Thursday, May 13, 2010

Welcome to my blog! I am not in Haiti yet but will be in August. Here is the intro to what this is about...

Please join with me in a new adventure! I will be spending the month of August in Port-au-Prince, Haiti with a great non-profit group called Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL). SOIL works to provide public composting toilets and other sustainable development to tackle Haiti's pressing issues of soil fertility and sanitation. Many Haitians do not have access to toilet facilities, and sanitation-related disease symptoms such as diarrhea area major cause of death and suffering. This has only be exacerbated with the recent earthquake. We often take our bodily waste for granted, but dealt with properly through composting it can be a safe and productive economic resource. Composting of human wastes transforms it into a rich agricultural fertilizer that can restore soil and dramatically increase crop yeilds for subsistence farmers. SOIL is unique because it is based in Haiti, employs most of its staff locally, and workds to build indigenous sustainable development capability.

I will be flying to Haiti from Florida, but will first be riding my bicycle from Greensboro, NC to Florida - about 700 miles over 7 days - to raise money for SOIL through the non-profit cycling team I belong to, Adventures for the Cure (AFC). All of the money collected through the AFC website will be sent to SOIL, and it is all tax deductable since both are 501-(c)3 non-profit groups. Donating through the AFC webpage or sending a check to AFC will allow everyone to track the progress of the fundraiser online. I hope to raise $5000 for SOIL.

To donate and read more information, please go to the following website:

http://adventuresforthecure.com/campaigns/sustainableDevHaiti.html

Please contribute if you are able - I know these are tough economic times. Your money will go toward meaningful and important long-term development in Haiti that will both reduce disease and increase food production.

Cheers,
Ethan

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