Teamsters are known for their ‘can do’ attitude in the face of any crisis. And just recently, Teamster flight attendants were more than willing to help bring 53 Haitian orphans from the earthquake-ravaged island to Pittsburgh for medical help. One of the flight attendants was Jeff Abney, who works for Shuttle America and is a member of Teamsters Local 135 in Columbus, Ohio.
When Republic Airways, which owns and operates Shuttle America, was looking for employees to help in this relief effort, Abney immediately said he wanted to help out.
The main goal of the operation was to safely transport Haitian children, whose orphanage was destroyed in the earthquake, to Pittsburgh. Once in Pittsburgh, the orphans would receive medical treatment and eventually be placed with families who had elected to adopt them.
Upon seeing the orphans for the first time, Abney was stunned.
"The poor things were wrapped up in these nasty, yellow emergency blankets. A lot of them had no clothes; the clothes they had were just what they were able to find," Abney said. "A lot of them didn’t understand English, but they were smiling."
During the flight to Pittsburgh, it was Abney’s job to help feed the children, who ranged in age from 2 to 14.
As he cut sandwiches and handed them out, Abney couldn’t help but notice how famished the children were. And as he passed through the aisles, children pulled on his pant legs and shirt, begging for more food. Most were looking for food not for themselves, but for younger siblings and friends.
"It was as if survival skills set in. I saw older kids just eating the meat and bread from the sandwiches and giving what was left to the younger children," Abney said. "They were all so young and it tore my heart apart."
When he wasn’t handing out food, Abney shared some poignant moments with the kids. Despite the donated toys, many of the orphans found his Republic Airways ID, which was on a retractable lanyard, most intriguing.
Abney also experienced a particularly touching moment when the children exited the aircraft in Pittsburgh. Before stepping out of the plane, a small girl handed Abney the only thing she owned: a stuffed koala that had been donated to her by the airline.
"I tried explaining to her that the koala was hers to keep," Abney said. "But she handed it to me and said ‘thank you.’"
It is moments like those that will stay with Abney forever.
"I look back now and can’t believe how many things I have that I take for granted. I will never go to bed mad again; I will never overlook the smallest piece of food or take for granted the clothes I’m wearing," he said. "There is so much out there that we can get mad at; but we never look at the other side of the fence and see a 3-year-old fending for himself, trying to find food. There are so many people who have it so much worse."
Abney and his co-workers are donating all monies they made working on the trip to the Haitian relief effort.