One Person CAN Make a Difference

By Courtney Cornelious

My mother, Rose, coordinated a trip for some Evangelical Covenant Church pastors who desired to go to Haiti. She serves as Coordinator of Church Relations-East for the Department of World Mission. I went with her because I've always wanted to go to Haiti, having heard about the nation from her previous visits.

What I saw shocked me and really made me think about how blessed my life was compared to most of those people, especially the young people on the island. I had the chance to visit schools and churches in pretty remote areas. One of those schools took us six hours to get to, and we had to cross a river on foot, climb up a mountain and drive over very bumpy roads. The trip was an adventure in itself because I saw a side of Haiti few people get to see. To see the poverty in Port Au Prince is one thing - to go into the countryside is another experience entirely.

The thing that stood out most to me were the children. In the U.S., most kids aren't excited about going to school. In Haiti, they feel privileged to have the opportunity to go to school because if your parents can't afford to send you, chances are you won't get much of an education. The school we visited was built by our host, Martinez Jovin, a Haitian pastor who grew up in that village. There wasn't a school for the hundreds of children who lived there, so he built the school, hired and trained the staff and helps support it. About 400 children go there. (Lower photo shows Martinez and Emma Jovin outside the school.)

As we arrived at the school, it was pouring down rain. Women were out in front frying yams over fires they had made on the ground; they were trying to do this as best they could under umbrellas. (The school, located in the mountainside village of Marbiel in south Haiti, feeds the children one meal a day and for many of those children, it's the only meal they can count on.)

We brought candy for the children and they were so excited to get it. My mother always takes candy on her mission trips because she says there are children all over the world and all children like candy. Being able to give them this candy and seeing the joy on their faces is something I'll never forget.

The poverty of the people is something else that leaves a deep and lasting impression. I noticed most of the children weren't wearing shoes, and many of them have to walk for two hours just to get to school every day. When I thought about what I have at home compared to their daily struggles, I didn't feel right and it continued to bother me long after I got back home.

When I returned home, I shared what I had seen, including children with no shoes on their feet. I asked her what she intended on doing about that. She startled me when she replied, 'What do you mean, what am I going to do about it? Do you think the Lord let you see what you saw just to make you feel bad? Go and ask him what it is he would have you do.' That's when the idea came to raise money in my own high school to help the kids in Haiti (William Monroe High School in Stanardsville, Virginia).

We called the fund-raiser Helping the Helpless. Each classroom was personally challenged to give for one week. My principal, Dr. Lorraine Crawford, first allowed me to speak to all the teachers and staff and tell them about the campaign, to make sure they understood what we were about to do and ensure that they'd be my cheerleaders. The next week I was allowed time on our school television broadcast that goes into every classroom. I showed them some of the pictures I had taken in Haiti and asked for their help. I was also allowed to go into some of the classrooms and give talks about my experience in Haiti.

My faith was really stretched during this process. At first I anticipated that we could raise about $200 - my high school only has 400 students and most of them, like me, are pretty self-absorbed. I didn't know how they would respond to something like this. By the end of the week, however, many of my friends had given their lunch money, allowances and some were even asking when they can go to Haiti with me. We raised over $1,200 in one week! Everybody was astonished!

I hope to go back to Haiti soon. I want to see what I can do to make an even greater impact on those children. I know that God loves the Haitians just as much as he loves me and if he can use me in any way, I'm willing. He's already shown me how big he is!

(Editor's footnote: Martinez Jovin and his wife, Emma, personally thanked Courtney during the recent Midwinter Pastors Conference in Chicago. "When Courtney came to Haiti, I saw how she responded to the children and how they responded to her," Jovin says. "She will never know what a blessing the money has been, especially in light of the hurricane damage that occurred in the area last fall. Because of her gift and others, we were able to continue feeding and educating the children in Marbiel, an area that was really hit hard by the flooding."

This fundraising effort also received some unexpected attention - both local newspapers published features on the campaign with one using a photograph of Courtney on its front page. In addition, the superintendent of the Greene County School System requested Courtney to appear before a session of the school board where he presented her with a certificate of good citizenship to acknowledge her efforts. "We applaud examples like this," said Supt. Raymond Dingledine. "Courtney demonstrates that one person can make a difference. We think it's important that our youth be exposed to the fact that there are people all over the world who are in need of our assistance, and everybody can do something to ease the suffering of humanity.")

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