While he would usually familiarize himself with a new school year and schedule, Ryan Miller, senior, took on a new country.

Just two weeks into the new school year, Miller was one of 15 volunteers who took a trip to Haiti with Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit charity organization based in Coon Rapids, to help distribute food and clean water.

“The government and economy in Haiti isn’t substantial enough to support its population,” Miller said. “There are hardly any jobs to be found, families are living in shacks, and they have very little food and water.”

Due to the pressing need for aid in Haiti, Feed My Starving Children paired with Healing Haiti, another non-profit charity organization, to send volunteers to Haiti to help out.

“We spent most of the time handing out food and water. We also visited a few orphanages where we played with the children and brought them food,” Miller said.

Miller spent most of his time in rural communities and big cities like Cité Soleil, which is regarded by many as the poorest and most dangerous city in the Western Hemisphere.

Cité Soleil is run by the country’s biggest gangs. The gang leaders don’t allow outsiders in or out of the city without their explicit permission. The head of coordination for Healing Haiti has an established relationship with the gangs, who agreed to let the trip into their city.

“As long as we wore our Healing Haiti shirts and didn’t wear any jewelry or hats of any kind, we were safe to distribute water and meet with some of the locals,” Miller said.

As a severely impoverished community of people with a population totalling almost half a million, food and water is extremely scarce.

“They don’t have running water or food [in Cité Soleil] so we brought water to them.We couldn’t bring food because it would cause too much of a riot,” Miller said.

Without a government or economy that is suitable for its inhabitants, Haiti continues to be a struggling third world country. Miller hopes to help establish a safer, healthier country in the Caribbean.

“Coming out, I didn’t feel like I did anything. I was there for five days and then I was gone, but the only way Haiti is going to get any better is to spread the word,” Miller said. “When you tell people about Haiti and what you’ve done and seen there, more people will get involved and the support will continue to grow.”