Can Haiti’s tourism get its groove back? For Dina Simon of My Haiti Travels (MHT Global, LLC), that is the goal, and she won’t relent until Haiti’s tourism gets its groove back, and gets it back again and again. She’s among many entrepreneurs who are recognizing the need to revitalize Haiti’s tourism industry and are using their business acumen to lend a capable hand in increasing the flow of tourists to the country.

Simon’s firm, which she founded in 2012, was conceptualized with the sole intention of drawing pleasure-seeking tourists and well as luxury travelers to Haiti.

Born in Haiti, the entrepreneur immigrated to the United States when she was nine years old, settling in Brooklyn with her family, before moving on up to Long Island during her high school years. Very much goal-oriented throughout her life, she enrolled in college and earned her Bachelor’s degree, and eventually a Master’s, landing herself a plump position at a New York city agency as a public servant.

The Senior Manager roles she has held really prepared Simon for the mechanics of successfully running her own company. My Haiti Travels is fresh off one of its first excursion to Haiti—the Impact Week Haiti tour—in which Simon guided more than a dozens to breathtaking sites all over Haiti. It was important to her that these tourists saw Haiti in a new light—a positive light, and to make them repeat visitors of Haiti’s destinations. The My Haiti Travels tour took the travelers, ranging from executives to a preteen to hotspots in Port-au-Prince.

Simon goes all out in promoting Haiti as well as her company, hiring Daphne Leroy, of DML Media Group, to vigorously publicize her venture, and her objectives. My Haiti Travels has a strong and consistent presence on social media networks.

Simon has launched a newsletter which has a subscriber count of 600 and counting. When she’s not hard at work brainstorming new ways to usher tourists to Haiti and sell Haiti’s countless charms to them, Simon is busily drawing up proposals for new business partnerships that are designed to propel My Haiti Travels Global ahead in the Haiti traveling game.

Q & A

How would you sum up your company?
My company is a boutique concierge firm that coordinates high-quality travel services to Haiti for leisure and business purposes. Our representatives liaise with hotel and resort establishments, restaurants, and professional tour guides to provide unique experiences tailored to each client’s specific needs, lifestyle, and budget. At My Haiti Travels, we believe the best way to support Haiti is to visit, support local businesses, and give back directly to the people in need through volunteerism. Our goal is for all friends of Haiti to truly experience and enjoy the real Ayiti and all its glory.

How did the idea for your company come about?
The idea for My Haiti Travels was formed after organizing a trip to Haiti for a couple of friends. I could not find a reliable source that provided me information on where to stay, where to eat and what to do; when I did find information it was outdated. I had been to Haiti months prior and knew there were restaurants, bars, resorts, beautiful beaches, spas, and even a hookah bar. I was shocked that those things were not prominently showcased anywhere. Once I was able to secure the right services while in Haiti, my friends and I had the best experience ever.

When I came back to New York, I envisioned creating a service that had a directory of places in Haiti, but with reviews and ratings, similar to Yelp. I wanted people to have information and to help them make informed decisions about where to spend their money. At My Haiti Travels, we believe that if you frequent an establishment and spend your money you should get good service—even in Haiti. Businesses survive because of their customers.

Another vision we had for My Haiti Travels was to make it easy for you to travel to Haiti. A lot of people we spoke to didn’t visit Haiti because they didn’t know where to start, where to stay or where to eat. Haiti is a foreign place to many of us. At My Haiti Travels, you tell us how you want to spend your time and we’ll arrange it. We work with your budget, and build your itinerary on what works for you; after all it is your time.

What sort of challenges do you encounter in running your firm?
The biggest challenge in running my firm is balancing time. I have a full-time day job so there’s never enough time in the day to accomplish everything with my business. Since we’re a start-up, there is not a big budget to hire staff so we rely on volunteers. Without a dedicated staff at the end of the day all the balls drop in my court. Hopefully that will change soon but until then it’s a constant sacrifice—late nights and weekends, less time with family and friends but in the long run it will be worth it.

Now, in terms of running a travel and tourism agency targeted towards a country that’s stigmatized and that’s been portrayed negatively in the media—-how do you handle that?
We have to tell Haiti’s story, past, present and future. We’re all very much aware of Haiti’s challenges. I don’t think any one of us can ever deny them. However, the time has come for us to take a different path and do something new. Our President Michel Martelly has said “Haiti is too rich to be poor,” and he’s right. I’m not just talking about material wealth. I’m talking about things you can’t put a price on.

I also think we as a people need to do a better job about the image we present to others about Haiti. When I meet people and I tell them about Haiti and they see my pictures they are surprised. Most of them tell me their perception of Haiti is from Haitian-Americans who have never visited or it’s been decades since they’ve been to Haiti.

Since the perception of Haiti is one of my biggest challenges, My Haiti Travels constantly educates people by showing the different sides of Haiti. Through our newsletter titled “See Haiti Through Our Eyes,” we try to change perception by focusing on the positive, but not ignoring the struggle. We believe that people should visit Haiti themselves before they form an opinion.

