The Institute of Notre Dame (IND) and Mercy High School may have been rivals on the court last Friday night for "The Game," an annual basketball game between the two schools, but that evening they also united for good cause—helping the people of Haiti. It was a mission that girls from each school were working toward before the January 12 earthquake struck.
IND Alum in Haiti
Since 2004, IND alum “KC” Bersch has dedicated her life for caring for the children of Wings of Hope, a home for severely handicapped, formerly abandoned children. KC, who lives and works outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti is the director of education at the home.
In an email to her alma mater in November, KC described her work saying, "I live and work at a home for severely disabled children in Haiti, who have been abandoned and cast out by their families and society. Where once they were left to die, these children are lovingly brought into a family that affirms them, values them, and teaches them that “with God, all things are possible” in their lives. It is a simple life, in many ways a poor life, but a life full of joy and wonder.
A Mercy alumna Karen Buchheister, who volunteered at Wings of Hope for the summer, joined KC. KC described Karen's role saying, "Karen came to Wings with a project in hand, a type of touch therapy that deals mainly with sensory stimulation and massage. Karen was given a caseload of difficult children, who could hardly walk, talk, or respond, but she willingly took them on."
Rivalry ends on the court
Prior to the earthquake KC described working with Karen, “As an IND alumna, this is a work that I am happy to share with Mercy. Rivalries are fun and innocent, but when it comes down to real life, both Mercy and IND have a grand history of forming young girls into women with strong resolve to affect the world.”
With that in mind, IND and Mercy set out to raise funds at the basketball game to support Wings of Hope. They collected $821.
KC responds
In an email soon after KC learned of the schools' pledge to help, KC said, "This quake is going to affect us not just now, but in the months to come. Food prices are rising, our water is almost out, the streets are charged with people, but we'll rise from the dust.
"We had a church service today, dancing and singing oh it was so joyful! By and large our kids are so severely disabled that they don't really know what is going on, which is what makes the work all the more special in our eyes. Our employees have homes that were destroyed, and family and friends that died, but they are still here. It's a really dedicated group of Haitians to work with, and I am glad that IND (and Mercy) is now part of that work,” she continued.
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