Though the earthquake in Haiti happened several months ago, its effects and repercussions are still being felt across the country. The NFL Players Association, in conjunction with the three other major sports unions, the Jack Brewer Foundation and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, is an active participant in the “One Team 4 Haiti” campaign, which aids in the relief and recovery efforts. Jackie Shearer, programs manager for the NFLPA’s Regional Directors department, recently returned from a trip to Haiti with former NFL player Jack Brewer and Voila’s Gwynne Beatty; she writes about her humbling experience there.

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The earthquake that struck Haiti reverberated around the world for a long time following January 12. Images and news lasted for weeks, and people were donating money, supplies and aid in droves. The scope of the tragedy was hard to even comprehend: A nation inflicted with dire poverty—where the average life expectancy is roughly 53 years old and most people live on less than $2 a day—now left to deal with the loss of so many people, and even more left homeless. Even more heartbreaking is that the numbers of affected people are very rough estimates on the loss of life and homelessness since normal means of identification and census don’t exist there.

As all things go, news reports became sporadic and images started to dwindle. But our “One Team 4 Haiti” team—the NFLPA along with Jack Brewer, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and other professional sports unions in our country—don’t want to forget. Following a trip to Haiti last week, I know more than ever that our dear friends in Haiti need our help both now and in the future in every possible way.

I knew that by going to Port-au-Prince, I’d see things I’ve never been exposed to, but nothing can possibly prepare you for the reality the Haitians face every day. There are kids who lost their parents living in slums, families living in tents and under tarps on top of crumbled buildings with no clean water to drink. As our partner at Voila (a telecommunications firm in Haiti with a large foundation) put it, “it’s a whole country of people trying to figure out how to eat today.”

I was overwhelmed in every way. However, the people of Haiti are some of the most incredible people I’ve had the honor of meeting. We learned so much from them in four short days about what’s most important, and what perseverance, faith and hope truly mean. There are countless non-profits and incredible organizations like World Vision, Good Samaritan and our partners at Voila that are doing great work. But the stories of the individual people we met are the ones I can’t stop recounting to anyone willing to listen.

One is Boby Duval. A man who, 15 years ago, decided he didn’t want his son to only be exposed to the Haitian elite. Thus, he brought him down to a rough area of the Haitian capital, to play soccer with kids from the slums. It started out with a few kids, then one day more came, and more still thereafter. Today, thousands of kids participate in Boby’s “L’Athletique D’Haiti” every week! They play several sports, receive hot meals and work with tutors and teachers. The folks at L’Athletique spent a decade and a half building a wall around the complex for safety and security. They celebrated its completion on January 10; it was destroyed two days later in the earthquake. But Boby is not the kind of person that would let that keep him down. His dream is to build a stadium down the street, creating jobs and opportunities for countless others. He continues to find funding and ways to mentor those under his care, which now includes hundreds more in a tent city living adjacent to the L’Athletique fields.

Then there is Caroline. She grew up in Haiti, but stayed in Florida post-college for seven years with a fantastic job that sent her all over the Caribbean. On the day of the earthquake, her mother miraculously made it out of her church in Port-au-Prince, which completely collapsed. When Caroline came home to see her family, she took a tour to survey the damage. At the second stop on the tour in a notoriously dangerous slum, she came across dozens of parentless children living in filth going hungry under tarps.

There was a local pastor there trying to provide care, but the need was overwhelming. Caroline called friends and family and rounded up a truck load of supplies and food. When she brought the supplies back to them, she realized she couldn’t leave these kids to live in these conditions. She flew back to Miami, put in her notice that she’d be leaving her job and moved home to Port-au-Prince, where she now spends the majority of her time with the kids. She said she knew this was God’s calling on her life.

There are countless other stories of faith and action from our short trip to this broken, yet amazing, place. We plan on sending more NFL players and support in several ways, and I truly can’t wait to see our incredibly special friends in Haiti again. Until then, to the people of Haiti: Our prayers, love and support are with you. Psalm 46. Thank you for reminding us about what really matters.