Michael Principi's impressions upon landing in Cap-Haitiene, Haiti, a couple weeks back were unforgettable.

"The conditions were shocking," he said. "There were people rummaging through garbage, raw sewage visible, and the people had no direction, no coordination. It seemed hopeless, unacceptable and unexplainable. It was a real eye-opener," he said.

Principi and his father, Mick Principi, both of Ridgefield, were among a group of eight who traveled to Haiti Jan. 16-24 to build playgrounds for orphans in Haiti. Organized by the Tilt-A-World Foundation, this was Mick Principi's fourth international trip with the group and his son's first.

During their week in Cap-Haitiene, a hospital was set up in the town, and as many as 50 buses a day brought victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake in from the country's devastated capital, Port-au-Prince.

"We were not on the front lines, but saw the medical technicians when they came back from the clinics, and I can't imagine the experience they went through," Principi said. Tilt-a-World was allowed to enter the beleaguered country with humanitarian status, he said.

Participants, who visited two orphanages in Cap-Haitiene, didn't travel to the quake epicenter area to help there, Principi said, because Port-au-Prince was a difficult six to seven-hour drive even before the natural disaster, and the areas outside of their location in Cap-Haitiene weren't secure. It was very difficult to get anywhere, he said, and an interpreter accompanied them whenever they left their accommodations.

And their planned work was still delayed in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake, since the construction was dependent on lumber arriving from Port-au-Prince.

Despite the devastation and the delay in getting the lumber, The Tilt-A-World group did complete one of an originally-envisioned two playgrounds and have plans to go back to build the second.

"It was amazing—the playground instilled hope and light into this hopeless world," Principi said. "There was not a vacant swing from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. that day of the ribbon cutting; the laughter and joy echoed throughout the community," he said.

And it was all new to the children of Cap-Haitiene.

"We had to teach them how to swing, to climb the rock wall and the rope ladder. They caught on quick," he added. "It was awesome." 

Principi arrived in Florida with the rest of his group on Jan. 24and plans to return to town and re-open his Main Street outdoor hot dog eatery, Chez Lenard, in mid-February, weather permitting. Principi will also be participating in "Dancing with the RSO" in March.