On Sunday, TEDxPSU occurred over at the HUB and I was one of the students working with the TEDxPSU executive board to be sure all events worked smoothly. My official title was Stage Technology Manager, but I wasn’t stuck to any particular job. At 6:30 in the morning, many of the days’ speakers came in to practice with the tech teams and to run through their lines. I got a chance to see Ian Rosenberger and his presentation. Ian founded an NGO known as Thread International and really changed the face of Haiti by showing how trash can turn into treasure.
Ian had previously participated in the TV show, Survivor, and also participated as a producer with MTV, and worked in a couple other productions with his own company. When the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, he went down to Port-au-Prince to do anything he could. He tried working with the people down there and met with this one person named Tassy. Tassy was a boy who recently developed a type of cancer in his mouth. He didn’t have the ability to see a doctor in Haiti who could treat him. Ian took him into his home back up in the states, and worked with people to get enough money to treat the cancer and to give him new life. After some time in the states, Ian and Tassy went back to Haiti to discover that things were still not doing well, but that also, trash was building in places it hadn’t been before. Haiti doesn’t have a central trash/waste disposal network, so all the supplies provided by the NGOs and the UN became piles of litter on streets and in backyards. This is where Ian’s thinking brought him to a new plane of thought.
He pondered to himself what could be done with all the trash. He knew of companies in the states which utilize recyclable materials to reproduce consumer products, and he got into contact with many of them. He then worked with investors and other individuals to organize a plant right in Haiti where recycling can be done for all the trash found across the Port-au-Prince area. This center was developed to turn plastic bottles into clothing, to convert other waste into viable products, and became a way to employ members of a poor country to help them make a wage enough to support their families. Ian literally helped Haiti turn trash into cash. This program he founded, is called Thread International.
Today, Thread turns low-tech waste from the poorest corners of the globe to convert them into consumer products, providing an innovative way to reduce waste, create jobs, and make cash.
Ian again finished off his presentation talking about Tessy and the first thing Tessy asked of him; can you help me? It seems that many corners of the world rely on outer help to provide for their people. Everyone of us have the capability to save others, whether that’s by donating our time and effort or even a couple bucks for programs like Thread. Just imagine if you were in one of their shoes, looking to people like ourselves, asking the same question... can you help me?
Tony, I did not have the opportunity to attend TEDxPSU, so I found this blog post to be interesting. Prior to reading your blog, I was not familiar with Ian Rosenberger and his efforts in Haiti. The part of the story that stood out was his generosity in assisting Tassy seeks medical attention. Not many people would go that far to assist someone that they just met a little while ago.
ReplyDeleteThe efforts by Thread International show great promise to help Haiti get on the track to recovery. Thread International was able to take a negative and turn it into a positive item for the country and its inhabitants. If Thread International did not help Haiti develop a solution to remove the trash problem, it is likely that the trash would pile up to this day. If the trash was not removed diseases and other problems would have fostered causing further problems for the Haitian people. Instead, Haitians are able to recycle their trash and convert it into other viable products. This product also has a positive side effect of working to help "save the planet."
The efforts of Thread International highlight one of the things we did not talk at length about in class. What happens after the first responders leave the disaster and the people must rely on themselves? Reconstruction and Stabilization efforts are just as important as the immediate disaster relief. Efforts by Thread International are efforts that allow those affected to rebuild their country without becoming reliant on foreign assistance. More Nongovernmental Organizations should model their efforts on those similar to those by Thread International. Thread International provides the right balance between Haitian independence and foreign assistance.