In the stock - house ... Michael Hughes and Orla Fitzgerald.

Orla to help rebuild lives in Haiti

Hurricane Matthew recently smashed into Haiti killing 1,000 people and causing widespread destruction to the country that was still trying to rebuild after the devastation of the 2010 earthquake, which claimed 220,000 lives.

Trim restaurateur Orla Fitzgerald will travel to Haiti next April as a volunteer with the Haven charity, following in the footsteps of her partner Michael Hughes who completed two volunteer trips the year after the devastating earthquake.
Michael went to Haiti on two volunteer trips in 2011.

“I was due to go with the Haven Charity in October 2010 and the day before I was meant to fly there as a Cholera outbreak and the trip was put back to April 2011,' he explained.  'I had already signed up to go in November 2011 so I went twice that year.

He said it was a life-changing experience.

'I always wanted to give something back. I had lost my building company and it really focussed the mind. You thought you were poor until you saw them.”

As a builder and carpenter, Michael spent his first trip roofing houses and also helped build a community centre. On his second visit, Haven joined with Habitat for Humanity, which former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn are involved in, where they built more houses.
Working in the heat was the most challenging part and Michael recalled that they were working in temperatures of 55 degrees during the 10 day trips.
On 4th October last, Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti, killing 1,000 people and causing widespread devastation. While Michael said the houses they built are still intact, the small farms they set up were wiped out.
Orla was keen to also volunteer but at the time felt Michael, with his building background, would be of more use. Five years on, Orla wants to do her bit to help the people of Haiti.
“When Michael was doing the trip I would love to have gone.
“I helped a lot with the fundraising. I had a salon in Robinstown at the time and did a lot of things through there.”
Orla explained that they kept in touch with the charity and did what they could over the years such as holding raffles. “When the email came in about the trip next year, I thought, I want to go.”
“It’s something I always wanted to do, and now more than ever. With Hurricane Matthew things are going backwards rather than forwards.” Orla had just got confirmation that she had been accepted for the trip days before the hurricane hit.
Orla doesn’t know what project she will be working on until she gets there. “I know they are focusing on a water and santitation programme and there is ongoing work in orphanages. “It could be anything. Whatever they ask me to do, I’ll do it. It’s just ten days out of your life, I’ll do 
anything.”
She explained that the issue of water and sanitation is critical at the moment. “They are in big trouble. Any improvements made, the hurricane all but destroyed. Cholera is a big problem.”
Before embarking on the trip, Orla must raise a minimum of €4,500 and on 17th November Don Baker and Clara Rose will be joined by Tony Kenny, and Don Elliot Bridges in a fantastic line up for Orla’s Haiti fundraiser at the Stockhouse restaurant. Tickets are €40 which includes a three-course meal and with all musicians and suppliers doing it for free, all proceeds go directly to Haiti. There will also be a raffle and some great spot prizes.
Orla hopes to go a bit further than than the minimum €4,500 required to undertake the volunteer mission.
“People have been very supportive and I am very grateful for any support or donations of prizes,” she said.
Tickets can be purchased from the Stockhouse, Finnegan’s Way, Trim for the 17th November fundraiser.