Haiti June Trip 2014 - Post #2

I have some decent wifi connection tonight!

The past two days have each felt like they were a week long. They were filled with laughs, tears, sad hearts and big big smiles! We only had two different distributions yesterday.

The first distribution was up in the mountains and we were able to see the sheer beauty of the country. When we pulled up to the different distributions the kids and their faces are priceless. Every single child who was there to get shoes were ecstatic. Again there is no way for me to explain in words how it felt to give a child a pair of shoes other than absolute happiness and peace. The second distribution yesterday was at a church and it was just as fun filled and eventful. When we distribute shoes we have a certain order that we go in. There are three main steps, 1) size the kids feet  2) wash their feet  3) give a child a pair of shoes that make them smile from ear to ear. Throughout the trip I was able to work with all of the three different steps and every one gave me a different perspective. When we were giving shoes out at the church I was sizing feet. Once the kids had their size they sat and stared at us until it was their time to get a pair of shoes. Another woman started to play hand games with the kids and they had the biggest and most gregarious laughs ever. They couldn't believe that trying to hit someone else's hand for fun was as fun as it was! As she was playing hand games with the boys I was taking selfie's with the girls! They loved being able to see themselves on a little screen that they could touch and move.

Today we went to an iron market and saw some of the coolest things! They were especially cool because we were able to watch the men turn iron barrels into pieces of artwork. After the iron market we ate lunch at the HAC, (the HAC is the Haitian American Caucus). We also met four of the women that Soles4Souls gives shoes to directly for their micro enterprise cause.

This trip has been every thing and better than what I could have ever thought of. I thank all of you for helping with the shoe collection throughout the past 4 1/2 years. I have many many many more stories to tell! I will post more pictures on facebook tonight too, if the wifi works. :)

Next time I post will hopefully be soon and I will be back on US soil!

Thank you again!

Claire Baker
"The Shoe Collector" 

Haiti June 2014 Trip

Hey People!!

Well I was a little tired last night after all of the travels down to Haiti, but we are here!!

Today was AWESOME! There were so many things that I want to tell you all, but there is not enough space on this blog. This day felt like it was at least three days put into one. We went to 5 different orphanages today and distributed about 230 pairs of shoes. The reaction of the kids when they get the new shoes are unbelievable, they are so happy!

The group of people that we are with is phenomenal! They are great people who all are here to do the same thing. The first orphanage that we went to today was over 80 girls. As soon as we walked in through the gates every single girl RAN up to someone and grabbed one of our hands to hold onto. It was one of the coolest things ever that I can't put into words. There was one girl in particular that literally clung onto me during the entire distribution. The leaders of the orphanage said that they were surprised that Madyline was even down spending time with anyone, because she is usually very shy and keeps to herself. That comment made me so happy and in a way at peace. As we were leaving the orphanage Madyline ran with the van that I was in until she was not allowed to go any farther. She was so sweet even though I only got to spend about and hour and a half with her.

I will post a picture on Facebook of Madyline, my mom and I, if the wifi works.

I will also try to write the next time that I get wifi which may not be for a few days!! :)

Shoe Collection Update / HAITI TRIP 2014!!!

Hey Everybody,

Well a lot has happened in the past months. I should be a lot better about posting more often shouldn't I? Long story short is that the shoe collection is still going strong! There have been shoes coming out of crooks and crannies all over the upper Midwest. It's awesome to get shoes from Montana, Michigan and there was even going to be a pair sent from Tokyo!

I wish that I could tell you every single detail that has happened over the course of the shoe collection, but I figured that I should keep this short and sweet. So, I will give you a list of some major things that have happened or are happening.

Shoe Collection Keeps on Growing

• We are now a temporary warehouse!
• Soles4Souls has declared me a temporary warehouse...meaning that anyone from around the upper Midwest can deliver their shoes to me because it is the closest and the quickest way to get the shoes to the places that they need to go.
• Many different groups like Lions Clubs, Girl Scout Troops, Churches, Schools and many other communities have brought their shoes to our temporary warehouse.
• We have filled up three full semi trailers full of shoes!
• Next time you are driving next to a semi trailer try to imagine it completely full of shoes all the way from the very back to the very front and stacked all the way up to the ceiling of the trailer. A full semi trailer full of shoes is about 24,000 pairs of shoes!
• The most recent semi trailer fill up/send off day was June 9th, 2014, so just under a week ago. 
• We had 51 people come to help transfer 24,000 pairs of shoes from the storage unit to the semi we thought that it would take about three hours. Well, we were wrong because it only took 45 minutes!!!
•  Roughly 85,000 pairs of shoes and still counting!
• Working at Soles4Souls
• I am currently in Nashville, TN because I have the awesome opportunity to work at the Soles4Souls headquarters in Nashville.
• I will be working with them for a week and then... (go to next bullet)
• Trip to Haiti yet again!
• After working at Soles4Souls I will be leaving a week from today June 22, 2014 to go back to Haiti for the second time!
• My Administrative Assistant (my mom) is coming with me again. 
• We will be in Haiti for a week distributing around 600 pairs of shoes to people who need them the most.

Haiti Updates!!!

I will have access to a computer and internet while I am in Haiti, so I am going to try to post something every night about what we did that day along with some pictures! I will be posting on this blog page so you can check back to see what we are doing each day.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the shoe collection throughout the past 4 years! There would be no shoe collection without all of your help...and shoes [which by the way we are still collecting :)]

Claire Baker 

The Shoe Collector