Haiti’s tourism boom peaked in the 40s, then the 1950s, then in the 1970s and 1980s. Do you think it will regain its footing in the tourism industry?
Absolutely, Haiti is currently in the process of a tourism boom. There’s a lot of building, plans for hotels and restaurants, training for the tourism sector, and investment in infrastructure. A lot of people are organizing tours to Haiti. There’s adventure travel, volunteer travel, and there’s a combination of both.

Simon poses with her traveling clients. Photo: Sebastian Narcisse, My Haiti Travels

The first five-star hotel was inaugurated in Haiti about [in December] and there’s encouraging news about the tourism sector. I believe travelers are looking for a different type of vacation as the days where people are confined to a resort are gone. Haiti offers a mixture for people who want adventure, authenticity, and want to discover culture and history.

If you were counseling aspiring entrepreneurs, what would you tell them about your journey?
I would advise them to have a plan and to be flexible. You must be willing to adjust your plan based on internal and external factors. I would advise aspiring entrepreneurs to align themselves with people who share and support their vision. Until you have the support from someone who believes in what you’re doing, it’s hard to get off the ground. You need someone who’s willing to get in the trenches with you, sees your vision and can serve as an advocate for you.

Finally, I would say believe in it. If you don’t believe in it, no one else will. When I talk to people about Haiti, they tell me they see my passion for Haiti. The thing is I’m only telling my story, my experiences. Once you believe in it, it’s easy for someone else to do the same.

Throughout this journey, my proudest moment has been booking two people who have not been back to Haiti in over 30 years. I cannot wait to capture the moment they step off the plane, as they get re-introduced to their country. That’s what My Haiti Travels is about, that’s our vision – “See Haiti Through Our Eyes.”

Any last words?
Kat, thank you for giving me this opportunity. From the beginning of this journey, you have been a major inspiration for me. Thank you for all your tips, and for educating me about Haiti through Kreyolicious Magazine. What you are doing is necessary for us as a people, a culture, and a country. Please continue to educate us on all things Haiti. Thank you to all who believed in the My Haiti Travels vision for Impact Week Haiti 2013, including our media partners BelTiFi, Kiskeacity, Manman Pemba, Haitian-AllStarz, Haiti 1 Stop, HaitiXChange, Radio Soleil, and the Stewardship Report. There are a lot of amazing entrepreneurs and organizations supporting Haiti daily via diverse platforms, so let’s continue to support them. Haiti needs us. We can’t do it alone. We owe it to each other. We owe it to those who came before us. We owe it to Ayiti. L’union fait la force.

Rony Delgarde is the founder of Global Paints for Charity, a nonprofit initiative that uses unused and left-over paint from the US and ships them off to countries in the South America, Africa, and the Caribbean to be used in rehabilitating building and homes. Delgarde received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American Intercontinental University in Atlanta and has an MBA from Strayer University.

A Logistics Operation Specialist and a Management Consultant by trade, Delgarde also has a background in leadership and volunteerism. He attended Georgia’s Gwinnett Neighborhood Leadership Institute in 2002. Prior to launching Global Paints for Charity Inc, the entrepreneur and philanthropist co-founded the Volunteer Interpreter’s Program of Gwinnett in the early 2000s. That latter program recruited bilingual volunteers to accompany police and sheriff officers, and provide on-the-scene translation to non-English speaking crime victims and witnesses whose information is essential for investigations.

In addition to volunteering for some of the world’s biggest NGOs and nonprofit organizations—such as CARE International, United Way and Habitat for Humanity—Delgarde also serves a mentor for the Gwinnett Public School’s Community Program.

Delgarde at work in Haiti for Global Paints for Charity, Inc.

Kreyolicious: Every non-profit initiative had a beginning, usually with the founder or one of the founders having an epiphany of sort. Was there a particular moment that sparked your founding Global Paints?

Excellent question! On my very first day in the U.S, I landed at the Miami International Airport. I couldn’t believe what I saw that day. “This is a perfect adventure”, I said. I thought it’s remarkably beautiful to see a city where all houses and tall buildings were painted with amazing colors. But I was first inspired to collect paint in March 2010, when I took a trip to Kenya and Uganda to help donate basic health supplies and nutrition kits to mothers in the refugee camps. That’s where I realized the need to beautify global housing projects in the region. And I immediately started collecting paint after that Africa trip. In fact, I was shocked just to know how many gallons of paint were thrown away in the U.S. According to the industry sources, every resident in America has 4-to-5 gallons of leftover paint in their basement. More than one billion gallons of paint are sold for commercial use. Ten percent of that goes unused or ends up in landfills every year. Each year, hundreds of millions of gallons of paint are discarded in North America alone. Are we really throwing away that much paint at the expense of other people who don’t have anything? It just didn’t sound right.

When I started, I picked up all paint donations myself; I have gone to residences and businesses as far away from Atlanta as Macon and Savannah, Georgia to collect paint. Today as many as 500-to-6000 gallons of paint have been shipped at a time to developing countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Guyana, Guinea, Ghana and Mexico. The paint has been used for housing rehabilitation projects including family homes, hospitals, schools, churches, and orphanages.

