Constellation of stars joins Riverdance and Haven to help the people of Haiti
A HOST of stars turned out last night to support Haven’s recovery work in Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
The event, in Dublin’s Convention Centre, comes after Riverdance director John McColgan’s “eye-opening and thought-provoking” trip to the region last November.
The director wanted to experience the first-hand reality of life on the ground in the country and document how the Haitian people are rebuilding their lives, following the widespread devastation of the third major natural disaster in Haiti in just six years.
Celebrities who joined Riverdance on stage included Mario Rosenstock, Brian Kennedy, Kila, Roisin O and Patrick Bergin. The event was jointly hosted by Miriam O’Callaghan and Brendan O’Connor.
Haven’s aims are to raise awareness and support for the Haitian people, in a country which remains one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.
Meanwhile, chairman and founder of Haven, Leslie Buckley, said that it was “a privilege” to welcome the McColgan family to the region.
Mr Buckley explained how, during their visit, they had “witnessed the gravity of the situation”, while greatly aiding recovery efforts by raising awareness through their documentary work.
“We aim to create further support, and appeal to the generous Irish public to join us… to help the people of Haiti in their recovery,” he said.
Haven’s team has spent the last eight years leading recovery work on the remote island of Ile a Vache, which was devastated by Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful hurricane to hit Haiti in over fifty years.
Having focused on the emergency response and successfully preventing the spread of cholera, the team is now focusing on supporting local people to restart their lives, restore their destroyed farms and rebuild their damaged homes.
Last night, Mario Rosenstock kept the crowd entertained when he appeared for the first time ever on stage as Miriam alongside the real Miriam O’Callaghan. “Sometimes when someone does a characterisation of someone, like Trump and Baldwin, it grabs a hold,” he said. “And I’m wondering why my impersonation of Miriam has grabbed such a hold. It’s not just because I do an impression of her. There’s a whole subtext going on. I have big blue eyes and she slaps men around for a living. So for me to embody that works well. She’s been a good sport about it.”
John McColgan said what struck him was “how strong and stoic the women of Haiti are”.
“The strength of those women and the love for their children — that they dressed them up like angels for school in the midst of this appalling devastation and poverty — stayed with me afterwards.”