This past week, Gwynedd students engaged in Mercy Mester, a three-day course schedule of educational electives. Students got to pick four classes that interested them and spend time learning from their scholars about a topic they may have never thought about. One class I engaged in was Mercy Focus on Haiti. Gwynedd has been involved in Haiti for a few years now, working to improve the lives of families experiencing extreme poverty. Sadly, there have been no immersion trips through the school in multiple years, due to the danger the country is facing. Although we haven’t physically been in Haiti for some time, GMA does everything they can to raise money as well as partnering with Haitian people to meet their unmet needs. Currently, Gwynedd is hosting the annual George Valentine raffle that sends proceeds to Mercy Focus on Haiti. Prior to taking the course, I had a fair amount of knowledge on Gwynedd’s roots in the country. However, I didn’t understand the history of Haiti and how profound the poverty levels are in most communities. Throughout the course, we learned about the original causes of poverty in Haiti as well as the current state of the country’s government. We also had the pleasure of hearing firsthand experiences of passionate people who spent time in Haiti with families the organization is working to partner with. Following the history of Haiti, we learned exactly what volunteers do to help while staying in Haiti. Some of the ways they are helping are by supplying families with rainwater, harvesting and Hen Houses. The Hen House project is backed by the Grepen Center agronomy team to improve local protein sources at an accessible and affordable rate. The rainwater harvesting work helps with water scarcity, specifically in Gros Morne where droughts are extremely common. The water conservation program greatly helps Haitian people provide healthy meals for their families. Although the course was cut short by a snow day, the knowledge gained provided myself and my peers with a lasting new perspective and understanding for Haiti. 
To get involved or learn more, please visit mercyfocusonhaiti.org.
