Ole Miss Football Team Returning To Haiti this week
By Brad Logan
Via OleMissSports.com:
For the third straight Ole Miss spring break, members of the Rebel football program will spend their precious week off from class, workouts, practice and film sessions doing mission work in Haiti.
A 28-person group will take the trip from Oxford to Camp Marie, Haiti, to continue their work to create a sustainable community for Haitians in need. Now that the village of 10,000 Haitians has access to clean water (which the Ole Miss team helped to start last year), there is a need to further the water into their crop areas. These once fertile grounds have been devastated by severe drought, and the team of players, coaches, staff and family will assist local farmers in digging trenches for better irrigation.
The cost per person for the trip is $2,500, which includes airfare, ground transportation,
translator, lodging, meals and medical insurance. To donate toward this cause that can help change the lives of people in need and affect both them and the travelers in a positive way, visit www.RebelsforHaiti.com.
Among the contingent are players Talbot Buys, Chad Kelly, Armani Linton and Sean Rawlings; coaches Hugh Freeze (and family), Corey Batoon (and family) and Maurice Harris (and family); senior executive associate athletics director Stephen Ponder (and family); and several other members of the Ole Miss athletics administration, football staff and managers.
Kelly, the Rebels’ All-SEC record-breaking quarterback, will make the trek to Haiti for the second straight year.
Other Ole Miss players who have had life-changing experiences in Haiti over the past two years include Ontario Berry, Serderius Bryant, Ryan Buchanan, Will Few, Josh Johnson, LaKedrick King, Jeremy Liggins, Andy Pappanastos, Tayler Polk, Christian Russell, Deterrian Shackelford, Tee Shepard, Gary Wunderlich and John Youngblood. Coaches Freeze and Harris are returning to Haiti for the second straight year.
“We are all very blessed and fortunate, and I’m grateful for the opportunities to help these people who aren’t afforded our luxuries,” Freeze said. “We have another great group of student-athletes, coaches and administrators making the trip, and for our players in particular, I appreciate them giving up their spring break to impact others in this very positive way. This has been an eye-opening experience for our travel party every year, and I think everyone has walked away stronger and ready to make the most of every day.”
The Ole Miss team will partner with The 410 Bridge organization that has helped make a
huge difference in the life of the Camp Marie Haitians, who are moving closer to having a clean, sustainable water system that they can use to farm their own crops as a source of economic growth for the community.
This year, Ole Miss Football is partnering with other groups from the Oxford and Ole Miss communities to impact change in Haiti. FNC and The Orchard will send members to Haiti during the spring to assist with various aspects of community life in Camp Marie, such as education and business training.
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