McGinn Community Rallies to Aid Haitian Crossing Guard

When the devastating 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti on January 12th, life changed forever for Winechell Alce, a Haitian school crossing guard who emigrated to the United States in 1998, lives in Scotch Plains, and works at McGinn Elementary School. Alce's mother-in-law, his sister, and her family perished in the tragedy, and his brother is now homeless. Desperate to do what he could for his family back in Port-au-Prince, Alce managed to send four airline tickets to bring his surviving sister, Guetheting Neptune Blanc, and her three children to Scotch Plains. When word got out about their arrival, the McGinn community immediately rallied around Alce who has kept watch over their young students for the past six years, donating much needed clothes and other basic necessities to his sister whose family now has nothing.

"When the earthquake happened, I had no idea who was dead and who was alive," stated Alce. "It was terrible. I didn't hear from my sister for five days. When I finally talked to her on the phone, I wanted to do something to help them. But I could do nothing to help them there. I could not send anything. There was no way for anything to get to them. It was impossible. The only thing I could do was tell my sister to come here. I told her if she could get out of the country, I could help them. I told her to try to get to the Dominican Republic."

In the aftermath of the quake, Blanc and her three children, Jonathan (9 years old), Judeling (17 years old), and Wendy Stephane (21 years old), spent a week sleeping on the ground in Port-au-Prince. Their home was destroyed, and none of the buildings in Haiti were safe enough to live in. Some nights they slept on a sheet on the ground. Other nights they had nothing at all. The Blanc family lost all of their possessions, taking only their passports and the clothes on their backs.

"I slept with my passport under my head," commented Blanc in her native French. "I was worried that somebody would try to steal it. People were trying to take advantage of the situation. All I knew was I had to get to the Dominican Republic, and I needed my passport."

Luckily, Blanc and Alce's mother, who lives in Brooklyn, had applied for green cards for Blanc's family back in May 2005. The paperwork and process had been held up for several years, but Blanc and her children did have visas allowing them to enter the United States. After a difficult journey, the family managed to find their way to the Dominican Republic where Alce had four plane tickets to Newark waiting for them.

Blanc and her children arrived in Scotch Plains at the end of January. Alce, his wife Daphne, and their two daughters, Ole and Chloe, welcomed them into their home with open arms—as did several McGinn parents who heard about their situation. Bags of clothes were quickly assembled and passed to the crossing guard during the early pre-school hours. According to Alce, Congressman Leonard Lance's office has also been instrumental in assisting Blanc who is trying to secure her green card and a work permit so her family can live in New Jersey.

Alce and Blanc's brother, Frantz (Jean Benoit) Neptune, and his family are still in Haiti. They, too, have lost everything, are living on the streets, and are desperate to come to America. But the family doesn't have a visa to enter the States. The siblings keep in touch by phone and hope to be able to help their brother someday soon.

Although Alce and Blanc are extremely grateful for being able to reunite here, they still have a hard road ahead of them. Alce's wife is a substitute school teacher in Plainfield, and he currently holds three jobs in order to make ends meet. In addition to his duties at McGinn, the hard-working crossing guard is also a bellman at the Marriott Hotel in Bridgewater and holds a position in the laundry room at Runnells Specialized Hospital of Union County. He recently received a license to operate a boiler room and hopes to add a fourth job to his roster. Supporting four more people will be difficult to say the least.

"For now, my sister and her children are going to stay with me, but I can only keep them here for a little while," stated Alce with a heavy heart. "The plan is to get her work papers and find another place for them to live so the kids can go to school. Our main priority is lodging. They also need food and clothing, but at least they are here with us now."

Alce's mood lightened and with a wide , determined smile at Blanc and her family concluded, "I know my brother will make it over here eventually. We are lucky to live in America. If a natural disaster strikes here, the government can step in and help. Haiti is so poor that the government cannot do anything to help. Here, the community has been great, and we really appreciate everything everyone is doing to help us. I don't know how we're going to do it, but we will find a way."

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Alce is accepting donations of any kind, especially assistance with lodging, basic food staples (rice, beans, and meat), and clothing. He can be reached in the McGinn parking lot before school hours.

A music/karaoke concert organized by McGinn band instructor Charlie Jackson and RUMP (Relief from United McGinn Parents) to benefit McGinn families and faculty affected by the Haiti earthquake will be held at Crossroads in Garwood on February 27th from 7-10 pm. For more information, contact Eric Harrison at: harrison@methwerb.com or (732) 610-6881.