From left to right Lisa Derival, Elson Auquel, Carolyn Pompilus
Since a 2010 earthquake caused the death of more than 200,000 people and displacement of 1.5 million individuals in Haiti, the Recycle4Haiti Foundation Inc. has collected more than 9,000 recyclables and gently used items to create revenue to assist with the aftermath of the devastation.
Carolyn Pompilus, the founder of Recycle4Haiti, visited Haiti a year after the disaster and described the scene as “horrifying”. She saw a lot of people in crutches and added that “it felt like a warzone.”
When she came up with the idea for Recycle4Haiti, she wanted to give back to a place that she once called home. So on July 11th, 12 runners took part in “The 5K for Earthquake Victims Walk” at the Railroad Square Art Park in Tallahassee.
Her organization’s next project is to raise $30,000 to provide water for 219 students at the College Evangelique de Martineau in Haiti; they hope to do this by drilling a well.
Elson Auquel, an exchange student from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, said that January 12, 2010, the day of the earthquake, was difficult for him.
“I saw my friends die, my family die, and I saw houses broken down,” said Auquel.
Auquel is currently in a 4-week program at Florida A&M University that teaches both Agribusiness and Biotechnology.
He believes that Recycle4Haiti is needed. He added that the older generation in Haiti has faith that younger people can bring about change, new mindsets and new ideas.
He plans to use the information that he learns in the program to solve farming issues in Haiti.
Lisa Derival, also an exchange student from Port-au-Prince, and volunteer for Recycle4Haiti, plans to use what she learns from FAMU’s program and implement it in Haiti as well.
Derival said, “this work is needed.” She mentioned that she would like recycle for Haiti to expand to Haiti and implement educational workshops about water quality.
In the fall, Pompilus’ plans for Recycle4Haiti are aimed at expansion of the organization and collaborations with fraternities, sororities and other organizations that can assist in bringing awareness to global issues impacting lives today.
She urges those who have recyclables or used items to drop them off at, Railroad Square, 694-4A Industrial Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32310.
For more information on Recycle4Haiti visit http://www.recycle4haiti.org/.