Annalee Giesbrecht stands outside the MCC office in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She worked in the office and traveled throughout Haiti to MCC projects during her time in MCC’s Serving and Learning Together (SALT) program and continues to do so as an advocacy and communications coordinator for MCC in Haiti.
Working in Haiti, I’ve seen how faith can inspire people from all walks of life to improve the lives of people around them.”
— Annalee Giesbrecht
Name: Annalee Giesbrecht
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba (St. Margaret’s Anglican Church)
Assignment: I worked for MCC in Haiti as a communications assistant as part of MCC’s Serving and Learning Together (SALT) program in 2017–2018.
Typical days: Some days I spent out hiking to remote communities or traveling around Port-au-Prince by motorcycle taxi, touring MCC projects and talking with project participants about their experiences. Other days I spent in the office working with the photos and interviews I gathered on visits and turning them into stories for MCC’s website or for the MCC Haiti blog.
Joys: Traveling all over Haiti talking to MCC partners. One weekend I traveled from the city of Cap-Haitien on Haiti’s Atlantic coast all the way to the city of Les Cayes on the Caribbean! Which brings me to another joy of living in Haiti: the beach.
Challenge: Getting around in a city like Port-au-Prince, where public transportation is a chaotic and informal system of motorcycle taxis, pickup trucks and buses without set routes or prices. It feels like a real victory now that I’ve figured it out.
If you’re considering SALT: Try to find a job posting that’s a good match for your interests and skill set! Being passionate and motivated about your work can make the process of adjusting to a new culture and learning a new language a lot easier.
Because of SALT: I live in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, now and am working as an advocacy and communications coordinator for MCC.
