Jul 19, 2010 By Jenny Susa for The 9 min read

There is a long list of things that most Americans do every day without ever giving it a thought. It is safe to assume that people rarely think twice about turning on a light switch, putting leftover food in their refrigerator, flushing the toilet, drinking a glass of water, putting a Band-Aid on a cut, or driving to work. The Rev. Terry Collins of Farmington recently returned with eight other volunteers from a visit to Haiti, where all of these day-to-day privileges failed to exist in most areas, even before the country was hit with a major earthquake in January.

Collins has visited many areas of the world to help people in need through his nonprofit organization, Discipleship Ministries. This was his second trip to Haiti after having made one visit to evaluate what the greatest needs of the region were so that they could attempt to provide them with some of that.

They found that not only were there starving people living in the streets, or at best a tent, but they were facing a health-care crisis that people in the United States could not even dream of experiencing.

When Discipleship Ministries visited Haiti, they traveled to a city 40 miles south of Port Au Prince called Petit Goave, where the destruction left behind by the earthquake was just as severe. In that city, the Rev. Eddy Sainvil, who has been visiting the United States for the past few weeks, hosted the group.

Collins has been working with his ministry to collect $4,000 needed to ship a bus to Haiti that Discipleship Ministries purchased for Sainvil. He was happy to report that during an “impromptu barbeque” held at the ministry’s Char-Rose Christian Retreat Center during Sainvil’s visit to Fayette County, they were able to raise $1,500 of the needed funds.

Even though Collins and volunteers from many places have been to Haiti and seen the deplorable living conditions with their own eyes, Sainvil was able to provide insight that no visitor to the nation ever could. Sainvil is one of many who live in Haiti every day, and nobody who hasn’t had to struggle daily just to survive can ever fully comprehend how that feels.

“We have always said that Haiti is one of the poorest nations of the world, even before the earthquake, because that is true,” said Sainvil. “After the earthquake, whatever people had to survive was gone. Those who had jobs lost them. They lost their homes. They lost whatever they had.”

Now the people of Haiti, who were already accustomed to going days without food, and never having the modern conveniences we are hard pressed to live without, also had no roof over their heads. The cities are filled with tents being used for shelter, while some are simply living on the street. They are surrounded by raw sewage as the sanitation systems that were in place are down, and hurricane season is also upon them.

Despite all that his family is lacking, Sainvil has a strong faith that he believes has helped him and his church members have what they need to survive.

He knows without a doubt that his church was protected during the earthquake, when they were spending time in worship.

Sainvil explained that he and the men conducting their services always stood on the same platform to speak. It was also standard for the men and women of the congregation to sit on opposite sides of the room.

“I did not know the reason why, but God spoke to my heart that day” said Sainvil. “I knew that we should not stand on the platform, and that the women should not sit on their side of the building. For no reason at all, I moved the ladies to the other side of the building and told my brothers that we would not stand on the platform that day. I was speaking to them about having faith as an anchor, and then the earth began to shake.”

Sainvil said that while his people had always heard about earthquakes, he had never experienced one before. When the disaster occurred, he said the church building cracked, and the platform on which they had stood during every other service was the first thing to collapse. The side of the building where the women would have been seated was the next thing to crumble. All 33 people who were in the church made it out alive, and with only minor injuries, including a baby who had been left behind in the midst of the chaos. Sainvil pointed out that this had happened in a city where more than 1,000 people lost their lives, and many more suffered severe injuries.

Discipleship Ministries’ volunteers discovered that there was a lack of treatment for injuries and infections in Haiti, but Collins said we cannot forget that this is in addition to the massive quantity of health issues the people are already facing.

Sainvil explained that because of the high stress levels that result from the daily struggle to stay alive, many people who are getting so little to eat suffer from acid reflux on a daily basis, as well as high blood pressure. Because of their high stress life and poor nutrition many Haitians are also living with diabetes. These are conditions that require long-term treatment in countries like ours, and we have access to them. The government covers the costs of such treatments for people who can’t afford them and a hospital, by law, cannot turn someone with a life-threatening condition away, whether they have insurance or not. In Haiti, there is no such luck.

Parasites are a real problem for the people of Haiti and Sainvil explained how many of the starving people there have bulging stomachs because of the parasites inside their bodies.

Collins said that during his visits to Haiti, the people expressed a great need for medicine to kill these parasites. One volunteer during the first trip had gotten a parasite himself, and Collins said that if not for the power of prayer, this man might not be alive today.

“We thought we might lose him,” said Collins. It took two days for medical help to arrive. For us it would be a simple phone call to 911 to take care of it, but in Haiti they just don’t have it.”

“There is a hospital in our city still operating,” said Sainvil. “You need money to go there for treatment. Nobody will help the sick in Haiti without money.”

Deborah Barndt is a registered nurse who accompanied Collins on the last trip. She said that those suffering with diabetes not only need insulin but a way to keep it cold so they can have it when they need it.

“There is no refrigeration for most people,” said Collins. “The electricity is still out in so many places and even though Pastor Eddy has a refrigerator it can only run for about four hours a day on a generator.”

Barndt also said that whatever food the people of Haiti are living on lacks protein and vitamins, and they are in need of supplements as well as food. She commented that they don’t have the common things found in our medicine cabinets like antibiotic ointment, band-aids, and antacids to treat their constant pain of acid reflux. She noted that all of the area’s water is contaminated because of the sewage running everywhere, and people are trying to bathe and drink from that same water.

While countless volunteers visited Haiti after the earthquake to provide short-term assistance, the people there were still left without the means of maintaining their own health and taking care of their families’ most basic needs.

Sainvil said that all of the people he meets in Haiti are willing and able to work. There are just no jobs for them to do where they live.

When asked what the best solution would be to help the Haitian people long term, Sainvil said they want nothing more than to be able support themselves.

“I believe that instead of coming to Haiti to feed the people, it is better for you to teach me how to fish,” said Sainvil. “To help the people to have a life back, we need more schools. We need people to help us educate our young people and create jobs. There is no money in Haiti to pay teachers now and we need sponsors.”

Perhaps it is the faith that some of them have in God that leaves them with the concern for their fellow citizens always in their hearts, according to Sainvil.

Although people go for a week at a time without eating one meal, Sainvil said that they all survive together by sharing what they do get, and he believes that if you give something away to help someone else, God will always provide you with what you need in return.

The same way they share food and resources, Sainvil said the people of Haiti would be happy to share knowledge, if they just had people to help them become an educated society.

“I think it would help for people to think about that,” said Sainvil. “We need more education. If volunteers would help us learn and maybe bring people from Haiti here so that they can learn and bring it back home. If we have ways to pay for education and health care, and if people could work, we could live like other nations. Life would be much better.”

Collins said this is the vision he has for Discipleship Ministries, to start with trying to help these people be able to sustain themselves, as they have been doing in Russia and Africa.

Sainvil said he is thankful to the American people who generously gave after the earthquake.

“I believe we have to keep praying for America,” said Sainvil. “They were so kind to us and did their best to help us. We will keep praying for all of God’s people, and ask that he keep adding blessings to their lives so that they can continue to bless others.”

Discipleship Ministries will return to Haiti at the end of July. Donations may be sent to 314 Nelson Rd. Farmington, Pa. 15437.