It’s a bittersweet feeling for an Okotoks teen who arrived home after two weeks in Haiti which was decimated by an earthquake in January.

Jessica Friesen, left, shows her parents Curtis and Michele photos of her time volunteering at an orphanage in Haiti after an earthquake struck the island on Jan. 12. photo by Don Patterson

Jessica Friesen is happy to be reunited with her family after working at an orphanage in the Caribbean country, but she can’t help thinking there is more she should do.

“It’s nice to be with my family, but I feel like I should be there doing something,” she said. “It’s hard being here when I want to be there.”

Friesen was in Haiti when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the island on Jan. 12.

She was volunteering at the nursery for an orphanage run by God’s Littlest Angels in the community of Petionville, near the capital of Port-au-Prince, caring for children who were infants up to the age of three.

The orphanage was home to children to be adopted by families outside the country.

Friesen arrived in Calgary on the evening on Jan. 27 after traveling with 20 children adopted by Canadian families.

“It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I don’t think I will ever forget the looks on the parents’ faces,” she said of arriving in Calgary.

Friesen had only been at the orphanage for one day when the quake hit. At the time, she was standing on the third floor balcony when the building began to shake.

“It started out tame, it didn’t feel like it was going to turn into anything, but then it started violently shaking,” she said. “Someone outside said the building was shaking a metre either way.

“I honestly thought the house was going to go down. I didn’t see how anything could withstand that kind of shaking.”

Friesen’s first response was shock.

However, as the reality of the situation settled in, everyone immediately ran to check on the children.

“We had no idea of what happened in the nursery. That was a moment of sheer terror,” she said.

Thankfully, the building stood and there were no injuries, but everyone slept outside the first night after the quake.

The first days after the quake were difficult. Friesen said they had enough food to last for a few days, but they weren’t sure about their diesel and water supplies.

Friesen said it was a huge relief as aid came in and they were able to focus their efforts on the children.

They were overwhelmed at just how far people went to help.

The orphanage got a big surprise during supper one night when members of the Dutch marines walked into the orphanage saying they had a gift.

“We walked outside and they had this assembly line of Dutch marines tossing boxes to each other — box after box after box,” said Friesen. “It was incredible to see just how generous they were being. We brought the kids out to see them and (the soldiers) were so taken by the kids.”

In spite of everything going on around them, the children were still able to be kids. It helped to raise the spirits of the volunteers.

“It’s impossible not to love the kids and the way they react,” said Friesen. “We had kids singing despite everything that was happening. Whenever a kid smiled or laughed it was a little bit of motivation to keep going even though things were a little tougher.”

The impact of the quake was felt by everyone in the country and with Haitians losing their homes and their jobs people have been asking the orphanage to take their children because they couldn’t support them. These requests were turned down because the orphanage was at capacity, but they tried to give out whatever support to the community they could.

Friesen said amid the devastation Haitians found their resolve and were determined to get back on their feet.

“I don’t know if they found hope in each other. They marched down the streets singing praises in Creole. They are out there living under sheets together, packed into these huge communities and they’re rallying together,” she said.

Friesen said she wants people to know the difference their actions and donations are making in the country.

“People should know they’ve been fantastic. We’ve had so many community prayers and support. The donations that have come in for the orphanage, the people’s hearts that have been touched, it’s been such a blessing,” she said.

She said there’s so much more to be done and she is already planning her return.

“As soon as there’s enough kids for me to go, and when the airlines start flying in again, I’ll go back,” she said.

Her father Curtis has mixed emotions for both her return home and her desire to go back to Haiti.

“It’s a mixture of relief and pride,” he said. “We’ll totally back whatever she decides. Her motives are good. She’s all about the kids.

“She had a couple chances to come home and she said ‘no, they need me.’ It was good to see her pass those up to help down there,” he said.

Anyone wanting to support the relief effort in Haiti or to help the God’s Littlest Angels orphanage can visit www.glacanada.ca

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