Barbara Pierre, Haitian pride
Make One kilometer more... (Og Mandino)
Barbara Pierre was born in Haiti. At the age of 5 her parents brought her into United States. But went back from time to time, visit her grand mother and the rest of the family. Her last visit to Haiti was in 1999, where she went to be bridesmaid at her aunt's wedding. At the age of 22, Barbara Pierre was an NCAA champion sprinter at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, N.C. In 2008 this native of Port-au-Prince represented Haiti at the Olympics. Back then, Barbara tried hard to get her grand mother come into United States, live with the rest of the family who immigrated since several decades.
When Olympian Pierre went to see her parents in Orlando for Christmas, she had hoped her grandmother, Seliecene, would finally be there. She is now. Her experience at the Olympic put her in connection with other Haitians and developed an even stronger appreciation for her home country, despite having been gone so many years. Her hope for Haiti: "Haitians, they're very hard-working people. They're going to get back on their feet. I just don't know how long," she said.
