Haiti Travel Forum

For spring break this year, a small group of students from my school are going to Pétion-ville, Haiti to volunteer at God's Littlest Angel's Orphange. Last year, a senior took the same trip as his project for TOK but he went alone. My really good friend is very interested in Haiti and has dreams of opening a hospital there, so she really pushed this trip. A teacher that I had last year is in charge and really organizing it and some students are parents are going too.

I want to go extremely bad. I briefly mentioned the idea to my parents, they seemed into it, but then I got some information and after thinking about it they decided no way. There reason and main concern is obviously safety. Even though they said no, I still think about the trip everyday and want to go so badly I can't even explain. I've done hours of research on Haiti, the orphange, and previous trips from volunteers. Honestly, it seems like a completely safe trip as we are getting picked up at the airport by a security esscort service, the roads are patrolled by the UN, we are about an hour away from Port-Au-Prince (which is where the infamous kidnappings have occured), and both the Toddler House and the Nursery are surrounded by concrete walls and locked iron gates.

Basically, I would just really love some advice on talking to my parents and hopefully convincing them to let me go. The thing is I don't have a lot of time to do so. Today I made a slideshow with a bunch of information and pictures of the orphange and all of that so they can see what its actually like, because I think the problem was my dad only got information about the crime rate in Port-Au-Prince and hasn't really heard about how peaceful this area is supposibly.

Also, I am a sophmore in high school and just turned sixteen. Three students from my grade are going, and my good friends mom is going.

Please, please help me out as this is very important to me. Thank you so much!

glahaiti.org (<--- the orphange website)

Perhaps your friend's mom could help persuade your parents you will be safe? I can imagine how you feel and in my opinion your parents should let you go at your age, if they don't I can only suggest you hold on to the idea, do all you can to help from where you are, and go in a couple of years time.
I do hope it works out for you.