Changed Lives

posted in Blog | Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

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, but it still was a jolt to the system. After the trials of customs, The Bridgewater Haiti team and I retrieved our bags–each of the 11 bags full of 50lbs of supplies for the orphanages. The doors to the airport opened and chaos ensued. First the skies opened up and rain fell down in such magnitude that we were immediately up to our ankles, trying to maneuver carts of our bags through a crush of people. People were everywhere, coming from all angles, attempting to get our bags and take them to their “tap tap” or privately owned taxi. The magnitude of noise, the pushing and shoving of people, the smells of Haiti, everything all at once….but then silence and peace. The silence came when I opened the door to the orphanage’s vehicle. Suddenly all sounds seemed to stop. The peace came when I looked inside and saw Francois. Francois, a little Haitian boy of 7 years. He sat in the car, wide eyed, staring at us. Although it seemed he was a timid shy little boy, his personality quickly came out. I can still hear his laugh. The remarkable thing was that in those few moments of transitory chaos, Francois was my place of silence and peace; yet, Bridgewater candles and Rice Bowls have transformed his life from disorder and chaos to a peaceful environment in which he receives an education and healthy meals in a loving environment.

Francois is not an isolated story of a child in need being saved by Rice Bowls and Bridgewater candles. Since its inception in June 2010, Bridgewater’s Light a Candle Feed a Child program has provided 340,000 days of food for children around the globe. Green Springs is proud to be a part of that and thankful for everyone who buys our candles, and thus helps feed children! To the right, you will see Vanessa Belle. She is a spunky 3 year old girl, who had only been at the home for a few weeks when I met her. While she only spoke Creole, she would proclaim her name “Vanessa BELLE!”. To the right, you will also see Angelo. Angelo is a precious 5 year old boy who had only been at the home for 7 months when I met him. He was my buddy while in Haiti, insisting on holding my hand or being carried wherever we went.

Haiti was amazing. It changed my life and Bridgewater candles have changed the lives of so many orphans around the world. To all of my candle loving customers, thank you for being a part of such a remarkable program.

For every jar candle you purchase, Bridgewater donates money to feed an orphaned child for a day.
www.youtube.com/bridgewatercandles
www.lightacandlefeedachild.com