About Trips

TRIPS TO HAITI TO HELP WITH EARTHQUAKE RELIEF

Many people are contacting us, offering to take a trip to Haiti to help with earthquake relief and reconstruction. We are grateful that so many people are willing to do this. However, at this time, our organization does not have a base in the Port-au-Prince area and would be unable to house and feed people, and we do not have activities available to be done in a safe and organized way.

We are keeping a list of the people who have offered to help in this way and if and when our situation changes and we are able to bring groups to Haiti to help directly with earthquake relief, we will let them know and publish that information here. The only advice we can give to people who would like to do this now is to go to the USAID web site (www.usaid.gov/haiti) and register there. The description below is for our regular trips to the Pignon area, which was unaffected by the recent earthquakes. The trip schedule listed below is also only for those regular trips.

Your Travel Experience

Haiti Outreach welcomes donors and other travelers to Pignon, where we are based and where we built a guest house to more easily accommodate the increasing number of visitors. We conduct trips each year for groups ranging from 5 – 15 people who work on a small project, visit our community development projects, see the country of Haiti, and experience the people and culture. These trips are often described as life-changing, for some travelers will return to the U.S. with a different perspective on what’s important in their lives. They find a new understanding and appreciation for people of other cultures who often struggle daily to find enough clean water to drink, food to eat, and any kind of employment. We invite you to visit us and see firsthand how we are making in incredible, even revolutionary difference in a place where real progress has been so difficult to achieve.

Upcoming Trips

The current trip schedule for 2010 is shown below. All dates are tentative and subject to change unless it says “firm”. The schedule will be updated as often as necessary to give you the most current information possible. More detailed information about these trips will be shown as they become certain. Other dates are possible, if there is enough interest. Contact us if you are interested in any of these trips or have a group interested in any other dates.

2010 – 2011 Trip Schedule

NOTE: Trips listed here are NOT for earthquake relief or work in the Port-au-Prince area.

October 4 – 12 – Tentative Trip – open to all – includes inauguration of La Victoire Public Secondary School

Nov. 4 – 12 – Chicago Trip – open primarily to people from Chicago; possibly to others if not full

Dec. 2 – 10 – Tentative Trip – open to all

January 12 – 20 – St. Thomas Univ. student group

Jan. 20 – 28 – East Lake Community Church group

Feb. 3 – 11, 2011 – St. Thomas More Church group

Feb. 20 – 28 – Tentative All- Women Group

Trip Details

Trips with Haiti Outreach usually last about 8 or 9 days. The cost can vary, due to airline cost fluctuations. Generally, they run around $1600 – $1800 for groups from Minnesota. Prices will vary from other locations. The exact price will be determined when we purchase airline tickets. The price includes all flights and transportation, rooms or hotel as required, and food in Haiti. The only things not covered are food the first and last days of the trip, some tips, and any souvenir purchases.

Most of our trips are a combination of experiencing the Haitian culture, seeing community development sites, and possibly participating in a work project, such as helping to build a house for a needy family, building school desks, painting, etc. No particular skills are needed by travelers to do the work projects. Some of these projects require the traveling group or some other group or individual(s) to generate the funds for the project materials. We do not take general funds donated to Haiti Outreach to pay for these trip project costs. Building a house, for example, costs $4,000, and the group needs to raise this money unless some other person or group has paid for it.

If you are interested in a trip to Haiti with us, please write to info@HaitiOutreach.org or call 612-929-1122. Check this page from time to time, as the exact trip schedule or any changes will be posted here.

A deposit of $500 will hold your seat, with the balance due one month before the scheduled departure date. The cost of these trips as a payment to Haiti Outreach is tax deductible.

Click here for your Trips Brochure

Click here for your Detailed Description of Haiti Outreach Trip to Pignon, Haiti

Click here for your Haiti Outreach Travel Application

Click here for your Haiti Trip Packing List

Click here for your Haitian Creole Word List

Click here for more Information and History on Haiti