Rotarian recounts recent trip

Five years removed from one of the largest natural disasters in recorded history, the landscape of the Republic of Haiti still bores scars of that fateful January day.

Local business owner Dick Judd saw first hand one of the vestiges of the quake during a recent visit to the Caribbean country earlier this month. During a tour in the city of Cap-Haïtien, Judd and the group he was traveling with encountered an old white Episcopal cathedral that remained in ruin, with a collapsed roof and pews broken and scattered across the floor.

“Nothing’s been done with it,” Judd said, pointing to one of the photos he took of the structure. “All the hymnals are still there, under dust.”

Judd recounted this and the other stories from his recent excursion to the recovering nation during his presentation to his fellow members of the Dowagiac Rotary Club during their meeting at the Dowagiac Elks Lodge Thursday afternoon. Judd was one of two Rotarians who traveled to Haiti this year, joined by Ron Gunn, who was also present during the meeting.

The pair stayed in the county from Jan. 6 through the 14, embarking on a journey from the capital, Port-au-Prince, traveling northward toward Cap-Haïtien, stopping at cities such as Mirebalais along the way.

“I call it a mission trip, but it was pleasure trip as well,” Judd said. “You’ll see great luxury and abject poverty.”

Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, has struggled to recover from the disaster in 2010, which affected 3 million Haitians and left 316,0000 dead, 300,000 injured and an estimated 1 million without homes.

“There’s probably 75 to 80 percent unemployment,” Judd said. “The people want to work, but it’s very disorganized and the government has been corrupt.”

Despite the conditions, there are signs that the country is on the rebound, with several landmarks being rebuilt and businesses slowly making a comeback, Judd said. During their visit, the group visited a nursing college, attending a graduation ceremony inside the institutions recently built auditorium.

Judd’s recent trip is his third visit to the country, he said. Him and Gunn are one of several Dowagiac Rotarians who have been there, with Club President Matt Cripe and longtime member Fred Mathews having visited in previous years.

“It’s a great place to visit,” Judd said. “The people are wonderful, and it’s coming along. We met some new people, and it was great to try and help them.”