Provo family hopes to give Haitian an education

PROVO — When an earthquake shook Haiti in January, thousands rushed to the aid of the island nation. Nearly 3,000 miles away, Provo resident Brooke Frost wanted to get involved.

Frost, a member of Healing Hands for Haiti, sent an e-mail to friends and family asking for donations for the organization.

Her grandmother called back with a unique contribution, an offer for Frost to go to Haiti with the team and volunteer. In March, Frost joined the HHH team in Haiti.

For two weeks she gathered supplies for nurses, changed diapers and helped care for children in orphanages. Still, she wished she could do more.

"It's easy to feel inadequate in the face of Haiti's problems, no matter who you are," she said.

Even after she had returned, Frost couldn't help but wonder what else she could do to help.

Her thoughts kept returning to Lesly Danger, one of the interpreters she had met in Haiti. The earthquake had damaged his home, but for Danger the bigger tragedy was that his school had been destroyed and 10 of his professors killed.

The 24-year-old Haitian had worked for years and received financial aid in order to attend the college and had already paid tuition for spring semester, all of which was lost in the earthquake.

Despite the fact that she had only talked with him a few times, Frost decided she wanted to help. After consulting with her husband, Chad, they decided to give Danger what he really wanted, an education. With no definite plan of action, she sent Danger an e-mail proposing the idea.

Several e-mails, texts and months later, the Frosts made plans for Danger to live with them while he pursues an associate degree at LDS Business College. But first he must attend a semester at an English school in order to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language.

"I think it will be a great opportunity for me, my nation, and most of all my family," Danger said in an e-mail. "In America I know that I'll have all the training that I'll need to take care of my family."

While the Frosts plan to pay for food and other expenses, the cost of tuition is more than they can handle.

They added up the cost of a semester and broke it down day by day — it came to $25. That's where they got the idea to ask for donations, but not just any donation — A Day for Danger.

"Everyone can find 25 dollars if they want to," her husband said.