Feed — Susie Honea

compiled by Sarah Asp | photography by John Chiasson

Name: Susie Honea, 47
Hometown: Gallatin, Tennessee
Family: Husband, Alan. Sons, Chris Cymbaluk, 30, a Thrivent Financial for Lutherans representative. Daughter, Jamie, 28 and son Andrew, 18. .
Chapter: North Central TN
Organization: Trinity/HOPE
Susie and nonprofit partner John Hall run an outreach ministry that feeds haitian children.

Q: What specifically do you do as a volunteer?

A: We feed children in Haitian Lutheran schools by raising funds here in the United States. It was the brainchild of John Hall, a Lutheran community services specialist with Thrivent Financial. He visited Haiti for a pastor’s conference, and he visited three schools. Two of the schools had feeding programs, the third did not; he could really tell a difference in the kids. From that visit, he decided to feed the school and talked to us, a few of his friends, to help. We began with 90 students. Now, in 2005, we’re feeding 27 schools and about 3,000 students a day.

It’s all just because we talked to other people. Whatever money is given to us, 100 percent of it feeds the children. There are no administrative costs. My husband and I and John talk to churches around the United States and really just tell them about the children and what a difference it makes. When we show up with the food, the children say to themselves, “Yes, this is true what they’re telling us—God is providing for us; God does care for us.” They come to the school because they are getting fed. Typically they have no breakfast.

We run our program very much like a business. I am the director of five schools in Haiti. We hire feeding program directors in Haiti who visit the school every week. The directors report back to us. When we go to Haiti, we break up into teams and visit all the schools that we feed. I make sure that the program is being run smoothly. We’re always trying to reduce the cost. Right now, it is 20 cents per meal. It started out much higher than that—37 cents per meal. I think.

Q: How long have you been feeding kids in Haiti?

A: Since 1998.

Q: If I want to help feed the hungry, how do I get involved?

A: We have donors in 22 states and Canada. Just contact us and we can come talk to your congregation.

It just speaks volumes; all we have to do is talk to people. Money is really what we need. We have had shoe drives and similar things, but it is so costly to ship things to Haiti. Also, the black market is so strong that a lot of times our pastors go to pick things up and they have to pay again to get it out of port. And many times it’s all been gone through. Once they get the items, they have to get them to the schools, which are rural, and they have to haul it by walking or donkey.

We’re always looking for volunteers. We have a lot of bookwork. All they need to do is contact me, and we’ll find a job for them.

Q: How did you get started?

A: John and I worked together when I was a Lutheran Brotherhood agent for several years. Once you see the kids, and you see the difference; once you see what a difference that can make in someone’s life, you just have to do it. The thing that really strikes me as unbelievable, growing up in northwest Minnesota, you think you’re just one of the crowd. You can’t make a difference really; you just do what you’re told. But from being friends with John, I have really seen what one person can do to make a difference in so many lives—not only our lives as volunteers but all the benefits of the children and the relationships we have with the Haitian pastors and directors. And it all started just with John. It all started with one idea. That’s what is so amazing to me—that one person can make such a difference.

Q: When you go home at night after a long day of volunteering, how do you feel?

A: I feel blessed, blessed that I can be a part of something so great, you know, because I’m just me. I feel very fortunate that we have the resources to do that and we have the freedom to go and talk to people. I don’t really like to talk in front of a lot of people, but for the cause I’ll do it because it makes such a difference. I have a great life. I do other volunteering, too. I have the opportunity and the time to do that. At some point maybe I’ll need some help from somebody. You just really need to help each other. I think that’s what our purpose here is, to try and make life easier for everybody.

Q: Do you believe you can change the world?

A: One child at a time, yes, I really believe that. The kids are where the changes are going to happen. It’s hard not to come home with a bunch of Haitian kids, that’s for sure.

Q: What do you say to the person who says, “One person’s efforts don’t make enough of a difference?”

A: I just tell them my story—it’s proof. It takes a lot to change my mind, too, and I have to see it before I can believe it. So I just tell them where we started and where we are now. Our motto is, if it stops being fun then we don’t do it. Sometimes it gets to be a lot of work, but it’s always fun—you always just keep your focus. You can change your own little world, even in your own household. You can make it a better place, and from there it just grows to your church and to the schools and to the community. You can make a difference in your own little world.

Q: Is volunteering a part of your faith?

A: Yes, I know it sounds kind of corny, but I feel like I’m God’s hands here on earth, the way He gets things done is through us. I just do what God wants me to do.

Q: Do you expect a reward from giving back?

A: Helping with God’s work—that’s the reward. I’m not a loud volunteer; I just like to do my thing. The only reason I agreed to do this interview was that I was going to get to talk about Haiti. I kind of like to be the behind-the-scenes guy.

Q: What’s been your favorite volunteer moment—the one that keeps you coming back?

A: When I go to Haiti…once I get there, I know I have a job to do and I do it. The moments that are the greatest are when we walk into the schools—they know that when we come, we’re going to sit down and talk with them. When they sit on your lap, when they hug you, when they ask to pray for you, that really is a humbling experience, but that’s what makes it worth it. It’s all worth it then, just having time to spend with the kids.

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