Name: Sunny Guidotti Pereira

Where Are you Based? Cap-Haitien, Haiti

What is your intern project?
Being the first intern in our office in Haiti has given me the chance to help establish AIDG´s presence in Haiti. So far, I have worked on the construction of public toilets in Shada, and a biodigester at Doug´s village. Building capacity with our local staff, translating, and driving are other duties I have been performing.

Describe what your normal day as an AIDG intern in like.
It is challenging to describe a normal day here. The most common characteristics between construction site, office work, and search for materials consist of lots of joy, smiles, and building up friendships.

What are the main challenges you face?
Once I arrived, the biggest challenge was the language barrier since I could not speak Haitian Creole yet. Since I have overcome that, I would say that finding supplies for our projects is the biggest challenge we face in Cap-Haitien.

What has been the most rewarding moment for you?
There has been many special moments for me in Haiti, because of the Haitians I work with and have met so far. The first moment that came to mind was when some children in Shada gave me one of their few toys (a couple of colorful stickers) as a thank you gift. Besides thanking me for the morning gymnastics with them (before construction started off course), they were very thankful for having a toilet next to their homes. Generous and sharing acts makes me believe in humanity even more.

Who have you met who has inspired you the most and why?
Many people are inspirational to me here. Merci-Lourde is one of them. She is a restavec girl who has so much strength and determination. She is very sweet, hard-worker, and helps everyone. Sasha is another one person. She inspires me because of her courage, interest in politics, and belief in change.

Why did you choose AIDG? What inspired you about the organization?
I had heard great things about AIDG from Chase Nelson, a personal friend from college and AIDG-Guatemala intern. Once I understood the unique business incubation idea and about the local empowerment that AIDG promotes, I made a decision to contribute to AIDG efforts.