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Simple Living: Haiti Immersion Trip
Calvert Hall Campus Minisitry continues its tradition of service with its most important international service opportunity.
Honoring Calvert Hall’s tradition of service, a group of CHC juniors and seniors journeyed to the College of Saint John Baptist De La Salle in Port-au-Prince, Haiti over Spring Break to assist young students in their classrooms and develop new friendships. The CHC students sought to fully immerse themselves in the school day of the Haitian students, providing the group a unique opportunity to experience life in a nation that doesn’t have an abundance of material things.
“The Haiti Immersion trip is our most vital international work in our office,” said Mr. Edwin Ortiz, CHC Campus Minister, who organized the trip and accompanied the students. “We focus on the full immersion within and are asked to truly exemplify the meaning of simple living.”
The trip marks the first high school immersion trip to the College of Saint John Baptist De La Salle in Haiti. Chris Lewis ‘18 was among the ten Calvert Hall students participating in the trip. When asked why he chose the Haiti immersion trip, he commented, “I chose the Haiti trip because it stood out to me as the most in need of God's work. I’m not the most religious person, but I have a passion for service and the trip had something about it that intrigued my interest.”
In addition to helping at the school, students visited the National Pantheon Museum of Haiti to learn about the country’s history and observed the ruins of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption which was destroyed by an earthquake in 2010. Haiti has been impacted by devastating natural disasters in recent years and many of its citizens live in poverty.
The group also toured communities in Port-au-Prince, seeing up close the difficult living conditions of Haitians. Michael Fenlon ‘19 was also among the students on the trip and explained, “I saw the destitution that some Haitian people lived in. It was humbling to say the least. They have almost nothing but they were so generous, open, and friendly to us. They have mountains of possible worries that could bog them down, but they keep going. I’ve never experienced a more proud or admirable nation of people.”
Mr. Serge Goudou, CHC Foreign Language Teacher, served as a chaperone during the trip and helped in communications between the group and their French and Creole speaking friends. “The Haitian immersion trip is among the best Calvert Hall has to offer. It is a life changing immersion trip,” said Mr. Goudou. He added, “The trip is a humbling experience for our students that changes them even after just one day. Here in the United States we have so much, yet we are still not content. Kids in Haiti have very little, and they enjoy life. I hope our students learned to live a happy life with less.”
Each evening the group gathered for daily reflections, sharing and discussing their immersion experiences. When asked to share his favorite part of the trip, Lewis responded, “Definitely just being with the kids. The kids gave me a new perspective on simplicity, gratitude and selflessness that I will carry for the rest of my life.”
