"I want to move here and start an orphanage."
That was the text that 19-year-old Britney Gengel sent her parents just hours before she was killed in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, according to The State.
Almost five years later, her wish was granted by her parents. Len and Cherylann Gengel built a B-shaped orphanage in Grand Goave, 30 miles from Port-au-Prince, the country's capital. The complex shelters 33 boys and 33 girls - Britney's body was buried beneath the rubble of her hotel for 33 days.
Len, Britney's dad, has made the trip between Holden, Mass. and Haiti 66 times.
"We look at Brit's text as a gift to us, that three hours before the earthquake, she would send that text message and it resonated with us," Len said in an interview from Haiti, according to The State. "There's no relief from the poverty here, and we're doing everything we can to help the community in which we live."
While a sophomore at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla, Britney traveled to Haiti with a religious organization, Food for the Poor. The earthquake struck on Jan. 12 and her parents were first told she was missing by school officials, according to The State.
Her parents were later told that their daughter had been rescued. The Gengels immediately set off for Fort Lauderdale.
When they arrived, they were told that there had been a miscommunication and Britney was dead. Her body wasn't recovered from the ruins of the Hotel Montana until 33 days later.
"The biggest challenge is that we have broken hearts," Len told The State. "Everyone here has been affected by the earthquake. You don't meet anyone who hasn't lost a loved one. It's helpful to be around people who understand our pain."
An estimated 300,000 were killed and 1.5 million were left homeless due to the 7.0 magnitude and weak construction of Haiti's structures. Thirty-year home building vet Len made solid construction of the orphanage his main priority, according to The State.
The building has 96 solar panels, plus an acre of fruit trees and other vegetation. Len Gengel's next step toward making the complex self-sustaining is a cistern and catch basins for water, according to The State.
Donations and volunteer mission trips pay for the $78,000 monthly cost to run the orphanage. Seventy-eight Haitians and two Americans staff the orphanage.
The Gengels are retired and can focus their time and energy on the orphanage and the Be Like Brit foundation. Cherylann runs the U.S. side of Be Like Brit.
"As an American, I came to Haiti thinking I was going to help Haiti," Len told The State. "But in actuality, Haiti has helped me."
