Et cetera : Grace for Haiti: 2018 mission trip to focus on needs of young women

Aimee Redlinger and others plan to return to Haiti next year to focus on helping young women there. While on a mission trip to Haiti this past summer, Aimee Redlinger discovered late in the experience the reasons she believes she went: Helping the young girls of that poor, troubled and hurricane-damaged nation. Aimee Redlinger speaks to a group of Haitian children. Working with Worldwide Village leaders as well as the group of local residents who joined a trip organized by members of Blessed Hope Church, Aimee discovered that life for young women is particularly difficult. Lack of education opportunities, a culture that leads to high occurrences of teen pregnancy and single motherhood, and other causes and effects of generational poverty. It's the kind of need Aimee believed she should, and could, do something about. Now, Aimee is among the organizers of a planned mission trip tentatively set for early June of 2018. She and several other women and teen girls (many of them who were close friends and/or classmates of Emma Redlinger before Emma's death in 2015. "This is the kind of thing Emma would have loved," said Aimee. She and others are hoping to raise money ($1,200 to $1,500 per person) for the air fare and other expenses so they can spend several days ministering to young women, helping to meet those challenges. Fund-raising begins this week, with a garage sale that will take place in the parking lot west of Mickey's Bar on Highway 218, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A pie sale fund-raiser is also being planned. The group is also working on setting up a Facebook page and other social media outreaches to help inform the community about the project. The women also help to gather supplies essential for young women to send or take with them. Aimee says the group is still looking for a name. One option is "Grace for Haiti," which includes Emma's middle name. The impact of hurricanes this season could also affect the kind of work trip participants will focus on, Aimee said. For more information, contact Aimee ataredlinger@outlook.com.