Ridgefield's 'hot dog man' helps kids building playgrounds in Haiti

Ridgefielder Michael Principi, better known as the hot dog man at
Main Street's Chez Lénard, closed up shop for the last few weeks, and
his winter break took him to Haiti — just days after the devastating
earthquake destroyed areas of the country.

Mr. Principi and his father flew to Cap-Haïtien on Saturday, Jan.
16. Cape Haitian is about 80 miles north of Port-au-Prince, the area
hit by the quake. They returned last Sunday and were in Florida earlier
this week.

Mr. Principi had some customers worried he was in Haiti when the
quake struck, but Mr. Principi said from Florida on Tuesday that he is
safe and the experience in Haiti was eye-opening and powerful.

He and his father went with a religious organization called
Tilt-a-World, building outdoor playground equipment for orphans. The trip was preplanned
and Mr. Principi worried it would be canceled due to the chaos caused
by the earthquake.

"They had rejected any commercial flights in and out of Haiti," Mr.

Principi said. "We were able to enter under the humanitarian aid
umbrella."

Mr. Principi said the confusion caused by the earthquakes in the
other part of the country were obvious upon landing and U.S. troops
were at the airport when the Principis arrived.

"There was little coordination and direction and the earthquake worsened that," Mr. Principi said.

Though Cap-Haïtien wasn't affected by the earthquake, survivors were being transported to the area.

"We were part of a larger group of about 50 people," Mr. Principi
said. "About 30 to 40 of those folks were medical technicians and since
there were 50 buses a day coming out of Port-au-Prince with survivors,
those people were a big help."

Mr. Principi said the medical technicians in his group were overwhelmed at first but put to good use.

"Broken limbs, you name it, they saw it," Mr. Principi said.

The group had expected lumber delivery from Port-au-Prince to build
the kids playground equipment but since many roads were impassable, they received

less than expected.

The group planned to build two jungle gyms but were able to only do one with the supplies.

"We weren't going to be deterred, we forged ahead," Mr. Principi said. "No one in our group backed out."

Group members, including Mr. Principi, are making plans to return and build the second jungle gym they promised the children.

The experience was an eye-opener, Mr. Principi said. Once its
project was complete, the group had to teach the children how to swing
on the swings and how to use other parts of the indoor playground equipment like the
rope ladders and monkey bars.

"It's hard to put into words the impact that this jungle gym will
have for this community," Mr. Principi said. "We had the inaugural
ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday morning and the kids were out there
from 8 in the morning to 11 at night... For what it's worth, it's an
escape and allows them to forget about the destitute conditions they
live in and just have fun and be kids."

Mr. Principi said that seeing the international support pouring into the country for areas hit by the earthquake was heartening.

"It's comforting to see that when times get tough, the U.S. steps up
to the plate. As we saw in New Orleans, it can be tough to run
everything smoothly but the effort and the good will are there and
these people certainly need it."

He also left with a strong impression of the people of Haiti.

"It's seemingly a hopeless place but the Haitian people are good
people and godly people," Mr. Principi said. "Their faith is what keeps
them going day to day."

 

 

from:acorn-online