When Orangeville aid worker Dave Harper is asked to describe the people of Haiti, he comes up with this answer: "There are two things about them. They have an incredible sense of passion and joy, combined with an intense fatalism."

IN HURRICANE-RAVAGED HAITI, the children still play in the rivers and missionaries like Dave Harper of Orangeville help the locals rebuild. Mr. Harper was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1958 and was the son of missionaries. He has since combined his faith and compassion for his fellow man into a life of aid work in foreign countries.

Much of his effort, in recent years, has been focused on Haiti. The poorest country in the western world, Haiti is indeed one of the world's hard-luck stories. The pummelling it took from Hurricane Ike is just the latest in a line of natural disasters.

The Haitians, says Mr. Harper, "will raise their arms in despair and yell 'Haiti is cursed. What can we do? The evil spirits are against us.' Yet, they are survivors. They persevere in some of the toughest conditions I have ever seen."

A sad commentary on a land that was once the "bread basket of France" in colonial times, but has gone to waste due to poor land stewardship.

Despite the seemingly endless string of catastrophes that have beset the island, Mr. Harper says the island remains rich in culture.

After all, it should be remembered that Haiti is the oldest black republic world.

The resilience of the people is a major factor in galvanizing Mr. Harper and the organization he's connected with, Youth With A Mission (YWAM), to put together a team to help the country rebuild.

He is trying to get a fiveman team together. "So far, I have three definite," says Mr. Harper. "I want to take five."

The team will be going to Jacmel, a former resort community hit hard by Ike. The plan is to help rebuild some of the buildings and get the water system up and running again.

"The person I'm looking for does not, necessarily, have to have strong trade skills, even though that would be ideal. But they should be handy with their hands."

What will make the task easier for the team is that United Nations soldiers are on the island that would ensure a stream of supplies to the area. Unfortunately, the reason those soldiers are there is that they are left over from a bloody civil war that further decimated the country six years ago.

A deep religious faith is a major motivator for Mr. Harper. He finds the Haitians are, for the large part, a nation whose faith is divided between western Christianity and voodoo, a faith with its roots in Africa.

There are the rare occasions when the two clash.

Mr. Harper recalls a time when he was working in a village where two elderly voodoo priests would stand in front of the local church and call for the spirits in the sky to burn the building down. Fortunately, it never happened.

As for his relief work, Mr. Harper maintains that his role as a missionary is to provide help first and foremost. Spreading the word comes second. "Why would a man listen to me about God when his belly is empty?" he reasons.

He is equally pragmatic when it comes to volunteers. He doesn't demand they be devout. "I'm open to them not having a faith commitment," says Mr. Harper. "If they are antagonistic about religion, then it's obviously not going to work out.

"But there's a big difference between being antagonistic and being a non-believer,"

He is also raising money so that when the team goes down to Haiti, it can help families to replace the roofs on their homes. Each roof will cost about $1,000 to replace the lumber and the galvanized sheets.

The address for the processing of finances and the receiving of the tax deduction is: Youth with a Mission/PO box 57100/Vancouver, British Columbia/V5K 5G6.

People need to make the check out to Youth with a Mission and attach a separate note stating that it is for the Haiti relief fund.

As Mr. Harper puts it: "We live in a land of plenty and we should share our good fortune. As Jesus said: 'To whom much is given, much is required.' If you've been blessed, you should be sensitive."