Elk Grove Trip to Haiti

Sarah Woodward is an open book. The mother of two runs a daycare out of her home. She’s busy- but is always open and willing to talk about her family and their goals. And she’s not afraid to dig deep.
The most memorable comment I heard Sarah say when I spoke with her on April 21, was that her family wants to “radically love.” She believes this love will distinguish the fear that her family, and some people in their mission group, feels about traveling to the impoverished nation of Haiti.
They’ll be in Haiti from June 5-14 with their two children, along with 10 adults and three teens.
The group will be traveling with 30 suitcases- 2 per person (minus two bags for the baby who does not have a ticket).
The Woodwards were helping Haitians before the earthquake struck.
Sarah was getting shipments of necklaces made by Haitian artists that she would sell locally and mail back the profit.
The Woodwards have friends from college, the Clays, who live in Haiti and started a non-profit, The Apparent Project. They teach Haitians artistic skills that the impoverished people can use to make a profit.
Haitians in Clay’s program make necklaces from recycled paper and ship the jewelry to several women in the United States, including Sarah.
The Clays had a front row seat to the destruction of the earthquake. Their middle class neighborhood overlooks the slum area. When the earthquake hit, the Haitians in their art program were saved because the Clay’s house did not fall apart. The children of the people making jewelry also survived because they were playing in the street outside of the Clay’s home.
However, the slums that the house overlooked were completed destroyed.
Now, the Clay’s have about 10 displaced Haitians sleeping in each room of their three-bedroom home.
“The Clays said many of the (Haitian) families aren’t moving into their homes because they’re scared,” Sarah said.
The Clays have a two-bedroom guesthouse that they’ve decided to rent out to missions group, including the group coming from Elk Grove.
The Woodwards also have another strong connection to Haiti.
Before the earthquake struck they were planning on adopting a Haitian child. Now they are even more determined to adopt a child from Haiti.
The Woodwards are in the initial stages of preparing for adopting a Haitian child.
Before they can adopt internationally, they need to get their house checked.
But the adoption may come at a time that’s not in their control.
Sarah said in Haiti if someone leaves a baby on her doorstep, she would care for the child. However, she couldn’t take an infant home to the States. The Woodwards would have to live there. A possibility that she didn’t seem too upset about.
Sarah is eager to make a difference in the world.
She is not the only person with a passion for helping Haiti, she said.
Most of the people in the mission group are from Elk Grove and have been working hard to gather supplies and donations from local businesses for the trip.
Two of the people going to Haiti, Sarah described as “cowboys from Wilton.”
Sarah said they were instrumental in gathering supplies and getting sponsors to donate items for the silent auction on May 15 at The Secret Garden.
Sarah said for people who genuinely cannot afford the trip, the Clay’s will offer their guesthouse free of charge. (It normally rents for $40 a day).
In preparation for the trip and to ensure their safety, the mission group wants to learn the local language- or at least some key phases before they go.
The group located a man in Sacramento who speaks Creole and offered to teach them the language.
The Elk Grove group recognizes that many young Haitians may need counseling too.
On May 1, some members of the group will drive to Los Altos, Calif. to participate in a “children of trauma” workshop where they will learn how to encourage children to express the psychological effects of trauma through art.
Sarah said she hopes art helps kids “process their feelings about the disaster.”