Our Man in Baggage Claim
Phil Aaronson picking up Volunteer John DiTillo ('08 - '09 and 2010) at the Santo Domingo airport
A month after the earthquake, John DiTillo (’08-’09 THP Volunteer) walked into baggage claim at the Santo Domingo, DR airport. He brushed the sleep off from his journey and peered around for his connection. A smile of relief stretched across his face as he locked eyes with a short, amiable man holding a sign with his name on it.
John is one of the many travelers Phil Aaronson has picked up at this airport for our community. It all began when Phil and his wife Marsha received a call from her sister a few days after the 7.0 earthquake, asking if they could help a friend with housing and transportation. The friend was a nurse-midwife sponsored by Circle of Health International, a Boston based NGO that sends pediatricians and nurses to crisis-torn areas.
Other travelers include the Moynihan family, Elizabeth O’Connell (THP Vice President of Community Development), Adam Osielski (’02-’04 THP Volunteer).
In 1989, Phil heard about The (Providence) Haitian Project from his good friend Charles Wharton (first Board Chair and THP Honorary Trustee). “Charles asked me if I would help him run [THP], which was consuming a great deal of his time. He was working his own business full time and putting in about 30 hours a week for the Project. Initially, I did it as a favor to him,” Phil said.
Phil became The Haitian Project’s first U.S. based Executive Director – a position which has transitioned into what is now THP President.
“I trust him implicitly. That made us successful in working together,” Wharton replied when asked about his friend. “What distinguished Phil is his ability and willingness to understand culture and adapt to it.”
Adaptation was key in THP’s infancy as a host of challenges, including political upheavals and cash shortages, shadowed the small organization.
Phil said, “It is always necessary to maintain a positive, can-do attitude and to operate out of a position of strength; physically, mentally and spiritually. That holds true whatever the circumstances, but is particularly critical now. Marsha and I can’t say enough about Patrick Moynihan’s ability to lead and inspire in this most difficult situation.”
With more than a little awe in his voice, Moynihan responded, “God Provides is a THP mantra. Who would have thought how important it would be to our community that Phil & Marsha moved from Israel to the DR? God certainly does provide.”
