Standing Tall with THP
Christina Crow helps OEA Director Minel Lofficial stock up supplies in Louverture Cleary School's kitchen.
We often marvel at how The Haitian Project continually draws out the unique and oftentimes hidden skills of those involved. When people meet Christina Crow they first notice her tall, steady stance and her quietly calm disposition. After working with her, though, one quickly finds out that Christina is intensely driven and not shy about filling necessary, and sometimes unglamorous, leadership positions.
Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, Christina agreed, with 24-hour notice, to travel from her home in Boise, Idaho to our community in Haiti to assist with relief efforts and help stabilize school operations. Another Haitian Project marvel is how uncanny it is that the right people seem to show up at the right time.
Before coming to THP, Christina had already grown accustomed to living in foreign places. Throughout her childhood and young adult years she lived in Mexico, Spain, Italy, and Japan. After completing her undergraduate studies, Christina worked as a Peace Corp Volunteer in the Dominican Republic for 2 1/2 years where she organized communities to put in aqueducts and latrines for several small villages.
By the time Christina arrived at LCS as a Volunteer teacher and later Director of Projects, she was well suited for the flexibility, creativity and persistence it required to fill the part. Christina has continued to fill various roles at THP since her initial arrival in 2005, and, as a newlywed, came to live in Haiti for a second time in 2007 with her husband Alfredo where they remained through the spring of 2009. Prior to the earthquake, Christina’s most recently helped THP by writing a grant proposal for LCS’s Office of External Affairs (OEA), securing $30,000 from Voila, Haiti’s largest cell phone company.
Christina and I had the rare fortune of entering Haiti with a team of medical doctors on the first chartered 737 flight into Port au Prince just 8 days after the earthquake. As a recognized leader to the students and staff, and having such a rich past experience at LCS as a teacher, manager, connector to the business community, and bridge to so many LCS alumni, there was no shortage to the work Christina could do in a week.
In the days that followed our arrival, Christina focused on ensuring the school had a sufficient food supply and finding opportunities for our students and alumni to serve. She helped source food for the school and facilitated the first two food pick-ups from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Food For The Poor (FFTP). Through that initial contact with FFTP, Christina opened the door for our students to begin translating for Jamaican doctors working in Haiti. Additionally, she made contacts with other NGOs that would potentially hire LCS alumni as interpreters and organized the clearing out of THP Board Chair Patrick Brun’s warehouse for emergency use by CRS. With OEA Director Minel Lofficial, she also took on the difficult task of surveying our student alumni to find out how our community, spread throughout Port au Prince, had been impacted by the earthquake and sadly who among our loved ones had lost their lives.
“It was really helpful to have Christina here,” said Minel after her departure. “We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish things like our work with FFTP and finding some excellent food supplies without her here.” “Christina came at a critical time and filled a critical role—no surprise there. That is just Christina,” added THP President, Deacon Patrick Moynihan.
On borrowed time away from a new job in Boise, Christina needed to return home, but believes the story of LCS is a hopeful one. “THP has been preparing youth for years to rebuild Haiti,” she said. “Students and LCS graduates are eager to help in any capacity, and THP is instrumental now in helping them get those opportunities.”
