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Bloggers Travel to Haiti for Eye-Opening Experience

February 3, 2012

When a crisis erupts somewhere in the world, bloggers are often the first to hear news through Twitter, Facebook, or other social channels. They are also often the first to organize or at least provide major contributions to aid efforts.

But as we know, all too often, social media has a short term memory. Today’s tragic news becomes tomorrow’s old news as stories are replaced by more current events. However, just because it leaves our minds doesn’t mean it leaves our hearts.

In the past few months, many bloggers have become involved in outreach campaigns for the Heart of Haiti program, an initiative that allows Haitian artisans to sell their handcrafted products through Macy’s. In exchange for the mass exposure, local Haitians receive 50% of the wholesale price for every item sold.

Those kind of economics can go a long way in a nation that prior to 2010 was plagued by an unstable government and extreme poverty. Matters worsened in 2010 when Haiti suffered a catastrophic earthquake that devastated the country. The death and destruction led to an outcry resulting in humanitarian aid from all over the globe. While some aid has gone amiss, many of these efforts are still providing major contributions to the lifestyle for many Haitians as five bloggers were recently able to witness firsthand.

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Bloggers with members of the Dam Dam Cooperative

With a small sponsorship provided by Everywhere, a social media strategy firm, five bloggers were able to self-fund a week long trip to Haiti to visit some of the Hearts for Haiti artisans and understand the impact of the relationships that are currently in place.

While a trip to a third world country in this capacity is probably an experience of a lifetime, how does it relate to a blogger on both a professional and personal level? And more importantly, how does a blogger rise to challenge of turning a trip like this into a meaningful and lasting experience?

Leticia Barr from Tech Savvy Mama and Elena Sonnino from Ciao Mom and Just Be Enough were two of the bloggers who spoke about their participation in this life-changing experience.

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Leticia (L) and Elena (R) with fellow blogger Jeannette Kaplun

On how different things were from what was anticipated:

“What I was most surprised by was the spirit of the Haitian people and their quest for knowledge in order to better their lives.  As a former teacher, the wide eyed expression of wonderment and questions are always wonderful to see. I also loved the beauty that is so pervasive in the country despite the poverty and devastation that included gorgeous well dressed children with neatly tied bows in their hair and frilly socks on their feet, colorful hand painted signs for businesses, the unique look of each and every Tap Tap (Haitian form of taxis), to the scenery.” – Leticia

“There was a thirst for knowledge and desire to learn unlike anything I have ever seen before. And the pride— so much pride.” – Elena

On the devastation still remaining from the earthquake:

“In other parts of the country, it’s hard to understand where the devastation starts and where building just stopped due to lack of money.  It’s hard to tell what structures are need in repair versus were never finished.  Like in other parts of the world, it’s not uncommon for people in Haiti to stop building when they run out of money.” – Leticia

On technology in Haiti:

“People are beginning to catch wind of this “thing called internet”–one of the more powerful moments for us was introducing a group of women, in Leogane, part of the Dam Dam cooperative group, to internet.  They had no idea- and it was as if we had turned on a switch to something that they desperately want to learn about.  We also did a social media training for a group of women that are already on their way as entrepreneurs, politicians, musicians, and more—they all just want to learn so that they too can tell their stories and become independent.”  - Elena

While both bloggers expressed how personally fulfilling the experience was, Elena found a new appreciation for blogging as a means of “telling the story.” Collaboration was another key part of her experience. The ability to plan for the future and build a network around a shared experience reinforced the community aspect of blogging for her.

Leticia originally intended to use her trip to learn about the part of Haiti that isn’t represented on the news but found clarity in how she can help thanks to her background in technology and education.

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Blogger Nadia Jones shows social savvy skills.

So what’s next for Elena and Leticia? Was this trip a one shot deal and soon-to-be yesterday’s blog news? Not if they can help it. Both agreed that the challenge is to maintain their commitment to the Haitians, and not become another aid group that makes promises and never returns.

As Elena put it:

“(The biggest challenge is) making sure that our trip was not a fly by, isolated incident.  I think I can speak for all of us to say that coming home has been hard because we all know that there is so much we could be doing there.

Finding a way to materialize our plans, to put something in place that is sustainable and meaningful for the people that we met—through relationships with other bloggers and brands, is going to take effort and perseverance.

We made promises to women that we would be back. I intend to keep those promises.”

To learn more about the trip organization and about all of the bloggers that participated, read Everywhere’s Weaving a Story of Hope.

All photos courtesy of Leticia – Tech Savvy Mama

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About Fadra Nally

Fadra Nally is an accidental blogger. After she found herself on the government payroll (re: unemployment) for the second time in a year, she decided to go find herself. The result was her personal blog, all.things.fadra, where she writes about the humorous and inspirational side of life. Since then, she's also started, Social Dialect, a site that focuses on helping brands and bloggers speak the same language. When she's not blogging, you'll find her on twitter @allthingsfadra

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Comments

  1. spacer Elena says:
    February 3, 2012 at 7:51 am

    Thank you Fadra for bringing such beautiful awareness to theimportance of the trip and the artisans and people that we met.

    Reply
  2. spacer Justice Jonesie says:
    February 3, 2012 at 8:26 am

    What a great recap of our trip! Thank you for sharing. Nadia aka Justice Jonesie

    Reply
  3. spacer Kelly Heisler says:
    February 3, 2012 at 10:07 am

    Such an awesome post! Thank you so much for shining a spotlight on our trip to Haiti. It was an amazing adventure and something that I wish everyone could experience.

    Reply
  4. spacer Danica Kombol says:
    February 3, 2012 at 10:27 am

    Kristen, A piece of your heart obviously is in Haiti from your travels there. Our only regret is that you were not with us to experience Haiti two years after the Earthquake (when you were there). You have been so supportive and we so appreciate your sharing your recap of our adventures! Kristen is an honorary member of #bloggers4Haiti!!!
    Danica

    Reply
    • spacer Kristen Howerton says:
      February 6, 2012 at 10:28 pm

      Thanks, Danica! It’s so nice to see the blogging community circling around the Haitian people.

      Reply
  5. spacer Ana Flores says:
    February 3, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    Thank you so much for helping us continue to spread awareness. Being part of the #Bloggers4Haiti trip changed my perspective in the way we can use our voice and our platforms to create awareness. I am definitely committed to continue being a part of the Heart of Haiti. Haitians really need jobs, not charity, and we want to be able to provide the necessary tools and learning resources for those we can aid.

    Reply
    • spacer Kristen Howerton says:
      February 6, 2012 at 10:29 pm

      Amen, Ana! They need jobs. That’s why I love to see local artisans supported by Macy’s. Such a great model.

      Reply
  6. Pingback: In The Heart of Haiti – Bloggers Make a Difference

  7. spacer Brandi says:
    February 4, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    This is an amazing post, and even more amazing is the bloggers who went on this trip. I love Elena’s statement that she promised the women that she’d be back to Haiti, and that’s she’s intending to keep that promise. Great work, Ladies.

    Reply
  8. spacer North India Tour says:
    July 19, 2012 at 3:08 am

    Woww..Really heart touching experience …

    Reply

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