Would love to hear more about the work of Global Paints for Charity, Inc in Haiti. What has the organization achieved so far on the island?

Global Paints is fully involved in many regions in Haiti. Just last year, as part of the preparations to reopen La Citadelle Laferrière , I was invited to paint a wall, and I spoke at the official open ceremony and celebration on November 17, 2013. It was like a dream comes true. Moreover, Global Paint donated paint to support many rehabilitation projects in different regions in Haiti. We also sent some paints to those affected by the 2010 earthquake that killed over 200,000 people and left million others homeless in Haiti. And we recently nominated Nadege Telfort, one of the leading actresses based in Haiti, as Goodwill Ambassador. She is taking on the mission to provide high quality of paint to renovate schools, orphanages, hospitals, prisons and family homes in Haiti. In fact, one of my future goals is to build a paint manufacturer in Haiti. We recently opened a small paint processing center in Honduras and it is contributing to the beautification in the entire Central America. I believe we should do the same in Haiti without competing with the local paint companies

Above: Doing rehabilitative work at King Henri Christophe’s architectural wonder La Citadelle Lafèrrière in Cap Haitien, Haiti.

Kreyolicious: You received an award as AllState Champion for Good, a prestigious award for agents of change. What is the one change that you made to your life between the end of your high school years to now, that has made the biggest difference to your life?

Oh my goodness! Thank you. I am very blessed to be able to beat the odds. My ability to help others to understand the role their work and skills can play in problem solving is one of the many reasons I have received the award as 2013 AllState Champion for Good. Add to that my words of being a voice for the voiceless through my noble work of giving back, including dedicating my life to changing the lives of vulnerable people around the world. Also, I have experienced more than anyone should ever experience. English is not my first language and I have been struggling ever since I have move in the States. More pain, more turmoil, more humiliation, more strife and more need than most of people could even begin to imagine. But, when I was offered an opportunity, even as a volunteer, I also saw another opportunity; the opportunity of turning waste into hope – and change lives. The biggest changes in my life is that I have associated with people that can inspire me, people that have challenged me to rise higher, people that make me better. I don’t waste my valuable time with people that are not adding to my growth. My time is too crucial.

I started this organization in my one bedroom apartment; now we’re in a factory and known by a lot of people in the development community. There’s nothing as powerful as a small idea that has the ability to change the lives of people around the world.

Global Paints for Charity at work in Honduras.

Kreyolicious: What advice would you give to others on leadership and success?

Always make sure what you are providing is something that is going to help the people in need. If you plan to start your own organization, you need to be absolutely committed to and happy with what you are doing. If you’re not happy to take on the challenges that come with starting your own organization, you will not do a good job of helping others. If you’re looking to make high impact in the social change arena and have a new idea, enterprising plan on how to do it, starting your own programs could be a great choice for success. But you have to do the work. Start where you are and keep moving forward.

Kreyolicious: What are you most proud of?

I always hesitate to talk about myself. My heart is about giving, helping, and doing. At the same time, the help I provide is from my desire, my heart, to ease the pain and suffering of millions around the world. Nearly 1.6-billion residents in developing countries live in poor quality housing. They also have unpainted family homes, hospitals, schools, refugee camps and orphanages with dirt walls with bacteria, bad germs, mold, severe dirt walls and poor sanitation. Believe it or not, over 2.5- billion people live on less than $2 a day and a gallon of paint costs $35. I’m not a good at solving math problems, but I’m telling you I’m not going to spend that $35 on a gallon of paint. I’m going to buy some bread and sugar. I’m going to buy medicine. I’m going to do all the things I think are keeping me alive. But take a moment today and think about how many family’s homes, schools and buildings you see around you that need paint. I find myself in tears many times. Yes, something can be done. Yes, together we can paint the world and make a difference.

Above: Global Paints for Charity, Inc founder Rony Delgarde concentrates on pouring paint in a container for use.

Kreyolicious: In regards to Global Paints, what have you yet to achieve that you hope to achieve in the next 5 years?

Since I started the Global Paints for Charity, I have been to 18 different countries and I am blessed to say I am a citizen of the World. In the next 5 years I hope I can visit more developing countries to donate paint. When we are distributing the paint or painting a family’s home for the first time, I could see that there is a lot of excitement, joy, a lot of happiness.

But we also need to recycle more paint. We have received hundreds thousands gallons of paint from businesses, we have to turn them away because we desperately need affordable warehouse space. Even with affordable space, mixing and reformulating the paint is a huge hurdle. Right now, it’s often done by hand, by handful volunteers. Three great institutions, including students from Georgia Tech, have offered to help design a machine to process the paint. However, the costs vary depending upon our desired methods and technology. Our goal is to raise significant funding to build a plant where we will be able to process 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of paint a week, creating jobs not just in paint processing and recycling, but in transportation and logistics, as well.

As you can see, we need help. So by getting the word out you would help us a lot. It is most appreciated.

[All photos provided by subject.]

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