Recap Of My Week In Haiti: In a Word, Amazing
My week in Haiti is coming to an end, tomorrow I hope to share a few concluding thoughts here at YourMarkOnTheWorld.com. Tonight, let me review quickly some of what we’ve covered this week.
On Monday, I visited the Cap Haitien on the northern coast of Haiti, giving me some literal perspective on the country as I flew over the largely deforested countryside. Once there, I visited with the folks at Carbon Roots who now have the largest charcoal production in Haiti (a big deal since most Haitians use charcoal to cook) using an eco-friendly process using agricultural waste. Read my Forbes piece here.
Charcoal production at Carbon Roots. (Note that the material being burned to produce charcoal would be burned in any event.) Photo by Devin Thorpe.
On Tuesday, I spent the day with a group of Rotarians who were working to help young entrepreneurs here in Haiti. It was exciting to see the impact that the young organizers of the events had and how it all started at a young Rotarian/Rotoractor conference in Washington, DC–just what you’d hope would be happening at an international gathering of service-minded young leaders. Read my Forbes piece here.
Peterson Figaro, Smiff Lormier and Napoleon Rodolpho. Photo by Devin Thorpe.
On Wednesday, I spent the day at HELP, an organization that provides amazing scholarships to underprivileged and overqualified college applicants in Haiti. The program is training a generation of leaders who will lead Haiti into a brighter future. Read my Forbes piece here.
Classroom addition at the HELP center. Photo by Devin Thorpe.
On Thursday, I spent the day with Isabelle Clerie who lead EGI, a venture accelerator that rejects that moniker but does the work anyway. She also introduced me to a couple of other amazing social entrepreneurs, Edouard Carrie and Fracois Benoit, the Haitian king of plastic recycling and the former ambassador to the U.S., respectively. The latter also has a farm on the roof of his house. Really. Read my Forbes piece here.
Francois Benoit, photo by Devin Thorpe.
Today, I spent the day with Owen Robinson, the founder of Haiti Cardiac Alliance. He just flat out saves lives. He’s working to find every child in Haiti that needs heart surgery and to then make sure that every single one gets that surgery. With help from Rotary’s Gift of Life Foundation, I saw them in action today. It was difficult not to weep from joy or sadness at almost every turn. I’ll post my report on Forbes tomorrow if all goes well.
Medical team screens a child for a heart condition and possible surgery. Photo by Devin Thorpe.
Let’s do some good!
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