Long distance: Megan Boudreaux

Here: Haitian mission coordinator at Our Lady of the Lake Foundation

There: Continuing mission work in Gressier, Haiti

Editor’s Note: Lafayette native Megan Boudreaux began working to help Haitian earthquake victims through the Fransicsan Sisters’ mission. A Tulane University graduate, she continues to work with OLOL. She has built a new school, and she’s developing a clinic in Gressier to help orphans there.

Tell us about your work in Haiti.

In January of 2011, I moved out of my apartment in Baton Rouge, had already sold most of my things and moved to Gressier, Haiti (about 20 miles west of Port au Prince), by myself. I left because I knew I was called to help the children of this area. I rented a house in Gressier, and really had no idea what I was going to do. All I knew is that there were children who needed help, and Gressier, Haiti, was where I was supposed to go.

What do you like most?

That it’s not a job at all. My life here in Haiti is about fighting for the hundreds of thousands of Restaveks. “Rester” means “to stay” [in French] and “avec” means “with.” These are literally child servants or slaves. There are over 400,000 in Haiti. After finding out about this slave crisis in February, I realized that this is why I was called to Haiti, to be a voice for these voiceless children and to make sure that they are heard.

Life here in Haiti is never normal; there is never a routine.

What’s the biggest misconception you think Baton Rougeans might have about Haiti?

I think the biggest misconception is that Haiti is a sinkhole, a place of endless despair and a place of hopelessness.

How did you come up with the idea of Respire Haiti?

When I was on Bellevue Mountain back in December, I took a deep breath and realized that it was very different from the polluted, concrete, densely populated city of Port au Prince. Here in Gressier, I could breathe clearly and could just see the potential. “Respire” means “to breathe,” and it is a sign of how we help these children here in Gressier.

It has to be mentally and emotionally exhausting to be around such despair day in and day out. How do you keep yourself together with all that misfortune around you?

I have seen so much death, despair, fear and anger here in Haiti … you’re right, it can be extremely taxing and discouraging, but the fact that God has been faithful in showing how HOPE can change these children by giving them hope in their future, hope in change, hope in Christ, is what keeps me together and moving full steam ahead.

Learn more about Boudreaux’s work at blessedwithaburden.wordpress.com, and at respirehaiti.org.