Local carpenter helps rebuild Haiti

By Taryn Plumb
Turley Publications Reporter

BROOKFIELD - From his seat in a pickup truck, Kerry Brenner saw chaos.
The ground had split open in fissures, buildings had disintegrated and Haitians were everywhere – sleeping on sidewalks; living in tent villages.
“As far as the devastation, it was phenomenal,” said Brenner, a 47-year-old Brookfield resident, who has done mission work in Haiti for more than 10 years and most recently volunteered his time there after the annihilating earthquake. “There was a lot of destruction,” he said.
Support, hope and prayers have gone out to Haiti since the magnitude 7.0 earthquake rumbled across the southern portion of the country, including its capital Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 12.
Now, as the country looks to rebuild from the wreckage, Brenner will be there to help– something he's been doing for more than a decade.
Traveling to Haiti on average three times a year, the self-employed carpenter and member of his hometown's St. Mary's Catholic Church has volunteered on a variety of building projects, including schools, medical clinics, orphanages and churches. His various trips have been organized by North Haiti Mission, Coastal Missions and the Martha's Vineyard Fish Farm for Haiti Project.
Following January's earthquake, he spent a week in the country; his job was to assess damage to properties and deliver communications equipment.
But there also ended up being a decidedly more personal element to his visit.
On his return, he volunteered, rather unexpectedly, to be an escort to three orphans adopted by families in the U.S. All three were in the adoption process prior to the earthquake.
He chaperoned two boys, ages 3 and 11, and a girl, age 7, on a chartered military flight to Miami.
Although there were some language problems – he spoke little Creole, and the children had minimal understanding of English, Brenner explained that “we could communicate enough to get through the trip.”
Most of the time in the air, the kids were eating, napping or coloring. Since they had never been on a plane, they were excited and a little bewildered, transfixed by the colorful lights as the plane descended to Miami, and terrified of an airport escalator. The children are now living with families in New York City, Seattle and Los Angeles.
Ultimately, “It was a great way to end my eight days there,” Brenner said.
Especially because he witnessed so much destruction. For instance, one convent in Port-au-Prince that is affiliated with the Martha's Vineyard Fish Farm for Haiti Project was nearly leveled, with 10 students and one nun killed.
Moreover, there was the general day-to-day pandemonium: destroyed buildings, torn-up streets, knocked-down trees and thousands of homeless people.
And even if their houses were spared, “I didn't witness anybody sleep inside,” Brenner said. “They were terrified to go back in.”
He was a little leery himself, electing to spend nights in a sleeping bag on the sidewalk. “If nobody was going to sleep in their houses,” he pointed out, “I definitely wasn't going to.”
The impetus for all this came about 12 years ago, when he saw a newspaper article seeking contractors to help erect a school in Haiti.
He didn't know really anything about the country, he acknowledged, but the idea piqued his interest. “I wasn't big on just writing out checks for charities,” he said. “I like to do hands-on.”
And when he got there, he encountered “wonderful people” who “always have smiles on their faces.”
“You just have to go back,” he said. “They inspire you to be a better person.”
Even after the earthquake, many Haitians he encountered still had a positive attitude, he said, and were just “thankful to be alive.”
It was a tough place before the disaster, he acknowledged, and now things will be even more difficult.
Still, Haitians aren't the kind of people to “just throw up their hands and quit,” he said, “they'll keep going.”
But it's also our job not to forget, he said.
“This'll take years and years to rebuild,” he said, urging people to help however possible. “If you can, donate (money), if you can, donate time. Keep them in your prayers. Every little bit helps.”