry, we end up in a month or so wanting something else. What really makes us happy is relationships. People in Haiti, Jamaica, they have relationships, community, they’re part of something bigger than themselves. I think the other benefit for our children is the motto of Haiti is making the Stranger our Neighbor, breaking down barriers that exist between the people. Just because someone looks different, speaks a different language, doesn’t mean that we can’t be friends. Usually when the kids come back to EA, they want to make a difference to do something. I think that’s the strength of the trips that people really want to make a difference. It takes practice, discipline, and community. It’s impossible to do by yourself.”

Alex Peyton, class of 2018 was one of the students who attended the Haiti trip this year. “I really wanted to go on a travel trip, and I was really happy I got Haiti this year.” On her nearly two-week trip to Haiti, Peyton learned about St. Marc’s school, community service, and building relationships with people with completely different life experiences and living conditions than herself. “It was really...eye opening. It was kind of crazy, I would say some parts of Haiti were really sad, and other parts were really hopeful.”