Haiti Team Interview Six: Jamie

We needed her. Jamie's presence on the trip often added a grounded insight into our plans and decisions. At once knowledgeable, level-headed, and strategic, Jamie brought a not-so-common sense to our group when we discussed a situation or experienced a mishap. Indeed, her knowledge of various subjects made her an interesting conversation partner, whether about diseases in Haiti or the causes of eating disorders or swelling. Yet, there is a gentle side to her. Peruse the pictures of our trip and you find her embracing a child or photographing others doing the same. She grew particularly attached, like me, to a toddler named Kerby, apparently deaf from birth. In line with her impulse to teach and invest in others, Jamie began to teach this little boy sign language, and by the end of the trip, he had begun to use it to communicate.

Jamie had know that Sandi-- the team leader-- sponsored Adne (an orphan at Hands and Feet), and though she never felt very passionate about disasters at other times, the Haiti earthquake was different. She began helping to fundraise for Hands and Feet, knowing they were the lifeline for Jacmel. Talking to a friend, she thought she could go to Haiti the week after the earthquake. When it became apparent that she would have to wait some time, she believed she would be less willing to go because of her anxiety.

Anxiety, in fact, has been a challenge for Jamie, but in regard to Haiti, something strange happened. She rarely experienced it. Interested in what she heard from an announcement about the trip during a small group meeting, Jamie attended an informational meeting, and eventually turned in her application. The pictures of the children at the orphanage, in particular, had struck her as well, so much so that she said her heart "ached" each time she saw them. She'd prayed about the trip, but without hearing a response, felt the need to take a "leap" into joining the team. As a result, she spoke with Sandi and decided to go. In fact, this fell in line with her style, believing as she does that you regret the things you don't do more than the things you do. Despite her anticipation of it, her anxiety over the trip was near non-existent until it came very near. Talking to her, however, I got the impression that she had gotten over whatever anxiety she had felt beforehand.

Once in Haiti, her experience was both positive and negative. Both feeling no connection to the people and struck by the poverty, she initially didn't like it. As the week went on, however, she saw the beauty of the Haitian people, as well as their "inspirational resilience." She was moved by the simplicity of life in Haiti -- while they are grateful for what they have, we take our possessions and lifestyles for granted. She was also amazed by the cooperation among the Haitians and she believes Americans can learn a thing or two from them.

On introspection, Jamie feels integrity to be of great value, both in herself and in others. Though she understands that she doesn't always maintain it, she tries, and believes it important to be true to yourself. She understands it is not always easy to be true to yourself, because it can conflict wither others' interests, but strives nonetheless to do so. Commensurate to this, Jamie naturally dislikes it when others fail to follow through on a commitment, and sees that some around her have been "fake." She values interacting with children, and enjoys watching them develop, especially when it comes to their education. Kirby, I'm convinced, is only the most recent result of this need to develop children, and I get the sense that her time in the classroom has allowed her to invest in so many others. It's something, perhaps, she will continue to pursue in the future. For now, however, the orphans of Hands and Feet were able to see the gentle, yet instructive, side of her, a side that comes so naturally to her and that expresses her character as one who cares genuinely about others' needs.