Three Dolphins Cheerleaders Live The Haiti Experience
Fabiola has had a strong connection to Haiti going back to before she was even born, but last month she visited the island nation for the first time with two of her fellow Miami Dolphins cheerleaders - Amy and Kellie.
The three young ladies were part of the “Hijinks and High Kicks” tour put together by Armed Forces Entertainment to help cheer up the U.S. troops deployed in Haiti. Fabiola, Amy and Kellie joined comedians Carole Montgomery and Leighann Lord on a three-day visit with U.S. military personnel taking part in earthquake relief efforts, and for Fabiola it meant a little more to her than just another show.
“My grandfather (on her mother’s side, Renee Schomberg) was from Haiti and died there just days before my mother was born,” said Fabiola, who also has family in Venezuela on her father’s side. “I still have family there so when everything happened it was actually very emotional for my entire family. When they told me I was going to be able to go over there and help out and visit the troops I was actually very ecstatic. I always wanted to go to Haiti and it’s kind of sad that I got to go now after all of this had happened. At least the trip felt emotional for me and it felt close to my heart.”
The three cheerleaders roughed it during their stay, sleeping on cots inside the military tents and even eating MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). They got to know a lot of the soldiers on a more personal level and tested their football knowledge by playing some trivia games during breaks from their dance routines on the stage. Having done similar trips to the Middle East and Japan for the USO in previous years, Fabiola and Amy knew what to expect from the troops.
However, there was another aspect to their visit that affected the girls emotionally, and that was the helicopter tour they were given on an Army Black Hawk chopper. Prior to taking to the air, the only images Fabiola, Amy and Kellie had seen of the destruction caused by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12th came courtesy of television and newspapers back in the United States.
“I definitely saw more devastation this trip than I had ever seen before, between the country and the civilians and how they’re having to live to recover from the earthquake,” Amy said. “It was a little more frightening I guess but at the same time it was a great experience and opened my eyes a lot. The Black Hawk was great and we were very honored to get that chance because not a lot of people get to go up. But at the same time seeing all the tents and the camps where they were trying to help people out, it made me cry because you want to go out there and help, but there’s only so much you can do.”
A tough balancing act was how Amy described the challenge of keeping the troops smiling and enjoying the time with them while at the same time soaking in the reality of the situation outside of the fences. Now when she watches news reports from Haiti, Amy looks for familiar faces among the soldiers being filmed and also pays closer attention to the plight of the sick, injured and homeless Haitians trying to survive.
Kellie, who is starting her second season with the Dolphins, had never been out of the country before and she was put in charge of videotaping the experience with a Flip video recording device. She was admittedly afraid during the helicopter ride as she was seated closest to the open door so she could film the landscape as they flew over the mountains, but she returned home with a refreshing perspective.
“It was the best experience of my life but also the worst ever,” Kellie said. “To see the guys and see everyone so excited that you came out to support them, it was amazing. And to see the devastation and the children and so many people homeless and with no shoes, it broke my heart. I wish I could just give and give and give and I wish I had the means to just help even more.”
By Andy Kent