Notre Dame senior finishes mission trip to Haiti

Emily Hampel will be a senior when students get back to work at Notre Dame in late August. But even though it’s only late July, she’s already worked very hard in what some might call the school of “life” in Haiti. Hampel, who also runs cross country and track for Notre Dame, and a number of other Detroit-area students from Mission Youth, a Catholic organization that sends young people all over the world to help those in need—many desperately in need, traveled to Haiti this month to help its citizens—some very young, and some very needy.

The following is her account of the trip.

By Emily Hampel

I am a part of Mission Youth, a group that does mission work here in the Detroit/Pontiac/Flint districts, and once every summer they take a trip to Haiti. I'm so glad I was able to go with them this year, and I definitely want to return! 

We joined with the Missionaries of Charity to create a week-long summer camp for boys ages 5-11. The Missionaries of Charity organization finds girls and boys on the poorest streets of Port-au-Prince, and provides them with any education they can as well as two meals a day. Our week-long summer camp was busy but fun, and we planned and ran several stations (song/dance, prayer, games, sports, arts/crafts, story time, and life skills). I also had the privilege of serving these boys their meals. They were so patient while waiting for their food and incredibly thankful. Each young boy had a different personality, and I loved meeting them all! The love we all gave them and the love they had in return for us broke through any language barrier, and I'll never forget the looks on their faces when we'd smile at them, high-five them, or give them all of our attention. The little moments of this camp meant the most to me as well as to the boys.

In addition to the summer camp, I was able to volunteer at the Wound's Clinic, where people of all ages would line up on the street outside a clinic to get their open wounds cared for. They have few doctors in this area of Haiti, so they rely mainly on volunteers like us. As I finished cleaning and wrapping the wounds, many patients would shake my hand or cry out in gratitude. It was so hectic, and there were hundreds of patients in line needing our help. I was definitely overwhelmed and nervous, but it was so worth it.

I also was able to visit a children's home and orphanage, where babies and children are kept and taken care of for as long as they need. Few of the children there had parents caring for them, so they love having someone hold and take care of them. Some here are healthy, but many are sick or will die simply from lack of physical contact. We were able to come here almost every day, so I could see how the children I played with or babies I held were progressing. Each child loved our company, and it was so difficult to put them down. The most important moment of the trip for me was on the last day. One of the babies I was looking after became very sick and needed to be baptized immediately. I was chosen to be the baby’s godmother and I even helped choose the name, Dominic, for the baby boy. I found out some good news recently that he has regained his health and strength and returned home—which is amazing! It reminds me how people's prayers really do pay off! 

Overall, it was the best trip ever and like I said before, I have to go back!

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