PAHS Student Recounts Relief Trip to Haiti

Phoenixville Area High School student Jacob Kevra, like a lot of teens, traveled south last spring break and had the time of his life. Unlike a lot of teens, Kevra went to Haiti.

In a terrific essay The Phoenix ran on October 8, Kevra recounted his experience traveling to the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean nation last March to help rebuild.

Along with ten other young missionaries, he brought supplies to the people and built homes. The conditions made the labor trying.

“The smell of Haiti was indescribable,” he wrote, “and minutes after riding in the bus I was coughing up grey junk that I inhaled from the dirty atmosphere.”

He said the struggles of the Haitian people made his own temporary sacrifice pale in comparison. It was a humbling experience.

“Watching a five-year-old child lift a box half her weight intended to feed her family and carry it two or more miles to her house was heartbreaking,” Kevra said.

Read his inspiring story here.