Last summer, 15 volunteers from Marin County traveled to Jacmel, Haiti, to help build homes, bring donated resources, and teach kids how to swim. Leading the group were Lisa Rueff, making her 17th service-oriented trip to Haiti since the earthquake in 2010, and Victoria Cressman, who builds homes in Haiti through her foundation Tents to Shanti. The group visited and assisted three foundations, including Jacmel Children’s Center, which Rueff funded and helped build. Throughout the week, the group learned about Haitian culture and how to communicate efficiently through hand signals and facial expressions. While in Jacmel, volunteers participated in many activities, including repairing a mosaic mural created by kids at the Art Creation Foundation for Children, painting a new home for kids funded by Cressman’s organization and spending quality time with orphans at the Jacmel Children’s Center. “I took a Polaroid camera to Haiti, and when I gave the kids, and some of the adults, pictures of themselves to keep, their faces lit up,” says Stone Shepard, a seventh grader at Mill Valley Middle School. “Something so simple brought them so much joy — and made me feel great too.” yogaventures.com
This article originally appeared in Marin Magazine’s print edition with the headline: “Continued Efforts in Haiti”.