Northeast Community Church assists Haiti on the road to recovery

"It was life-changing. That's the word that keeps popping into my mind."

Conrad Jacques, a Darien resident and member of Northeast Community Church (NECC) in Norwalk, saw indelible images that scorched themselves into his memory on a recent trip to help rebuild the impoverished nation of Haiti so devastated by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake last winter.

Jacques saw crumpled buildings -- as of yet not reconstructed -- lying useless in their foundations. He saw thousands of displaced Haitians living in the threadbare tents of makeshift communities. He saw a nation fractured not by combative political parties nor by revolution, but by an inescapable natural disaster responsible for the deaths of more than 200,000 innocent people.

But the image Jacques saw that impacted him most was the image of the Haitian children - many of them orphaned by the quake, and still without permanent homes.

"To see the young kids' faces light up when we came to help was amazing," he said.

"One of the kids came up to me, hugged me, and said, `Thank you.' It made me think of my kids back home, and how much we have."

Jacques is one of 12 NECC members who traveled to Jacmel, Haiti, a small community south of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, from Aug. 7 - 12. Working with the international relief organization Forward Edge International, the NECC members helped rebuild a church and school, painted a community center, renovated a private home and assisted in running a day camp.

Jacques, who acted as a translator during the trip, said some of his family members were born in Haiti.

"Having had family there, it was touching," he said.

"And so was playing a vital role in the recovery. What you see on the news doesn't give the whole picture....It was the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my entire life. I was able to go back and be a part of my own lineage. For my father, to see that I went back to his roots to help out, that was a blessing to him."

Norwalk resident and outreach coordinator for NECC Danielle Nelson said the church raised about $9,000 to aid relief efforts. JetBlue, Ring's End Lumber, Herman's Has Everything, Servair, and the Apple Store all donated funds or materials. The remainder of costs came out of pocket, according to Nelson.

Nelson, began coordinating the trip following an exploratory trip by Senior Pastor, Thomas Mahoney, earlier this year in April. Visiting Jacmel, Haiti and its capital, Port Au Prince, Mahoney knew that he wanted to send a team immediately to help in relief efforts.

On their way to Jacmel, the NECC volunteers experienced what proved to be an enlightening - and often sobering - 13-and-a-half hour drive.

"We saw a lot of tent cities, and a lot of the destruction. A lot of the time it was silent, because we were trying to digest what we were seeing," Nelson said. "Despite all of that, the Haitian people have the highest spirit you could imagine....The people there are extremely hospitable. They have very little, but they give you everything. They are amazing."

One day during their stay in Jacmel, the NECC members met an artist who made a living selling paintings on the street.

"We met this gentleman on a beach," Nelson remembered.

"He told us his recollection of the earthquake. He lived near the water. The people thought they heard a bulldozer. But then water came into the city and flooded it. They were carrying their children, running, panicking."

"I've never heard a story like that," Nelson said. "And it will never leave my mind."

NECC member, Norwalk resident, and project manager for a Stamford construction firm Kelly Marsh said it was her job to help coordinate construction efforts in Haiti. She said many of the building materials the group needed were held up in customs en route to Jacmel.

"I come from a background where everything is drawn out and in front of you -- the steel, the building materials. That wasn't the case down there."

But, with the assistance of local builders, the NECC team accomplished its rebuilding jobs.

"I thought I was very blessed to meet these people," Marsh said.

"At one point, they literally gave us the shirt off their back....They still have hope. The people we met in Jacmel will forever be in my heart."

As for rebuilding efforts, Marsh said she saw progress. She said she hopes the people of Haiti will learn that, even as relief efforts forge onward, there must be a different approach to construction -- horizontally, instead of vertical story upon vertical story -- in a nation that might, sometime in the future, once again feel the disquieting rumble of the earth beneath its towns.

Nevertheless, there is still so much more rebuilding to be done.

"I left with a heavy heart," Jacques said. "Because throughout the country, you still see a tremendous amount of work to be done.

NECC members have a second relief trip tentatively planned for the winter.

Behind the scenes at NECC

Just under three years ago, on Oct. 21, 2007, a NECC opened its doors in Norwalk and hasn't looked back.

Lead pastor, Thomas Mahoney, moved to this area with his family four years ago to helm a group of core leaders who had already been together, hoping to start a church that would serve and influence its community in the sometimes difficult religious terrain of Fairfield County and the greater NYC metro area.

NECC is a Christian church and the term `community' in its name is purposeful. In the past few years, the church has welcomed and embraced people and practices from all denominational backgrounds. Mahoney remains true to what he sees as the vision of Northeast Community Church when he says, "Our mission is to empower people to live life to its fullest in Christ. I want to see that happen for every single person we connect with."

NECC strives to be an integgal part of the community while serving the needs of the community. It has been an active part in local mission work within South Norwalk since its inception--Mahoney himself serves on the City of Norwalk's Human Relations Commission, and its recent Haiti relief trip has helped bring its vision of community service to a global level.

Northeast Community Church focuses on delivering messages on Sunday morning that are relevant to attendees' lives, sharing great music, embracing the creative arts and being a place that people can come to find connection and meaningful relationship. NECC meets every Sunday morning at West Rocks Middle School (81 West Rocks Rd). Children's programs are offered at every service.