People Notice What You Do: George

George was one of my volunteer crew members in Haiti last year.  His week spent building with me, his fellow volunteers and one of our homeowners, Jean Louis (who we referred to as "Johnny") really made an impact on everyone including Habitat for Humanity International.  He is featured, along with Jean Louis, in a Habitat Magazine article.

Thankfully, George is coming back for JRCWP Haiti round two in November 2012!  We must have given him "Habitatitis"...just another thing we do!

(Read the full article here Habitat Magazine - Forging a New Future in Haiti by PhillipJordan)

(This is an excerpt from Forging a New Future in Haiti by Phillip Jordan; it is NOT written by me.)

For many volunteers, the most special part of that beginning was connecting with homeowners while laboring together under the searing Haitian sun. George Stanton helped Jean Louis Merissois build his Santo home. With very few words, the two bonded quickly, exchanging as much information as they could through hand gestures, written drawings and facial expressions. They constantly teamed up to tackle different aspects of the project.

Working in tandem, the two formed an unlikely pair: A stout, bearded, former U.S. Army soldier from Virginia and a slight, bespectacled 48-year-old farmer and carpenter. Nailing roofing sheets together, Stanton worked along the roof’s edge while Merissois navigated the roof’s ridge. When they moved to the house’s front porch, they lifted boards into place together.

George and Johnny working on the roof of a house

Later in the week, the two men sat down on a bench under the dining tent, having secured a translator to learn each other’s stories. Merissois told how he made a living, both as a builder and as a farmer. Before the earthquake, Merissois worked another man’s land and received half of what he cultivated there: corn, beans, rice and sugarcane.

He was in that very field when the earthquake struck, Merissois told Stanton: “I thought the world was ending. I saw the ground shake, and I saw houses fall. I saw my own rental house fall with my own eyes.”

Stanton had his own stories of Haiti. In 1994, as part of a U.S. peacekeeping mission sent to Haiti, Stanton spent most of his time in the country building roads.

“I always remembered how nice the people were and how well they treated us,” he told Merissois, pausing as tears began to descend into his beard. “When I saw the earthquake, my heart broke. I felt very sad. I just wanted to help some way. Coming here was a chance for me to build something else much more permanent.”

Merissois told Stanton he had done that in more ways than he could imagine. “I will move into a new house soon,” Merissois replied, “and I will take your friendship into my new home. You have shown me a lot of true love. You are already my closest brother, my new friend.”