Haiti was shaken by political instability And gang violence escalates and is deadly. In the middle of a Federal Aviation Administration bans flights from the United States. In Haiti, some volunteers remain steadfast in their determination to travel to the Caribbean country to help innocent people caught in the midst of destabilization.
Nearly 3 million children need humanitarian aid in Haiti, according to UNICEF.
A South Florida mission group says it feels compelled to continue its tradition of bringing not only aid, but Christmas gifts to children in what the World Bank considers the poorest country from Latin America and the Caribbean.
“A lot of people are on the verge of starvation… children who need a little joy this time of year,” said Joe Karabensh, a pilot who has been flying to help the people of Haiti since over 20 years old. “I definitely think the risk is worth it. We pray for safety, but we know the task is enormous and we are filling a need.”
His company, Missionary Flights International, helps around 600 charities transport vital supplies to Haiti. He transported medical equipment, tires and even goats to the country on refurbished World War II-era planes.
But it is an annual flight at Christmas time, filled with children’s toys, that seems particularly important to him. This year, one of its Douglas DC-3s will ship more than 260 boxes of shoebox-sized toys purchased and packed by members of the family’s church in Jensen Beach, Florida.
Years ago, the Church built a school in a rural community in the northern region of Haiti, which now serves about 260 students.
A small group of church missionaries volunteer each year to board the old metal airplanes in Karabensh’s hangar in Fort Pierce, Fla., and fly to Haiti to personally deliver the shipment of Christmas cheer to school. The boxes are filled with simple treasures, like crayons, toy cars and Play-Doh.
It’s a tradition that has grown over the past decade, just as the need has also grown significantly.
Contractor Alan Morris, a member of the group, helped build the school years ago and returns there on assignment up to three times a year. He keeps going back, he says, because he feels called to do so.
“There is a sense of peace, if you like,” he said.
Last month, three airliners were shot down flying near the Haitian capital, but Morris said he remained confident his life was not in danger when he traveled to the besieged country as they were flying to areas further from Port-au-Prince, where the violence is most concentrated.
This is where WWII aircraft play a vital role. Because they have two wheels in front – unlike modern passenger planes, which have one wheel in front – older planes can land safely on an isolated grass airstrip.
The perilous journey doesn’t end there: After landing, Morris and his fellow church members must drive another two hours with the gift boxes.
“I guarantee you’ve been on the worst roads,” Morris said.
It’s a perilous journey that Morris experiences, year after year, to see children’s faces light up as they open their presents.
When asked why it is important to him to help give these children a proper Christmas, Morris responded with tears in his eyes: “They have nothing, they have nothing, you know , but they are wonderful, wonderful people… and if we can give them just a little taste of what we think Christmas is, then we’ll have done something.”
