SPRINGVALE — The river was wide and full, and dangerous to cross after the earthquake in 2010 ”“ and crossing had never been easy anyway. Outside the Haitian city of Jeremie, there is little in the way of infrastructure. There are few roads through the territory ”“ and fewer bridges cross the Grande-Anse River.

But there is one more bridge now, and the young people who helped make it possible are appealing to the public to help fund a second bridge structure, the Chameau Bridge, that will allow 40,000 Haitians to cross the river to where goods and services are located.

They’re looking for funds and also for the services of a structural engineer to review plans for the suspended cable footbridge, because it is larger than the one completed in the fall.

Jess, Josh and John Murphy live in Springvale with their parents, David and Lynda, and little sister, Natalia. An older brother, Richard, and his family live nearby. And while Jess, 19, Josh, 15, and John, 14, go to college and high school, like many teens in Maine, their father’s work in Haiti and in Indonesia has brought them an understanding that life for many isn’t easy. While their dad was engaged in civil engineering, the young people helped in various ways ”“ from teaching rudimentary English in Indonesia to helping deliver supplies in Haiti. And, of course, there’s the first bridge ”“ and now, hopefully, a second.

Completion of the first bridge, celebrated last fall, means that communities won’t be cut off when the river is high and too dangerous to cross ”“ not that crossing was without danger even when the river is at its normal flows. John Murphy said he spoke with some young people who told him harrowing tales ”“ one young girl said her father carried her on his shoulders across the river ”“ with the water lapping around his neck. Others told him of swimming across the river to go to school, still others told of family members lost to the swift currents of the Grande-Anse River.

Jess, a third-year engineering student at the University of Maine, was 10 years old when her family moved to Indonesia. Her father, a civil engineer who now works in Portsmouth N.H., was called on by Catholic Relief Services to help following the 2004 earthquake and tsunami there. Josh and John were little boys ”“ now, 10 years later, they attend the Baxter Academy for Technology and Science in Portland.

“I didn’t comprehend what we were headed into,” as the family traveled to Indonesia, Josh said. “Then, I grasped it,” he said as he and his siblings saw what the storm of all storms had done.

The Murphy family made friends in Indonesia. Then, after 2 1/2 years, they came home to America ”“ but not to Boston, where they’d lived before, but to a camp the family owned in rural Maine. Eventually, they moved to a big, old house tucked away on a tiny street in Springvale.

Then came a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. A conversation with the Rev. Stephen Lally of the Haitian Health Foundation about engineering needs resulted in a trip there in May 2012.

“Dad went with his engineering eyes, and by that time, I’d had a year of college,” said Jess.

They saw a lot, and heard a lot. Josh, who has made a video supporting the quest to build a second bridge, shot “tons” of video, he said.

They saw families living in rickety shacks crafted of sheet metal, no sanitary facilities, malnourishment and more ”“ but they also saw joy.

“There’s the (need) in human nature to be happy; they find it somehow,” said Josh, recalling children playing soccer with a ball they’d made themselves.

The lack of infrastructure was challenging. One food distribution trip, said Jess, took five hours.

John said he and his brother and sister decided they wanted to do a project that would help, and after exploring some other ideas, decided on a bridge.

There were meetings in Haiti. In all, the Murphy children have made four trips there, at various times. So, said Jess, the trio set about to view areas where the span would be laid, and see whether the soils would support the abutments. Then they hooked up with Bridges to Prosperity, a U.S.-based nonprofit that builds footbridges in isolated areas. The organization provided about $30,000 toward the $65,000 project. A Rotary club in Canada provided some funding, and the Murphy children spoke with friends and relatives, seeking contributions.

The new bridge is expected to cost $85,000, because it is longer than the first, and the riverbanks on either side aren’t even, said Jess. Josh filmed and narrated a video, called the Haiti Bridge Project, which may be viewed on YouTube, that explains the project that was completed and the project ahead.

Information on how to help is available on the YouTube video. Folks may send checks earmarked for Chameau Bridge to: Bridges to Prosperity Inc., 5007 C-126 Victory Blvd., Yorktown, VA 23693; or made out to Bridges to Prosperity with Chameau Bridge in the memo line, and mail those to the Murphy Family, 13 Howard St., Springvale, ME 04083. Structural engineers willing to help are asked to email damurphy@tighebond.com.

The Murphy children say their experiences in Indonesia and Haiti have reinforced the way they’ve always felt about others ”“ that they may have more in the material sense than those living in poverty, but those with less may have more in other ways.

In Indonesia, “we didn’t have those ”˜white knight’ goggles on. The people there gave us as much as we gave them, if not more,” Jess said, recalling their hope and perseverance.

In Haiti, she said, it was the same.

“It’s a faith calling,” said Josh. “We have the capability to help. It’s a lot to do with faith.”

For John, seeing the conditions in Haiti made a big impact. Usually shy, he said he felt comfortable at the inauguration party for the new bridge.

“I wanted to share the joy,” he said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.