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Rickan Reflects on Volunteer Work in Haiti
6/13/2014 12:00:00โฏAM | Women's Basketball
More Information on Poverty Resolutions
More Information on Mission of Grace Orphanage
BUFFALO, NY - Between balancing a summer class schedule to complete her master's degree and wrapping up her career with the women's basketball team, Jenna Rickan took time to give back recently when she traveled to Haiti for a service trip. Working with the Poverty Resolutions organization, the Kenmore native spent time visiting orphanages in the region and bring two subjects she knows well to the children: soccer and basketball.
After a four-year career as a soccer player at Syracuse, Rickan came to UB to complete her master's degree in higher education and earned an important role with the women's basketball team, playing in 26 games. After volunteering overseas in Brazil previously, she jumped at the opportunity to spend time in a Haitian village that had been devastated by recent natural disasters.
"Haiti is such a beautiful country, and that's the hard thing when you go there," Rickan said. "You see beautiful landscapes and water, then you go out on the streets and see people living in tents and living on a dollar a day."
Rickan was connected through Poverty Resolutions to the Mission of Grace Orphanage, which shelters around 20 orphans who range in age between newborn and eight years old. Due to intense poverty throughout the country, many families who have twins must make the unthinkable decision to chose which baby they are able to keep and support, then give the other up for adoption so it can have a fighting chance. A massive earthquake exacerbated the poverty levels in Haiti in 2010, but the specific village Rickan served in had been crippled before that by a massive mudslide.
"The thing that was so impactful to me was that they have so much hope," Rickan said. "We may look at them and think they don't have anything, but at least in the orphanage they are fed and get nannies that love them."
Along with the basic care of feeding and spending time with the children, Rickan and her fellow volunteers helped in the construction of a pair of greenhouses that allowed the orphanage to provide its own food source, and she was also able to run a soccer clinic.
With communication limited through the language barriers, soccer became the common language as Rickan and her fellow volunteers developed a bond with the local children. Along with getting the kids out and active, the clinic was a way to provide the kids soccer balls, shoes and clothes.
"Half the kids didn't even have shorts, let alone shoes, they would come play in their underwear," Rickan said. "They were so good at soccer, despite playing on a soccer field that's just gravel. It was cool to bring soccer to them because it's such a big part of who I am."
Along with soccer, Rickan also showed off her basketball skills with the local children in pickup games. While her group focused on the Mission of Grace Orphanage, they also branched out to other areas of the country.
The organization that made this mission trip happen, Poverty Resolutions, was started by Andrew and Matt in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. Aside from advocating for the country in the form of volunteers and donations, they have started to finance education programs to educate children with the hope of rebuilding the country through its youth. The country has a young population, with 54 percentage of Haiti currently under the age of 18.
Volunteer work is nothing new for Rickan, or for many student-athletes at UB. With the women's basketball team in-season, Rickan took part in team volunteer work for Girls and Women in Sports Day with the Buffalo Bills as well as other camps for local kids. After years of support as an athlete, Rickan was humbled by the opportunity to give back to those in need.
"At UB, you get clothes, you get food - anything you need – and you still may think 'aww I wish we had another pair of shoes', and then when you go out and see people who would die for a pair of shoes it really makes you value what you have."
Rickan said that she hopes to return to the country in the near future for another volunteer mission, but as she finishes her degree in higher education she plans to help Haiti any way she can through Poverty Resolutions. For more infomation on the two organizations Rickan served with, please follow the links at the top of the story.
