Sago Joins Marketing Research Colleagues to Support Haiti Education

Early this year, Mike Sullivan, Advisor of Sago, selected seven employees from our international team to accompany him on a 4-day service trip to Haiti to support The Joseph School.  

Our team joined representatives from other marketing research companies on the trip organized by The Marketing Research Education Foundation (MREF).  The mission of the MREF is to unify, inspire, and activate the marketing research community to focus its collective resources on educating children and youth worldwide. MREF is sponsoring the incoming class of first graders at The Joseph School to help provide teachers, school supplies, and uniforms to the school.

Our objective was to learn first-hand about education in Haiti and at The Joseph School and the struggles many students face with malnutrition and poverty. 50% of Haitian children do not get the opportunity to attend school, so showing international support is crucial to inspiring students to complete their education.

Visiting the school gave us a window into the daily routine of the students. We were inspired by the positivity of the children and the empowering messages the teachers convey to their students; “You need Haiti, and Haiti needs you.” The school is not a ticket out of Haiti, but rather a foundation for the future of Haiti. It is creating a network of problem solvers equipped to tackle the biggest issues facing this country.

The MREF group got hands-on, assisting in laying a foundation for a new home for a school employee. As a team, we achieved in three hours what would have the few local laborers three days to achieve.

Commenting on his experience, Michael Korybski, Recruiting Manager, said, “This trip was life-changing for me. I strongly encourage industry colleagues to join the next visit or to get involved with the MREF in other ways. You won’t regret it.”  Kim Johanson, Vice President, Client Solutions, added, “This trip allowed me to meet like-minded colleagues within the industry. And, more importantly, I saw what it meant to give hope to people who face more adversity on a daily basis than most of us will in a lifetime. I traveled home making a personal commitment: to return, often, to a project that is just as sustainable as the hope of its people.”

Sago wishes to thank the MREF and, in particular, Jim Bryson, for this opportunity to come together with our industry colleagues for such a worthwhile cause.