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.]

Keep Up With Global Paints on Twitter| CLICK to visit the Global Paint for Charity Inc Website| CLICK to visit the Company’s Facebook Page |

The United Nations Security Council on Friday renewed its justice-support peacekeeping mission in Haiti for a final six months, after which it will maintain only a special political mission in the crisis-ridden nation after Oct. 15.

Council members voted 13-0 in favor of the final six-month renewal, with the Russian Federation and Dominican Republic both abstaining. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, called the withdrawal of peacekeepers in six months — as Haiti continues to face an ongoing political and economic crisis, deteriorating humanitarian conditions and State Department travel warning — premature.

“For the Dominican Republic [the peacekeeping mission] will come to an end at the same time we are expecting to see elections held in Haiti, a moment that can always fall into instability,” Ambassador José Singer Weisinger said. “We believe that we should weigh the moment and the conditions for this … The work of this Security Council is to ensure that there is… international peace.”

Haiti, which has a messy history with elections, is scheduled to hold legislative and local elections in October. Last week, during Security Council discussions on the situation in the country ahead of Friday’s vote, U.S. Acting Permanent Representative Jonathan Cohen stressed that the timing of the elections should not be a factor on when the peacekeeping mission ends.

“We do not believe this Council should link [the justice support peacekeeping mission’s] scheduled transition to legislative and local elections in Haiti scheduled for October 2019,“ Cohen said.

The United Nations first deployed a blue-helmeted peacekeeping force to Haiti in 2004, consisting of a large multinational military presence with soldiers from Brazil, Chile, Nepal and other nations. They steered Haiti through several hurricanes, tumultuous elections and a deadly 2010 earthquake.

In 2017, with a mixed legacy of controversy and stability, the Security Council began the withdrawal of the military soldiers but left foreign police officers to continue to provide support to the U.N.-trained Haiti National Police force. The smaller peacekeeping mission, which is now ending in October, focused on justice, human rights and police development.

In a brief statement on Friday, Cohen said the U.S. welcomes this final renewal of the peacekeeping mandate, and was mindful of the challenges ahead for Haiti. The country’s political actors, he added, need to engage in dialogue to find a lasting solution to the ongoing economic and political challenges.

Last month, following a series of tumultuous events including a 10-day lock down of the country in February by the opposition, the lower chamber of deputies fired the country’s prime minister, Jean Henry Céant, and his 21-member cabinet after only six months. The parliament has yet to vote on President Jovenel Moïse’s choice to replace Céant — former culture minister Jean Michel Lapin.

“This transition will mean a significant handover of responsibility into the hands of the Haitian government and its people,” Cohen said. “Now is the time for the government of Haiti to step up and assume its responsibility.”

For the most part, Security Council members have sought to provide a positive assessment of Haiti’s progress, with the United Nations’ help, over the last 15 years. Still, some nations remain nervous about what the lack of armed foreign police officers and armored vehicles may mean for the volatile country, which will now have to shoulder the burden of its own security.

“Haiti… has moved to a fully fledged political and economic crisis that has resulted since last July in a series of demonstrations and riots against the elevated cost of living, owing to inflation and the rapid depreciation of the local currency,” said European Union Ambassador João Vale de Almeida.

The country has seen more than 200 demonstrations since December, with protesters demanding the resignation of the president and denouncing the management of PetroCaribe, Venezuela’s discounted oil program with Haiti, in which the savings were supposed to be invested in social programs.

“The EU is concerned about the general situation in Haiti, “ Vale de Almeida said, adding that he worries about the ability of the Haiti National Police to conduct effective operations after peacekeepers’ withdrawal. “The persistent inability of the Haitian National Police and national authorities to control gang-related violence, with accusations of collusion and other dysfunctions, is of particular concern.”

Still, Friday’s decision did not come as a surprise. Diplomats have hinted that there is Haiti fatigue in international circles, and Haitians cannot expect the mission to stay forever. Earlier this year, a U.N. delegation visited the country to help prepare the report, which U.N. Secretary General António Guterres presented to Council members with a slew of recommendations, including the creation of a special political mission to continue some of the peacekeepers’ justice and security initiatives.

“The transition to a political mission… must be carefully managed and objectives-based,” Canada’s Ambassador Marc-André Blanchard warned last week. “The objectives that have not been achieved by [the peacekeeping mission] should serve as a starting point for the special political mission. Reducing the United Nations presence must also be gradual and carefully sequenced to minimize any negative impact and preserve hard-won gains made since 2004.”

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, U.N. under-secretary-general for peace operations, said the U.N. remains concerned about the political volatility, institutional fragility and economic stagnation that have exacerbated social tensions and adversely affected the humanitarian situation in Haiti. But, he said, “we trust in the capacity of the Haitian National Police to manage security” without international support.

Acknowledging that “significant improvements” in the professionalism of the Haiti National Police, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said “incidents of serious human rights violations, including cases of summary executions, continue to be reported, with limited accountability.”

“The national police conducts administrative investigations into the majority of allegations, yet judicial proceedings are rarely initiated against the alleged perpetrators,” she said. “In 2018, only 12 percent of cases of confirmed human rights violations were prosecuted, and no judicial measures were taken in the most emblematic cases. Perpetrators are consequently emboldened.”

While the special political mission will need to address these troubling human rights challenges, along with corruption and social grievances, Loune Viaud, the executive director of a Haitian nongovernmental organization, Zanmi Lasante, said the urgent humanitarian needs of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health services for gender-based violence survivors, must also be addressed with the U.N.’s future presence.

“Watching a woman die because she reached us too late; seeing families devastated after losing a mother, a wife, or a daughter in childbirth are images one cannot forget,” Viaud said, noting that cancer is also an issue that primarily affects women in Haiti. “Childbirth should not be a death sentence in Haiti… No woman should die in Haiti because of lack of access to obstetric care or cancer.”

[ad_2]