On Monday, Oct. 8, a team from Clean the World left Orlando for a trip to Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras. On board was Jim Buckshaw from Clearly Natural, Kate Labrosse from National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA) and Jessica Rosman from Caesars Entertainment. Representing Clean the World were Shawn Seipler, Robert Bahret and Rosanna Kingston.
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| Kate Labrosse |
Following flights to Miami and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the team connected with our in-country partners who are part of Joint Task Force-Bravo, which is based at Soto Cano Air Base about five miles south of Comayagua. Assistant Iris Medina, Lt. Colonel Jim Liddick and Major Stephen Poe accompanied our contingent on the tree-hour drive to Soto Cano.
Upon arrival at the base, the group was cleared by security and served dinner. They then teamed up with six military personnel to fill more than 900 bags with three bars of soap each. The bags were grouped by drop-off point and loaded onto vehicles for distribution the next day.
After breakfast on Tuesday, the team visited Juan Ramon Molina School and handed out soap to approximately 70 girls and boys ranging in age from 5 to12. Before distributing the soap, Rosanna spoke to the children about the importance of hand washing. Jim Buckshaw dressed up as a superhero to combat the germs (Kate and Jessica). Rosanna changed the lyrics of “La Bamba” to explain proper hand washing.
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| Jessica Rosman |
The Honduran children loved it! After such a great reaction, this part of the presentation was included at all distribution stops on the remainder of the trip.
Throughout the afternoon, the team visited eight more schools and gave soap to approximately 600 additional students.
Wednesday started at a destination where three schools gather in together in one location. The schools are Fransico Morazán, Anan Matute Kindergarten and Herber Alvarado School. There were approximately 140 children. The team met with the school leaders and then distributed 400 bars of soap. Teachers received our new Clean the World body wash.
Next up was a temporary medical clinic in Medrete where the U.S. military worked with the Honduran government and military to assist 1,500 patients. Our group met the staff, spoke to a group of 100 mothers and young men about the importance of hand washing, and distributed 500 bags of soap and bottled amenities.
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| Jim Buckshaw |
The Clean the World team spent the remainder of the day distributing soap to more than 250 students at three more schools.
The remaining soap will be distributed at a landfill inhabited by 450 children, and by U.S. military medical brigades.
As with any visit to an impoverished region, this was an eye-opening experience that reinforced the importance of our mission to save lives by recycling soap.
Please support Clean the World’s mission by joining our campaign to buy new machinery that will significantly increase our production capacity. More information is available on our RocketHub page.
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