Note: This is the sixth and final entry in a series of journals that will be written by members of the SRU Athletes for Forgotten Angels group that will be in Haiti Jan. 12-17 helping the country recover from the earthquake that rocked the country two years ago. For more information and links to all journal entries, visit the Forgotten Angels homepage


We said farewell to Haiti earlier today and headed back to Florida. We arrived at the airport in Cap Haitien and went through customs, etc. and proceeded towards the Missionary Flights International plane. Before boarding, another plane was arriving in, so the pilot asked if we could assist in pushing the plane out of the way to accommodate the arrival of the plane and so we did. The Forgotten Angels group pushing a plane was truly a sight to see.

Our week was truly a wonderful adventure. Haiti is a place where real poverty exists, yet the people are proud and rich in spirit. We came as strangers and left as friends, and found that the human touch is the greatest gift of all.

The children of the EBAC Orphanage will forever be in our hearts, and though the babies of Idadee are too young to remember us, we will always remember them, and those kids who played on the soccer field each day. We will always be connected through the love of the sport.

I want to personally thank Kirk Kubias, a man of calm and full of respect for others, who was instrumental in helping coordinate this trip. Ashley Martin, my wonderful assistant coach and someone who always leads by example, thanks for jumping on board without hesitation.

Much appreciation goes out to Dr. Foley and Claudia Fischer (Student Affairs), Pam Frigot and all in the International Initiatives Office who never flinched when we needed your assistance, the entire staff at the SRU Health Center for making sure we were all set to visit Haiti, and to all of you who donated equipment to contribute to the cause. Special thanks to Beth Rosa (SRU Alum) from FedEx for helping us to ship our donations, free of charge. Jon Holtz in Sports Information, thanks for your willingness to post our journals each day; your support of this group has always been brilliant. Know that you each of you have touched the life of a child in Haiti.

And to the people of Haiti, thanks for welcoming us into your community with such open hearts.

A heartfelt thanks to the parents of our student-athletes. We appreciate you having the trust in us to allow your child to participate in this trip. Your son or daughter certainly did you proud.

And last, but certainly not least, to Michael Formento, Sarah Cadwallader, Kalli Wakefield, Alexandra Fleagle, Jessica Shroyer, Emily Lobdell, Teresa Elliott, Dory (Alyssa Barrett), Dayo (Dana O'Neill), and Emer Flatley, thanks for the giving of your time and understanding that kindness matters. Ash and I are extremely proud of you and truly hope you enjoyed the ride.

Thanks to all our families and friends for your support in all we do, we really appreciate it. For anyone else who we may have failed to mention, please take this as an acknowledgment of our appreciation.

It is our hope that this fine group of student-athletes, who represented themselves, their families and Slippery Rock University with such class, will never forget this week. We are confident that somewhere in their bright futures, they will continue to pay it forward, and be always willing to provide a helping hand to those less fortunate whether it is close to home or far away. Afterall, we are all brothers and sisters of the human race. It is fair to say that SRU athletes didn't just go to Haiti, we experienced Haiti.

Thanks for following along on our journey. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Cheerio for now,

Noreen Herlihy