The Beginning

In late December of 2010, I had an idea.

I was watching a show on Nickelodeon where students all over America were receiving awards for their outstanding development in community service. One of the students was a Haitian native, and found ways to give back after the events of the earthquake. When I saw how he did something so small, such as spread awareness, and send goods to his family, I knew that deep down in my heart I had the power to do something as well. My mother and father were both born and raised in Haiti. They came to America on a dream yet still held close ties to their family back home. My cousin was getting married in January of 2010, and my mother and I were going to travel to Haiti for the wedding. At the last minute, my father told me not to go so I stayed back in America while my mother went on without me.

I will never forget that Wednesday in January. I had woke up and went to my first class of the day, English. As an introduction, we students were told to find some common facts about ourselves to express to the class, or something that made us stand out. Nehemie Villarceau, a student of Haitian descent expressed her nationality to the class. Upon stating her Haitian pride, my English teacher Professor Greene, expressed her concerns on the current events in Haiti. I had not been completely educated on what was occuring, but little did I know it would change my life. I usually leave my television on in my dorm room, so as soon as I unlocked the door, the first thing I saw were the devastating images of broken homes, dead people, mass chaos, bleeding Haitians, and sadness. My eyes were glued to the screen, and when the familiar town of Port-Au-Prince was identified, my eyes instantly filled with tears. There, on the tv screen, showed the destruction of the very same place I would have visited. The next few days were anxiety ridden. My mother had not spoken to us for three days. Instead, we received a phone call from the airline she flew with saying that there would be no flights returning to America. Spelman gave me some relief. They held relief groups and a beautiful candlelight vigil for the Haitian American students. It was difficult to focus in class, difficult to eat, and even more difficult to sleep. Here I am, starting a new year at my beautiful institution, blessed with a bed, clothing, and food to eat. But those who began my legacy, my family who I was supposed to meet, those who prayed the hardest for me, those who watched me grow overseas, the same people who carry my last name and heritage, are abandoned, missing, homeless, hurt, or even worse dead. It got to the point that I could no longer cry, just pray. Finally, that same week on Friday night, my father called me and told me that he heard my mother was okay. She found a way to escape to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and she will catch the next flight coming back to America. The next Saturday morning, I remember my mother calling me at 5 am. Through tears, she bore her personally testimony on the earthquake on Haiti. She talked of the devastation, the instant darkness, the orphans, the homeless, the anxiety, those committing suicide because they lost everything, the families who dug through broken clay and cement to find loved ones, those who had amputated limbs, and those who lie dead in the street. My mother told me she thanked God I had not come, because the very hotel that I would've stayed in had collapsed with many casualties. She told me also to pray for those in my family who had fallen, and those who were recovered from the rubble and especially for the women who worked the hardest in the family to build up and lost everything. My brother, sister, father and I drove the 16 hours in pouring rain to New Jersey where my mother resided to cater to her.

As it was approaching the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, my heart was restless. I thought long and hard, and decided I was going to do something. I wanted to start my own drive or initiative in Haiti. I prayed hard about it, and thought back to my younger days when I had visited Haiti. My female cousins were constantly asking for the jewelry that I had on because "li tap fe mem bel" or "it would make my hand pretty". That's when I decided on GEMS for Haiti, where I would collect old jewelry from women that was no longer worn to donate to women in Haiti. I knew it was something small, but I knew it was possible and that the women would be very appreciative. Though I know jewelry does not make self esteem, it certainly can help. I know I always FEEL the best when I have on a pretty pair of earring or a nice necklace or sparkly bracelet.

With that idea in mind, I called my mother for connections, and began formulating how I was going to carry out this drive.