Our Speakers at the Rotary Club of South East Nassau on July 21 were AG Fritz Pierre Louis & PP Herve Landrin. 
 
AG Fritz Pierre Louis spoke about Rotarians throughout history answering the call of service as well as times when the philanthropic gaps were not able to be filled.  He said that in Haiti they were dealing with health, environmental and political crises and families are grappling with how to cope.  Haiti has had manmade disasters and natural disasters and it can be a struggle to see the next day.  Haiti is dealing with the Covid-19 crisis and now a political crisis.  He said they reach out to local Rotarians because they have dealt with disasters before and have experience in dealing with disasters.  He gave an example of when there was a flood and the Rotary Club of Petionville was able to help greatly during that crisis.  The local Rotarians reach out to each other, the population and local leaders that are not Rotarians.  AG also spoke about the pandemic and the amount of deaths and cases in the country.  Despite there being no vaccines in the country, local Rotarians still reach out to help the population.  He expressed the fact that whenever there is a crisis, Haitians and local Rotarians stick together to help each other.
 
PP Herve Landrin described how Rotarians are serving through crisis and stated that Rotary is the true meaning of servitude.  He described some of the crises Haiti has endured such as the earthquake and Coronavirus pandemic.  He stated that Rotary is always at the forefront in helping through crises.  He explained what it was like for Rotarians in Haiti to work under constant crises.  He detailed his own experience during the earthquake of 2010 when the four story building he was in collapsed and later finding out the building his wife and in-laws were in had also collapsed, killing them.  After this he made sure his neighbors had the necessary supplies to survive.  He helped them with food, diesel and in numerous other ways.  His neighbors were grateful and touched by his compassion despite what he has just gone through.  He joined Rotary in 2011 and this gave him motivation to help and serve others.  He spoke about the determination of Haitian Rotarians to adapt to any situation even if their lives are in danger.  He detailed how he and other Rotarians risked their lives during Hurricane Matthew to provide Haitians with food, water and emergency medical supplies.  During his presidency the coronavirus pandemic hit, despite this his club was able to raise funds.  One of their projects was the purchase of  incinerators to burn medical waste so they do not end up into the environment.  They also donated thousands of cases of hand soap and are active in the Hanwash project.  He said that serving during a crisis means to serve with your heart.
 
AG Fritz Pierre Louis & PP Herve Landrin had opportunities to live in other countries but decided to return to Haiti to serve during various crises and to help their country.