Katie Kustes wasn’t sure what to expect when she signed on to go to Jean Denis, Haiti, with the SJV Medical Mission team.
But what she experienced gave her an entirely different view of life.
In the midst of extreme poverty, the Haitians never complain, she said.
“I complain about not getting a pair of shoes, or about my grades,” said Katie, 16, a sophomore at Pleasant Valley High School. “In the great scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.”
Her trip, she said, showed her “what I’m here on earth for.”
Her job on the mission team was mostly “intake,” getting vital statistics like height and weight of the patients.
“That way I got to see everybody,” she said. “The babies were my favorite.”
She shared the story of a young boy, perhaps 5 years old, who was given a granola bar. He immediately turned to his friend and gave it to him.
“Those kids are starving,” she said. “And yet he gave it away.”
In Jean Denis, she said, “a little goes a long way. Many people live on less than a dollar a day.”
Katie, the daughter of Dave and Deb Kustes, became interested in Haiti through her grandmother, Ann Wester, who has made the trip several times.
“There is so much to see in the world,” Katie said.
Katie made a video of her experiences in Jean Denis and it can be viewed on Youtube .
The Haitian Connection 