Shipping Fund For Family Supplies
Dumpster Diving for Haiti Friends:
From Wastefulness to Rural Wealth by Turning Abandoned Valuables into Business Startup for Haitian Women
Woohoo! OK, let me first say that all of the stuff we find has been washed and disinfected. Weirdly enough, its not like it needed to be. Alot of what gets thrown out is brand spanking new, still in boxes, or with tags on it. Gainesville dumpster season is insane---students throw out all of their pots, pans, mini-refrigerators, unopened OTC medicine, unopened toiletries, boxes and boxes of unopened hygiene products, slightly used backpacks, rugs, lamps, notebooks and school supplies that could be used to educate a fleet of future doctors, teachers, and artists in Haiti.
What's really cool for the particular town in Haiti is that Gainesville folks throw out new shoes, new clothes, and shit tons of non-perishable foods and cans that are useful for cooking basics. Clothes are a lucrative business, as are shoes in Haiti---people always need them. No climate control, tons of labor, lots of sun, and a rugged humid environment mean that clothes finish (see: evaporate) real quick and shoes are worn down to their soles in 3-4 months of wear. Other things that people dont sell---medicine and the like, frequently exchanged freely among houses---are just as valuable, keeping money inside the house.
Who am I and Who Are We?
I worked in Haiti for my PhD (just got it in December) doing an ethnography of a rural village and lived with a family in the village 24-7. Life may be rough there by anyone's standards but people love eachother and live rich and meaningful lives without electricity, clean water, or affordable food.
Our little dumpster team (Alissa, William, Jeff, Alissa's Mom) just wants to find a way to do what it can. It turns out that the most valuable (according to friends in the village) thing we EVER did in our dumpster scheming (variously involving selling stuff here, bringing a suitcase or two on flights, etc) was to send via Miami ship freighter three big shipping drums chocked full of household items, rugs, chairs, clothing, toiletries, jewelry, perfumes, fresh protein powder, vitamins, all found from the dumpsters here in town.
What are we sending?
2 medium electric coldboxes,
4 large stainless steel pots
3 medium boxes) of canned food and boxed food
2 boxes OTC medical stuff (cold, allergy, diarrhea, hydrocortisone, bug spray, mosquito nets, etc...)
21 bras,
26 t-shirts and tops,
2 light women's sweaters,
3 pairs women's stretchy pants,
4 girls dresses,
5 pairs jeans (3 women, 2 men's).
1 pair multicolored new sneakers,
size 6 Rampage flats,
size 9 boots,
size 7 sandals,
size 9 Nike sneakers like new,
Bamboo sandals size 7,
Volatile sandals size 7,
11 pairs women's dress shoes, various brands,
5 pairs slightly heeled sandals,
size 10 leather sneakers,
Adidas sneakers with white leather,
Skechers sneakers size 9,
size 9 Birkenstock sandals,
Merona men's shoes,
15 large durable bags/ backpacks,
2 duffel bags,
11 nice women's purses,
A lot of Towels, pillows, bedsheets, baby blankets, sleeping mats, and tons of toiletries and jewelry.
What happens to the stuff?
Some clothing and toiletry items were resold at markets for a profit and medicine was given out to those who needed it for free (sort of a makeshift OTC pharmacy after explaining what each was good for). With just that one shipment from before, a neighbor woman set up a store and had money to build it with wood---now she has a budding business selling cold stuff from a fridge we sent that she hooked up to a generator we sent.
She employs helpers at the store, and in addition---in genuine Haitian style---the profit is spread all around. Now her household provides around 7 meals to non-household residents every day (feeding others is a cultural expectation that people really enjoy fulfilling; it basically says---yes, Im an awesome cook and provider and you can now shower me with positive vibes by acting full).
Nice shoes mean a shoe seller can be born---the nicer American goods can be sold to wealthier folks in the market over the hill. Shampoo, curling irons, etc, means a salon is born out of an abandoned truck rigged for electricity on the main road! Free OTC Medicine means people do not die of dehydration from cholera and fevers don't leave toddlers brain damaged. Free Protein powder means elderly folks and young protein deficient children put on weight and survive another year! Hooray!
How do we get it there?
The first time we sent the three shipping drums we used an ex-resident of the village who now lives in Miami and works a job loading crates on a shipping freighter. He managed to pull strings and get all of it sent for free. (Note: This was CRAZY lucky. It's so hard to get anything of any size to Haiti for under $300---shipping prices are stacked, UPS, USPS, DHL, and shipping freights all cost enormous amounts, airlines like Jetblue don't let passengers take more than 2 bags to Haiti just cuz...basically you really have to know someone to make it work)
Since then, and quite recently, the Haitian currency has tanked and everything is even less affordable then it was before. Kind, dignified people are hurting for help. Less kind people with no less dignity are hurting for help, too. Everyone is spreading the little they have around. They all deserve it. My friend in Miami can't do it for free again or risks big trouble at work, however he can get everything listed above to Haiti for $140, and it will cost around $50-$70 on a rideshare to transport it to him in Miami, and (transporting it from the port of call in Haiti to the town will be $25 or so).
What Are We Asking For?
We can't do this with anything under $200. If it so strikes you to give, give knowing that it will go to REAL PEOPLE and not office fees, bureaucracy bull, or anyone's paycheck. It's from our hands to the hands of complex, wonderful, loving people that I have met that really really could use the help. For the cost of, say, 30 good burritos we can get this done. ;) For the rest of you who aren't in a position to give, please send good vibes and positivity! Radical love, bb!
