Lynn, Abby and Whitney each carried 100 pounds of supplies with them to Haiti and wore their clothing in layers so they could make room in their luggage for supplies for the Haitians.
Abby and Whitney have decided to return to Haiti next summer with ServeHAITI. The two have begun plans for fundraising to buy supplies for Haiti. “It shows that one can make a difference and you can find out more about yourself.”
Hills, Lone Tree, Nichols parishes donate to Haiti
Catholics at parishes in Lone Tree and Hills helped make 129 dresses and 107 pairs of boys’ shorts, most of which went to Haiti during a June 17-24 ServeHAITI mission trip that Catholics in the Diocese of Davenport attended. The remaining clothes will be transported to Haiti later this month.
About a dozen seamstresses from St. Joseph Parish in Hills and St. Mary Parish in Lone Tree made the dresses and shorts, said Lura Loan, a member of St. Mary’s. About five months ago, she saw a flier advertising the opportunity to sew clothing for Haitians and solicited volunteers to help.
Donations of material “multiplied like the loaves and fishes,” Loan said. Volunteers also bought men’s shirts from Goodwill and sheets to transform into shorts and dresses.
Especially helpful were parishioners Marilyn Knebel, Kaye Evans, Judy Stebral and Lucille Duwa of St. Joseph’s, which has a sister parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, in Zorange, Haiti, Loan said.
St. Mary Parish in Nichols donated 300 rosaries to send to the Caribbean country. A neighbor of Loan donated school supplies; St. Joseph’s collected hygiene items, and parishioners in Hills, Lone Tree and Nichols donated 14 suitcases in which to transport the dresses and shorts, Stebral said.
Some girls who have received dresses wear them only on Sundays, Loan said. Children wear their “rags” on the several-mile walk to church, then change into their donated outfits before entering the building, she said.
Catholics could have bought children’s clothes from a thrift store to send to Haiti, but “they’re not homemade with love,” Loan said.
“It gave us a good feeling to be able to help. You set up your sewing machine and imagine the little girl who’ll be wearing the dress. You hope God blesses her with food, shelter and love.”
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Printed with permission from the Catholic Messenger, newspaper for the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa.