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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah nonprofit group continues to help rebuild Haiti by providing meals and education to children in Haiti five years after the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Hurricane Tomas later that year, and Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Zion’s Children of Haiti was among the groups of Utah volunteers who rushed to Haiti to help families build homes, provide food, and medical supplies, among other needs.
Dr. Jeff Bigelow was there rendering medical aid but felt that getting kids into the classroom could make a lasting impact. He said many kids can’t afford to go to school.
“Once you've been to Haiti once, you really get drawn in by the people and the culture,” said Bigelow, chairman of Zion’s Children of Haiti. “And then you go there and there's a very apparent need.”
ZCH raises money for kids in Gonaïves, Haiti, to go to school, and it currently supports 52 students, said Bigelow.
In 2013, the United Nations ranked the Caribbean country as the poorest in the Americas and a place where meals are scarce, according to Staci Sandvik, chairwoman of grants for Zion’s Children of Haiti.
“A lot of Haitians eat a meal every two-three days,” Sandvik said. “So we started thinking, how do we give kids an education if they’re malnourished?”
In conjunction with the education program, ZCH began a “Hot Plate” program, which provides meals for the students.
The group has Haitian board members who provide advice for the humanitarian efforts in Haiti. ZCH volunteers said they also have community support from Haitians and volunteers from Utah.
“They want to help themselves too,” Sandvik said. “They're not just looking for these handouts. and they're so humble and so gracious.”
The group is now working towards building a school.
“We want to have a possible trade school where they can help sustain themselves,” said Sandvik.
The group has been able to help feed and educate Haiti's kids in Gonaïves largely with funds from its annual 5K run. Zion's Children of Haiti will hold its fifth annual 5K run at Sugarhouse Park Saturday, June 7. ZCH reports all proceeds will directly support education and meals for children in Haiti.
