WINNIPEG — Donald Celiscar remembers living in Haiti and not knowing some days when his next meal would be.
He’s also never forgotten what it’s like for nine people to share a one-bedroom apartment after moving to the United States.
Knowing he can overcome those challenges is one of the reasons the defensive back was grinning Wednesday after attending the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ first day of rookie camp.
"It just makes me humble each and every day, just knowing where I came from," said the 24-year-old Celiscar. "And just trying to make something of myself and also to help my family and my parents. I know how hard they worked to get us to where we are today."
Celiscar was born in Haiti, where he lived in a tiny town with his mother, brother and two sisters. His father was in Florida, working three jobs to try to have his family join him. His mother grew vegetables and would leave the kids at home when she went to sell her produce.
"(My siblings) had to fend for me because I was the youngest at the time and we didn’t know where our next meal was coming from," he recalled. "It was tough growing up, but it’s all we knew."
When he was nine years old, they joined his dad and shared the one-bedroom apartment in Winter Haven, Fla., with other relatives and a family friend.
Celiscar said he was shy youngster, but got interested in track when he was in Grade 8. However, his parents ripped up a permission slip for him to take part.
"My parents wouldn’t sign anything for us," he said. "Haitians are very strict. They just want education, education. That’s what they focus on."
He ended up getting another paper and his brother and a sister signed their parents’ names.
"And that’s how I got started in sports," he said with a grin.
The following year he took up football and fell in love with the sport. He attended college at Western Michigan, where he was named to the all-MAC first team in his senior year.
He signed with the Indianapolis Colts last year after going undrafted, but sprained a knee ligament and was later released.
Now living near Tampa, the five-foot-11, 195-pounder is a personal trainer and coaches football players through CoachUp, a program which connects athletes to private coaches. He hasn’t been back to Haiti, but relatives have died in that country’s natural disasters.
He also worked out for the Green Bay Packers, but that was it until his agent contacted the Bombers and he was signed May 17.
"I was so excited when I heard the news because I didn’t have a team at the time and I was just working out," Celiscar said.
He has watched the CFL, especially after former NFL receiver Chad Johnson made the news playing for the Montreal Alouettes in 2014.
His personal introduction to start the three-day camp was a bit eye-opening.
"The field is really wide," he said with a big smile. "As a DB, you’re on an island by yourself when the field’s so wide. It’s a little bit tougher, but you’ve got to work harder."
The rookie camp includes the team’s four signed quarterbacks. Starter Drew Willy said he enjoys seeing the prospects and learning a bit about them.
"This league, everybody has a story of how they got here," Willy said. "Most of the guys in the States were either playing NFL or came straight from college or arena ball or something.…
"It’s fun to see the guys that come up here with a hunger and want to keep playing."
The Bombers’ main camp begins on Sunday.
