High School Students Help College Girl across the Globe
September 2013 it will all begin again, but to understand the “it” allow me to
take you through a story that began last June.
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| Christla Pierre is an aspiring nursing student at the University of Notre Dame d'Haiti |
June 2012. Imagine the heat and humidity
in Port au Prince Haiti. Christla, a promising young college student, hopes a
breeze will come through the open window as she studies in the 12x12 bedroom
she shares with four girls. The only furniture in the room is a single
mattress, so Christla leans against a wall and focuses on completing her assignments.
Her stomach growls from missing yet another meal, but she forces herself to
ignore the pangs and continues to review her lessons. Christla is determined to
become a nurse.
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| Julia Noelle Tomsic is a founding member of TFOHI and has served the charity for four years |
Meanwhile in America, three high school
students in Boulder team together and create a fundraiser for The Friends ofHaiti Inc. (TFOHI). The Colorado teens (Julia Noelle Tomsic, Amanda Becker, and
Allison Sawyer) hold a street-wide yard sale, and neighbors down the block chip
in to raise money.
Fast forward to September 2012. Christla
grows worried. Her finances have run out and the anxiety is real and urgent, because
she has to either pay for her education or lose her spot at school. Christla’s
parents are rice farmers in faraway Pignon. They earn approximately $30.00 per
week. When they can, they send food to thank the family with whom Christla
lives, but her parents cannot pay the tuition bills at The University de NotreDame d’Haiti. The new semester starts in one month, and the clock is ticking
for Christla to find a solution. Christla doesn’t know about TFOHI and TFOHI
doesn’t yet know about Christla’s needs.
Christla petitions the University; she
reminds them of her hard work and excellent grades. Then she waits for a reply.
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| Amanda, Allison and Noelle |
The University advises Christla to reach
out to a charity called The Friends of Haiti Inc. (TFOHI). It’s her Hail Mary
opportunity to stay in school. She writes an urgent letter to TFOHI making her
desperate plea for assistance. The executive director of the charity, Joseph
Provost reviews her letter, authenticates her application, and speaks with the
dean of the school of nursing. Everything checks out, yet there’s still a
looming problem. All funds in the charity have been committed to other
students.
But as all good stories worth telling
have a silver lining, this one does, too. When Yoga for Haiti concludes, the high
school teens celebrate because people in Colorado were very generous. The
surplus from the extra fund raising effort by the teens in Colorado rolls in,
and it equals just enough to take care of Christla’s tuition, stipend and
supplies for an entire year.
Thanks to the teens, people in Colorado,
and generous corporate sponsors (Ben Oliver of Four Star Realty, Rock CreekSpine and Rehabilitation Clinic, Boulder Shares, Kammer and Westover DDS, and Twirl) Christla’s bills
were paid covering the 2012-2013 school year. Christla worked hard, earned
excellent grades, and now she is another year closer to her nursing degree. In
addition to the obvious good news, you should also know that Joseph and Rev. Susan
Provost visited Christla in February. They delivered new mattresses, clothes
and food to her and her roommates.
It’s exciting to reflect back and
consider how three high school girls in Colorado helped a college student
across the globe. Like the three teens, Christla is simply a girl who wants to pursue her dream. The trickle down goodwill of this story will
continue, because when Christla achieves her goal, Haitian citizens will be
helped. Christla will stay in Haiti to work in the grossly understaffed
hospitals.
We hope to repeat last year’s success
with another Yoga for Haiti fundraiser in September. Yoga for Haiti will take
place in Colorado during the month of September 2013, and we hope to once again
raise enough money to cover Christla’s education expenses. Please join us at:
Lifetime Fitness in Westminster on Saturday September 21, 2013 at 10:45am
Shine Restaurant and Gathering Place on Sunday September 22, 2013 at 10:45am
Yoga Workshop (time and date TBD)
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