Blog
Meet Vanessa
Playful. Friendly. Spunky. Vanessa, age 4, is a beautiful, playful little girl. She likes to be silly and funny around people. She enjoys dancing and loves to have her picture taken. Vanessa brings a lot of life to the orphanage in Port-au-Prince Haiti. I think we all wanted to bring her home with us. However, [...]
...read moreMeet Francois
Quiet. Helpful. Affectionate. When Bridgewater employees and dealers visited his orphanage in Haiti last fall, Nine-year-old François met us at the airport. He smiled shyly and spoke to us in broken English as we rode through the streets of Port-au-Prince. Later, we learned from the orphanage director that François has struggled with low self esteem [...]
...read moreMeet Lorca
Sweet. Intelligent. Joyful. Lorça (Loh-Sah) is a lovely, sweet 5-year-old. She likes to play with dolls, sing and dance. She also enjoys playing on the swing set with the other children at the Haitian orphanage. Lorça’s parents lost their house during the 2010 earthquake. They are living in a tent close to a river and [...]
...read moreMeet Mackson
Artistic. Talented. Humble. Max’s father was killed when he was 3 years old. His mother is visually impaired and could not care for him. Today, Max is 16 years old and lives in a loving orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is an intelligent, artistic young man. He enjoys cooking and creating beautifully decorated bowls. Max [...]
...read moreMeet Marie-Victoire
Compassionate. Considerate. Joyful. Marie has beautiful memories of her father. After he passed away, Marie became a restavek, or child slave, in one of her relative’s home. Her life was filled with abuse and harsh words. “I didn’t know what was going to happen to me,” she said when asked about her life as a [...]
...read moreSweet Grace Special Edition
Introducing New Sweet Grace Special Edition Candle Poverty stricken Haiti faced an orphan crisis even before the devastating earthquake in 2010. Today, an estimated 15 percent of all Haitian children are orphans. 300,000 are restaveks, child slaves who are often abused. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a group of children who had been enslaved, abandoned, or abused [...]
...read moreChanged Lives
Alison, owner of Green Springs in Seneca, SC was one of 4 Bridgewater dealers who went with us to Haiti in October. Below are her reflections on the trip: We are back from Haiti! It was chaos. It was amazing. It was life-changing. I had been warned about arriving in the Port Au Prince airport, [...]
...read moreHaiti 2011
Now that you have seen… As our plane descended into Port-au-Prince, Haiti, I was thinking about the orphaned children I had heard so much about from the guys at Rice Bowls. I was already impressed with their resilience and generosity. I had heard about Mafuna and Marie-Victorie, who translate Creole for the doctors who come [...]
...read moreLending a hand in Honduras
The Rice Bowls team recently visited a new orphanage partner in Honduras and gave them one of the handmade quilts Bridgewater has donated. The quilts are made from the handprints of Bridgewater Candle Company employees and store owners who sell Bridgewater Candles. The handprints symbolize Bridgewater’s commitment to helping orphaned chidlren around the world. Bridgewater’s [...]
...read moreBridgewater goes to Haiti
In just one month, Bridgewater employees and some of our best dealers will embark on a special brand experience orphanage service project in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We offered the chance to go on the all expense paid brand experience to thousands of our authorized dealers. Through a nomination and written entry process, four dealers were awarded [...]
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