Ninja Warrior athletes opened a children’s training area in Haiti

They partnered with World Orphan for the trip.

By Nikki Lee@anwnation Dec 20, 2017, 10:51am PST

Thanks to everyone who helped support our trip to Haiti last month! A group of us from American Ninja Warrior partnered up with World Orphans where we set up a permanent Ninja Warrior training camp for hundreds of orphaned children to enjoy at the Olympic Center in Port-au-Prince. I’m still processing everything that we experienced, but the impact was life changing! When I find life to be especially challenging, I’ll quickly recall our reasons for traveling to Haiti. This trip gave me a better world perspective and reminded me of how grateful I am for EVERYTHING! We live in a very self-centered culture but I’m going to do my best to not conform to that way of thinking. I was created to serve, and I’m blessed to have that opportunity every day. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you’re interested in knowing more about my personal experience there. No matter what situation you find yourself in, never lose hope because you’re never alone! #LoveGodLiveFearless A big shoutout to Atomik Climbing Holds and LIVNFRESH.com for supplying our Haiti Ninja Warrior shirts and donating to our mission! #StraightOuttaHaiti #HaitiNinjas Music: Different by Micah Tyler
Posted by Justin Paul Maina on Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Back in November, a group of big-hearted Ninja Warriors traveled to Haiti on a very special mission. They partnered with World Orphans to set up a permanent Ninja Warrior-style training course for children at the Olympic Center in Port-au-Prince.

Thankful. Humbled. Blessed. ✨ Today I’m thinking of all of you who made the trip to Haiti possible for us. Thank you so much. The kids who played on our obstacles couldn’t have smiled any bigger and my heart is so full knowing they have a safe environment to PLAY in...which we definitely take for granted because we have parks, play grounds, and gyms accessible to us in the states. Thank you, @worldorphans for taking the approach of orphan prevention (keeping families together), thank you ninjas who loved on the kids so well, and lastly, I just want to thank @livnfresh for the #haitininjas shirts!! #alwaysthankful

A post shared by Barclay Stockett (@sparklyninja) on Nov 23, 2017 at 8:03pm PST

Allyssa Beird, Barclay Stockett, James McGrath, Michelle Warnky, Nate Burkhalter, and April Gould all took part, to name just a few of the American Ninja Warriors on the trip.

Had our first day of camps today at the Olympic Training facility outside of Port-Au-Prince. Was such a joy to see the smiles on the children’s faces and remarkable that even with the language barrier, they intuitively picked things up. In looking at their faces and interactions today, you would have no idea how difficult their “home” lives are and no matter what they are dealing with or going through, they were all genuinely happy kiddos. We spent the latter part of the evening at Papillon, which left me with such a sense of hope. Papillon’s mission is orphan prevention and they do that through job creation. Papillon is providing hope to Haitian Artisans with the dignity of a job, training, and the ability to create something new out of something discarded and seemingly unusable to make jewelry and other beautiful things. Was an eye opening experience touring the facility, learning about and meeting many of the artisans. @worldorphans #papillon #HaitiNinjas #AmericanNinjaWarrior

A post shared by Karen Sabo (@kasabo15) on Nov 18, 2017 at 12:40pm PST

When they weren’t working hard on the training camp, they were busy making memories that will stick with them forever.

American Ninja Warrior #HaitiNinjas @allyssabeird @michellewarnky @ninjames206 @sparklyninja

A post shared by April Gould Ninja (@aprilgouldninja) on Nov 18, 2017 at 12:56pm PST

The trip was an amazing experience that deeply touched all the athletes that took part.

It’s probably going to take a few days to be able to fully articulate the profound impact spending the past week in Haiti with this crew has had on me. What an experience and this is just the beginning. Until next year, Haiti ❤️ @worldorphans #haitininjas #haiti #portauprince #worldorphans #anw #ninjawarrior

A post shared by Karen Sabo (@kasabo15) on Nov 20, 2017 at 8:42pm PST

They also raised donations to help the children they were visiting.

Haitians eat one meal a day (or less). The donations we raised helped feed all these kiddos after Ninja Camp. Food consisted of rice, 3 tbsp of broth, and 1/4 of a chicken leg. One girl put her food in her backpack to give to her mom. She was made to take it out, because we were told, she would have gotten beat up by her peers in order to steal the food. #haitininjas

A post shared by April Gould Ninja (@aprilgouldninja) on Nov 18, 2017 at 7:48pm PST

Take a look at some of the photos and videos they shared on social media below!

Kids kept asking @sparklyninja to flex. #HaitiNinjas

A post shared by April Gould Ninja (@aprilgouldninja) on Nov 18, 2017 at 6:05pm PST

I promise we did more than handstands in Haiti ...stay tuned for some pics of the awesome event we ran with the kids and some of the amazing things I was able to see in my short 24 hours abroad! #haiti #worldorphans #anw #ninja #ninjawarrior #anwe #olympiccenter #haitininjas #handstand #spreadlove #Repost @sparklyninja (@get_repost) ・・・ Truly incredible to be here in Haiti coaching kids through obstacles at the Olympic training center!! So thankful to share this experience with friends! #haitininjas #haiti #olympictrainingcenter #anwnation #americanninjawarrior #olympics

A post shared by Allyssa Beird (@allyssabeird) on Nov 20, 2017 at 4:36am PST

The Ninjas made it to Haiti!

A post shared by Nate Burkhalter #illumiNate (@nateburk) on Nov 15, 2017 at 4:43am PST

Today is Giving Tuesday! Make sure you're a part of the giving season, and recruit a friend to help you! Here's a shot of @justinmainaofficial and I teaming up to pass out some food after a long day of ninja-ing with the kids. One of the great charities I love to support is @worldorphans! Their moto is "Until They All Have Homes". I was a part of group of American Ninja Warriors that got to be a part of their ministry down in Haiti, and we got to see the impact they are having in the country. I love organizations like World Orphans and @living_water, because they seek to holistically provide solutions that repair and eventually prevent symptoms like homelessness and disease. How can you help? The biggest need is financial support to continue funding the orphans already in their programs. Please let me know if you choose to give! Remember that we are blessed to be a blessing! Thanks for the photo, @aprilgouldninja

A post shared by Nate Burkhalter #illumiNate (@nateburk) on Nov 28, 2017 at 7:26pm PST

A successful first day in Haiti! @worldorphans #haitininjas

A post shared by Karen Sabo (@kasabo15) on Nov 15, 2017 at 4:14pm PST

Had an incredible week in Haiti with this wonderful team! Made it home safely, love you all and miss you! Lots to share about the experience and thoughts surrounding it. Feel free to ask any questions, I love questions :) and I'll try to summarize thoughts from the trip to share soon too! . . Also wanted to share some beautiful views from the flight home today leaving Haiti. . #haitninjas #anw #ninja @justinmainaofficial @weswhitlam @nateburk @daniellevuke @aaronboyd80 @coachpursel @justinmainaofficial @ninjames206 @intlninja @worldorphans @ America/Port-au-Prince @aaronboyd80 @sparklyninja @aprilgouldninja @kasabo15 @allyssabeird @jimmyydee @kevinwsquires

A post shared by Michelle Warnky (@michellewarnky) on Nov 20, 2017 at 7:54pm PST

Ninja Warrior athletes opened a children’s training area in Haiti

Share this story

Share All sharing options for: Ninja Warrior athletes opened a children’s training area in Haiti