Clean the World often takes the time to visit hotels participating in our recycling program. It is a way to share the mission and empower the room attendants to make a difference in the world in a personal way. Attendants are on the forefront of the Global Hygiene Revolution. They are the ones who take the first step in diverting waste from landfills, the first step to providing someone with life-saving hygiene products. Clean the World’s Donya McSwain and Oscar Gonzalez recently visited Orlando Marriott World Center to inspire the staff. The day held inspiration and motivation for us all.
Donya and Oscar shared the message of how thousands of needless childhood deaths can be prevented with access to soap. They talked about the importance of each housekeeper, and the responsibility they hold in helping these children. Our team spoke to the group in both English and Spanish.
“The message seems to reach their heart in their native language,” Donya said.
On this visit, Donya and Oscar brought along Pastor Julio Brutus, a pioneer for the Clean the World’s mission. Pastor Brutus is the man who made it possible for our planes to land in parts of Haiti that were in dire need after Clean the World launched in 2009. He is a crucial member of the Clean the World family, helping reach thousands of children in Haiti throughout the years.
As the head pastor of the Evangelical Church of Haiti, he interacts with 100,000 members. More one million bars of soap have been distributed in Haiti through Pastor Brutus’ efforts alone.
Pastor Brutus delivered the message of Clean the World to the hotel employees in Haitian Creole, the native language of many staff members. He brought a guest, a young lady named Claudia. “As she was speaking in Haitian Creole, you could hear her stress, the importance of the housekeeping staff saving the soap so others can prosper,” Donya said.
Claudia runs a Medical Clinic in Haiti. She is on the front lines of illness, seeing the struggle every day. “Her message was so moving, she connected with the housekeeping staff, I didn’t know that I would be moved to tears from the response we received,” Donya said.
Housekeepers chimed in on the struggles their families and friends face at home in Haiti. One housekeeper stated that all the people she knows in her country are in need of the soap we provide.
Everything at Clean the World is about how we can positively affect the world around us. Our individual decisions and the actions we take here in our own nation, our own state, our own community have a global impact. Through our actions we can save lives with soap.
Language unites us, but even more important is our belief in helping others, the goal to create happier, healthier lives through our daily actions.
Since 2009, Orlando Marriott World Center has been able to contribute more than 16,000 pounds of discarded soap, allowing us to create 85,995 new bars of recycled soap. What an amazing accomplishment.
There are so many ways you can help your community and the world. To find out how you or your organization can make a difference through Clean the World, please contact us today.
