Previous Haiti Volunteers
Our team in Haiti is composed of volunteers from all around the world. Some stay for only a few weeks, but others have continued working since their initial arrival after the earthquake in January 2010. We are indebted to their hard work and commitment to SASH.
Josh Leese, from Birmingham, arrived in Haiti in January 2010 to offer his experience of working in the construction industry. Since then he has worked with different NGOs including the UN, Fones, Eagle Wings, Help for Orphans and many others on large scale food drops, and has helped with rebuilding orphanages. In March 2010 (actually the same day as Joe), Josh joined SASH and eventually became a full time volunteer working as SASHs Construction Coordinator.
Josh left us in December 2010, but continues to use his excellent building skills working in the construction industry in Port au Prince. We however leave his bio here because he still occasionally visits us. Josh has been a great asset to our work, particularly to our general morale, and is always sadly missed when not here.
Alex Bayer originally volunteered with SASH from mid April to late May 2010. He returned in mid July and coordinated efforts with the primary wave of Samaritan's Purse construction in Chavannes and AHDCB camp area. Alex stayed until early September 2010, when he left SASH in pursuit of a micro-finance internship. He returned to Haiti in January 2011 with the University of Fonkoze where he is interning as the project founder and director of their English/Creole language program.
Jessica Sern is from Northern California and came to volunteer with SASH for 6 weeks from early May to mid June 2010 after completing her licensing examinations and before starting work as a CPA. Her attention to details was a valuable asset during the initial camp registrations. She encouraged Haitians in the local community to learn and practice speaking English. Jessica enjoyed her time in Haiti so much that she used two weeks of vacation from work in May 2011 to volunteer with SASH again. Though small in stature, she is a force with which to be reckoned.
Tsetsi Malinova is originally from Bulgaria but now lives in the US. Occasionally. Her qualifications are in Journalism, and it is through an interview with Joe Basine back in May that she came to hear of SASH and came to join us in September 2010. Over the next 9 months, she was involved in a number of projects, including data entry/analysis, building transitional shelters, supplying tasty bread to the troops and utilizing her graphic design skills in the creation of the road safety signs. Tsetsi was happiest when she had a hammer or saw in hand.
Jonny Smith grew up on a dairy farm where he learned many practical skills and the running of a small business. He studied for a degree in Business management in Newcastle and went on to work for the purchasing department at Warwick University. He has a passionate interest in disadvantaged people and is studying a Masters degree in third world development. Jonny joined the team in Haiti in late August 2010 and stayed until early February 2011.
Emily McGill grew up in North Yorkshire and studied medicine at Birmingham University Hospitals where she qualified a doctor. Emily has been practicing medicine in Birmingham and took a break from medicine to spend some time volunteering with SASH. Her leadership skills were welcome during a variety of distributions and shelter assessments for the camps. Emily volunteered with SASH in Haiti from late August 2010 until early February 2011.
Amber Powell is from the west coast of the US. Before coming to Haiti in mid November 2010, she had spent the last two years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans working to improve conditions after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina as well as for Americorps in various projects around the states. Amber stayed with SASH until early January 2011 when she returned to California to continue her education at university.
Zephyr Mattinson and Adam Sheridan left Seattle, Washington in early March 2011 to volunteer for 5 and 2 weeks respectively. Although that time may seem short to some, their trip was quite colorful and opened the rest of the volunteers to the various shades of purple around us here. They brought with them a “jump in and help” attitude as well as experience in project management. Their ideas and energy sparked numerous conversations about the projects and challenges we face in Haiti every day.
Mark Cunningham, also a part of SASH UK team, finally found time in his busy work schedule to visit Haiti in mid April to mid May 2011. Working as a sound/lighting engineer in theatre he developed an extensive knowledge of electrical wiring and computers which proved invaluable to the team during his stay. He created a single database to compile the vast amounts of information that were collected since the beginning of the camp management project. Mark also faced the struggle of installing safe electrical solutions in Haiti with the available resources. The team unanimously agrees that he was successful in his endeavors and appreciates the additional lights and electrical outlets throughout base.
Tabitha Basine, having recently graduated from the University of Connecticut, decided to check out what her dad (Joe) had been doing for over the past year. She arrived with Joe in mid May 2011 and stayed for 2 weeks. During this time she became well acquainted with Frank the Supertruck, as SASH was busy collecting and distributing 1000 sheets of plywood to provide additional security to the tarp-wall Samaritan’s Purse transitional shelters in Chavannes with which SASH had been involved. Tabitha loved Haiti and hopes to return again one day.
Nick Reinberg is an 18 year old recent high school graduate who came to SASH from Chicago, IL. He was on the board of his school community service team. One of their projects was to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti. The project has 2 outcomes. First they raised over $5000. Second, Nick decided to go to Haiti to contribute personally, not just financially. Also his aunt works for InterSos and his uncle works for CESVI. He was only with SASH for a week in the middle of June 2011, however his desire to understand Haiti and the work being done rejuvenated some of the long-term volunteers. Nick summed up his experience simply, “I can honestly say that Haiti has changed me and my perspective on a lot of subjects. I hope this first short visit isn’t my last, but that I can come back for an extended stay.”