KAYSVILLE -- Long before the earthquake struck, Kelsey Coy was deeply involved with the people of Haiti, although she has never actually been to the island nation.
"I sadly have not been to Haiti but my heart has always been there," the 16-year-old Davis High School junior said. "I have to admit when I was younger, I had no idea that Haiti was even a country, but when I was about 12 years old all of that changed."
"My dad came home from work one day and told me that a work colleague of his and his wife had just started a new charity organization called Haitian Roots. I was really fascinated by what my dad told me, so I decided I would learn as much as I could about what life is like for children in Haiti."
What she learned was a big shock.
"I learned that many kids resort to eating 'edible clay,' also known as mud cookies, because they are so hungry," she said. "Only 15 percent of all Haitian children ages 6 to 11 are enrolled in school. Ninety percent of the population lives on less than $100 a year, and I just recently saw a TV segment by ABC titled 'How to buy a child in 10 hours.' This TV segment showed how easy it was for a reporter to go to Haiti and buy a child."
Kelsey was saddened to learn all of this, so she decided she was going to help.
"I am so blessed to be where I am today and it is my responsibility to help out my family, and I consider all of the people of Haiti my family even though technically I have never met them," she said. "I can't really explain it. I just feel so close to them. When I heard about the earthquake it was like something inside of me was gone. I know it sounds weird, but I just feel like I have such a connection to these people."
Last summer Kelsey and her friends at Davis High School held a car wash and yard sale. They raised nearly $700 to send three Haitian children to school.
"I hate it when people say that it's just a penny or just a dollar when they make donations. If 500 people only gave a dollar, that's $500. Whoever said one person can't make a difference was wrong."
Kelsey recently got involved in a fundraiser for Haiti called "Hope for Haiti: Dig Deep Week." Students were asked to bring as much change as they could find and donate it to the earthquake victims.
"I think it's funny how Haiti is getting so much attention now and everyone is freaking out because things are so bad there, but what they don't know is that it was like that way before the earthquake, but now it's 10 times worse," she said. "If there was one thing I would want readers to know, it would be that if you can only help one person or one child, do it. When you help one person you're completely changing their life and giving them opportunities they couldn't even dream of. By helping one Haitian child or adult, you're not only bettering their life, but also the country of Haiti as a whole. You never know, by you giving your spare change you could completely change the future of Haiti."
For now, Kelsey will continue helping her friends in Haiti, but one day she hopes to travel to the country to meet and teach them.
"The children are a great example of light and strength to all of us who have so much. These children really inspire me to do and be better," she said.
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