| by Dr. Jeffrey Lant How do you plan to spend your retirement? Chasing little white balls with a stick? Over eating on cruise ships with trampolines? Rocking away the years on your front porch? Or, will you look deep into yourself and call forth the best that's in you... and put it to work in a cause that will take everything you've got? My friend Sarah Hackett of Gloucester, Massachusetts chose the latter... which is why since her "retirement" from nursing in 1993 you find this determined 84-year old lady (85 on October 22, 2011) spending seven or eight months of the year in the remote mountain village of Fond des Blancs, Haiti. There poverty stalks the countryside, and Sarah Hackett, one day at a time, makes a difference. Why Haiti? It started when Hackett was given a factoid about Haiti; that it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, the only country with African-style malnutrition. That spurred her interest... but what secured it was 2 things: first, Catholic Church policy had forced birth control out of the local hospital and, second "It was the women I met there. They are so resilient and so courageous and so hard-working." She had to help. Helping meant, first, establishing her family planning clinic. From this, the first of Haiti Projects, Inc., came a recognition that the relentless local poverty was the root cause of the health problems. Effectively to deal with the one meant the necessity of focusing on the other as well. "Ours," she told me, "is a recipe for prosperity for rural villages. Our vision is to present a proven model of community development and employment. We aim to expand our projects to other regions of rural Haiti and to collaborate with other organizations so our model of poverty alleviations can be replicated." "Haiti Projects' mission is to create projects whose work empowers people in rural Haiti to lift themselves out of poverty and generate prosperity for families and community." "I never thought she would last this long" This sentiment was expressed by Dr. Wilfrid Cadet, director, St. Boniface Hospital, who arrived in Haiti soon after Hackett. He soon came to change his mind: "To live in this rural part of Haiti you must have a mental toughness as well as the strong desire to help others in need, and she has both." He came to learn what one determined New Englander can do. To wit * She helped local women create an artisans' sewing cooperative that now exports finely embroidered garments. * She gave tiny loans to peasant farmers to buy scythes and goats. Result? Fond des Blancs now has thriving goats -- and a self- sustaining supply of goat meat. This much savored meat has become a favorite of gourmets and, as such, a much needed source of capital for other projects. * She has trained local managers to run the clinic and sewing operations. * She has established mobile branches of her family health clinic, staffers traveling by motorbike to nearby villages. A life of dedication, success, and international recognition None of this has come easy; none of it was inevitable. But it has come, because one person of grit and grace has been willing to grow and learn, in service to her Haitian community. These days, Sarah Hackett's ground breaking work and dedication is attracting welcome international recognition. The Isabel Allende Foundation gave one of its 3 annual awards to Haiti Projects, Inc. in 2010. And former president Bill Clinton wrote to offer his good wishes and admiration. Meanwhile her work, in the remote mountains just 75 miles from Haiti's capital Port au Prince, continues. One day at a time, one good deed upon another. Hope and achievement are replacing poverty, illness and despair one step at a time, from the lady who could have stayed comfortably at home but saw something bigger and went to serve. YOU can help Haiti Projects, Inc. Send tax-deductible donations directly to: 31 Leonard Street, Gloucester, MA 01930, or through Paypal on their website: www.haitiprojects.org The web site also contains a "wish list" of vitally needed supplies and necessities. You may also telephone: 978-283-0892 Email:sarahfdb@yahoo.com |
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