Maryland native Matt Pierce, who graduated from BYU in public health, is the facilitator of a fundraiser “Christmas for the Kids,” which helps give Christmas gifts to orphans in Haiti.
Having gone to Haiti multiple times to do humanitarian work, he said he wanted to bring more to the children, and will be flying out with his own money to give them gifts. Pierce has gone to Haiti before, spending his previous Christmas bringing gifts because the Integrated Women of Haiti, a Haitian women’s organization, had asked him, according to the GoFundMe page.
“They asked for help and I got Christmas presents for the kids, and the opportunity to help them,” said Pierce. “It was probably one of the best Christmases in my life.”
Planning to do this again, he said, “I will continue as long as the organization asks me to help.”
According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s website, Haiti is currently the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The children also live in the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred in 2010, and according to TIME magazine, the people there are still struggling as they slowly recover.
“They’re in a rough situation,” said Pierce. Many of the children in the orphanage are orphans or are former sexual slaves. In Haiti, when parents cannot afford to raise their child, they send their children abroad to relatives, friends, or strangers with a promise that their child will get an education. They are misled and their child is sold into sexual slavery.
“It was better for them to be in the orphanage rather than with their parents,” said Benjamin Garcia, a senior from Mexico studying exercise and sports science and was able to go with Pierce to meet the orphans this past summer. “Why? Because they would be sold again into sexual slavery.”
Garcia said he saw the effect he caused on the children when he tried to interact with them. “I tried to find ways to connect with the children in a more personal way. Because as young as 3- and 4-year-old children, they are already broken. They have already been assaulted. So they are emotionally detached from people,” said Garcia. “I saw children, sitting there looking off into the horizon, having flies flying around their face and they didn’t even blink. I haven’t seen that before in my life.”
Garcia recalled Junior, a 15-month-old baby who was abandoned in a dumpster because he had polydactyly, a condition where a person has extra fingers or toes. Junior had one extra finger, and his parents viewed that as a punishment from God. “He passed away hours later,” said Garcia. “I carried him. Looking at him reminded me of how fragile they are. It's unfair.”
Hyram Yarbro, a freshman from Arizona studying peacebuilding, learned more about the fundraiser through Garcia. He said a fundraiser like this where all the funds go straight to the children, instead of a government institution where money is taken away for services, is best.
“It’s really noble of [Pierce],” said Yarbro. “We are a society that encourages serving ourselves and create our own happiness. I admire people going out into the world and serving.”
Pierce said he is not using any of the money contributed to the fundraiser for his ticket or himself. All the money will be used to provide the children gifts and other necessities. “He’s making personal money go to travel to Haiti, personal time to spend with these children because it matters. They matter,” said Garcia. “It's not about the money. It's helping children to know that they are not forgotten.”
“For me, Christmas is about the Savior, Jesus Christ. I am able to go and serve and that is a way to remember Jesus Christ and come closer to him and understand him more,” said Pierce. “He said a lot about little children and it has influenced me a lot.”
Pierce shared a story where a man walks on seashore after a stormy night. The man comes across thousands of starfish on the beach, and in the distance he sees a kid dancing. Coming closer, he finds the kid is actually throwing the starfish into the ocean one at a time.
Laughing, the man asks the kid how his actions could make a difference, when there were so many stranded starfish and only person throwing them back. The kid replied by throwing one in the ocean and saying that he made a difference to that one.
“Each individual is really important,” said Pierce. “We won’t end hunger or poverty, but we make the difference in little people’s lives.”
“Children go onto lead the country,” said Yarbro. “Something as small as giving a Christmas gift could make a world of difference to them. How you make them feel can reciprocate in the future.”
“They are always happy to receive the gifts,” said Nerlande Casseus, a nurse and volunteer at the orphanage in Haiti. “We have a party for them, and they sing, dance.”