Meet Martine Harris of Travel & Give in Miracle Mile

Today we’d like to introduce you to Martine Harris.

Martine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
How I started and how I got to where I am, well, it was already written. The universe has prepared me for my purpose — every struggle I’ve encountered only prepared me for where I am today. It started with my teacher trying to hold me back in kindergarten because I was a “delayed learner” and my mother marching into the school and advocating for me. It continued when we had to adopt my cousin from Haiti because he was deaf and blind in one eye, and there were no resources for people with disabilities in Haiti. And then, when I taught in Haiti for two years and realized my students learned differently and the traditional way of teaching wasn’t working in my classroom. Then, I experienced the earthquake in Haiti and lived through moments that still make me shudder at the thought of it to this day. I got to where I am today by not giving up and embracing the obstacles as learning opportunities that have only made me stronger.

The non-profit I’m co-founder of, Travel & GIVE, is successful because of my cousin who looks down on me from the heavens above, my co-founders & board members, and my friends and family who believe in the mission and have supported me for over ten years. Also, our volunteers of Travel & GIVE who have become family!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Hahhaha—easy? Not at all. It still isn’t easy, but that’s a part of building a business and running a grassroots non-profit. Recruiting volunteers to travel to a 3rd world country is not an easy task and it’s really hard to get people to commit to something that YOU’RE passionate about. But I’ve been truly blessed to be surrounded by people who have taken on the mission of Travel & GIVE as their own.

Travel & Give – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from others?
Travel & GIVE’s mission is to address the needs in communities that we travel to. My friends and I have always been travelers, and one year we were like, why don’t we give back to the countries that we visit? We gain so much from the different cultures, we need to give something in return.

It started in Haiti, where we have an ongoing program where we bring educators and therapists (and anyone who wants to volunteer!) to schools to provide professional development courses on topics such as mental health, behavior strategies, inclusion for children with learning delays/disabilities, basic foundations of occupational, physical and speech therapy in schools, and more! We also visit our affiliated orphanage where we provide hands on therapy for children with disabilities, and support and train the caregivers. We visit Haiti three times a year with 8-10 volunteers.

This past July, in Kenya, we revamped an orphanage with a new paint job, installed a clothing line and new locks at the request of the director. We also raised enough to purchase basic necessities (e.g., baby wipes, diapers, etc.) and send the kids on a field trip with their school. Additionally, we funded 40 of the children’s education for the next year. The second part of our mission was to implement a cultural, digital literacy platform, called Dream Galaxy, in schools throughout Nairobi which was so engaging and a lot of fun! We are currently in talks of developing a program in Kenya similar to the one we have in Haiti.

I give it up to my board members because we all wear many hats and that’s what keeps Travel & GIVE afloat! I am the President and co-founder but work as a volunteer recruiter, event coordinator, social media strategist, content creator, project manager, team lead during trips, travel coordinator, fundraising strategist, and more. I think my strength is seeing a project through from start to finish; I’m very Type A and when I have a mission to accomplish that is my main focus until it’s completed.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
This is a tough question because I always feel like I haven’t achieved enough, and I’m waiting for the proudest moment when I build a school in honor of my cousin. But, in retrospect, I have had many proud moments. When teachers and therapists tell me that they want us to return because they actually benefit from the work that we do. Also, when I look at the faces of teachers during our professional development courses and I see a lightbulb go off; I feel very accomplished that we’ve touched on a topic that is beneficial for them to create more inclusive learning environments. Just last week, I had a really proud moment with my co-founders when it hit us that we successfully recruited 20 amazing volunteers throughout the US, who collectively raised $10,000 towards two missions, and trusted us to travel all the way to Kenya.

Pricing:

• Sponsor a child’s education in Haiti for 1 year $35/month
• Sponsor a therapist/educator to volunteer in Haiti for 5 days $1020
• Purchase therapeutic materials for our affiliated orphanage $1,000

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TravelandGive.org
• Email: team@travelandgive.org
• Instagram: travel_give
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/gr8eightgives

Image Credit:
Lawrence Miner from 1982 Creative Studios

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