Vanguard Skin Specialists and clara support Healing Haiti. In February 2020, I traveled to Haiti to see our work. While I have known about the projects we sponsor in Haiti, seeing it gave me a different perspective.

I’m in the back of the tap tap (our daily mode of transportation) with my other team members. We all work together, but this was our first time living together and serving together.

Each morning, we prepare our hearts for the day as we get ready to serve.

My hardest but BEST experience was serving on the water truck in Cite Soleil. Cite Soleil is the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. Because the slum is built atop a trash mound near the ocean, clean running water is not an option for its over 300,000 residences. Thus, Healing Haiti takes a water truck into the neighborhoods so residents can fill their buckets.

It was amazing to be present with our new friends, helping them carry water back to their homes.

We didn’t focus on the poor conditions or our broken hearts, but instead we assisted with many heavy buckets of water for many in Cite Soleil! With each truck and bucket, it was more apparent of our need to serve these beautiful people and their community.

As many children and women were carrying clean water for their family, they quickly welcomed our help with the water or playing with their young children, while they transported the water to their homes. We didn’t share a language, but we exchanged many smiles and hugs. The day began to feel like a festival.

These buckets were very heavy and tired our muscles but not our spirits. The passion of the Healing Haiti team and the smiles, hugs and chants from the neighborhood lets you know you are following the Lord and making a difference for these deserving people.

Another day that will stick with me forever, is our day in Kenscoff, a smaller mountainside city that welcomed our group.

We worshiped with this community at their small outdoor church. We felt privileged to be guests in their sacred community time.

This community also treated us to a wonderful mountainside picnic. They brought the food, and as you can see in this video, we brought the music.

While we had to take water trucks into Cite Soleil, this Haitian community had to walk to fetch their water. The water source varied depending on whether it was rainy or dry season. Witnessing this gave new meaning to the clean water work that we support at Vanguard.

Vanguard Skin Specialists and Clara support medical projects in Haiti. We had the opportunity to visit Hope Medical Clinic and see the maternal health program supported by the retail sales of clara.

I hold the people of Haiti dear to my heart and look forward to meeting again.

Change your skin and change the world. 20% of clara retail sales or 100% of profit (whichever is greater) are donated to World Vision and Healing Haiti. Thank you for supporting these wonderful causes.

Mandy Brown is an aesthetic nurse with Vanguard Aesthetics and clara.