Helping Haiti in the Assassination Aftermath (w/ the Billinghams) | CA #24

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Today's guests on Change Agents with Andy Stumpf, an IRONCLAD original, are Julie Colombino-Billingham and her husband Mark "Billy" Billingham.
Billy spent 27 years in the British military --17 with the SAS and 9 in the Parachute Regiment. Today he helps to spearhead the REBUILD Globally initiative, which fights poverty in Haiti by providing innovative education and job training programs that guarantee job placement alongside his wife, Julie Colombino-Billingham.
Julie is the founder and CEO of REBUILD Globally and is the CEO of Deux Mains. “Deux Mains” (which means "two hands" in French) employs local artisans who are professionally trained to handcraft beautiful leather handbags, sandals, and jewelry from responsibly sourced materials. Their goal is to create empowering jobs in Haiti and share the island's incredible craftsmanship with the world.
rebuildglobally.org/
deuxmains.com/
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[@cled3600]

I was hesitant about watching because I didn't want to listen to an hour of sadness and frustration and helplessness about the very real devastation and corruption in Haiti. I'm so glad I did listen because I learned a lot and was inspired by the concept and execution of Deux Mains projects. I'm passing it around now, and I hope there will be some orders and/or donations from here in Jerusalem.

[@Dr.Ian-Plect]

Billy served 9 years in the Paras, over 20 years in 22 SAS, attaining the highest soldier rank. - certified SF and Counter Terrorist Sniper Instructor - Advanced Evasive Driving Instructor - Tracking/Jungle Warfare/Navigation Instructor - Demolition/Sabotage Instructor - Mountaineering/Rock Climbing/Abseiling/Ice climbing Instructor - Combat Survival/RTI Instructor - Counter Terrorist Instructor (all options) - worked as a Patrol Medic/Trauma Life Support agent for five hospital attachments

[@paulc8588]

Would LOVE to see a general and more in depth conversation with Andy and Billy

[@keiramorales8116]

thank you for your service.

[@AKsusan907]

Excellent interview folks! Been to Haiti couple times, medical missions, up the mountain. Loved the ppl…terrible gov hx. Will keep watching. Godspeed to you & your org.

[@kevinmitnick1913]

Have you even been down to the Department Grand Anse?

[@caiotefu9856]

Gotta love Billy...😊

[@aprilsmith3683]

It takes one person to step up... Others will follow... Such a gorgeous English Bulldog... Aaawwwhhh... 🇿🇦🩷🐕

[@internet_internet]

Great people, great company, great causes.

[@ryanjones4917]

I've been to Haiti a few times. Infrastructure is definitely at the top of the list of needs. The biggest barrier to success I saw was corruption. There are outside organizations that want to/will help with poverty. Building infrastructure will help decrease poverty, but corruption gets in the way of getting anything done. Security was definitely an issue as well and seems to be more so as of late. My last trip was cut short, due to riots. The president was assassinated a few days after I got home.

[@kevinmitnick1913]

I agree brother. I have found that the corruption starts above the Commune level (communes are like Townships in the USA but with greater autonomy than American Townships). The corruption starts at the Arrondissements (which I think are pointless units of government) and Department levels...and the National government is a lost cause. You may find Jean Ernest Muscadin interesting. He is imo the next President of Haiti if he doesn't get assassinated. He runs Miragoane and has a zero tolerance policy toward bandi. He is beloved by Haitians everywhere. Haitians pray that he gets cloned so one of him can be in every of Haiti's 10 departments. He also asks people to report government officials (e.g. clerks at the customs office who issue passports) who ask for bribes. And he says he will "deal" with them. He is known for always carrying his 5.56 and 9mm on the thigh. Muscadin keeps the bandi/gangs out of Grand Sud (Departments Nippes, Grand Anse, and Sud) bc the main road from PAP to Grand Sud runs through Miragoane. He has his own independent anti-bandi force who run their own surveillance and check points. I have an acquaintance who just helped raise $100k to buy Muscadin two armored trucks. The level of love and respect Haitians have for Muscadin is unparalleled by any American politician.

[@ryanjones4917]

@kevinmitnick1913 This is encouraging to hear, assuming he takes office and isn't corrupted in the process. The people there desperately need some relief. It's strange that I saw both extreme poverty along with gratitude and innocent happiness in some of the children in the same place. I was mostly in Cap Haitian and the surrounding area. I will look into him, thanks for the input.

[@kevinmitnick1913]

@@ryanjones4917 Yes. Muscadin is good news but remains the only person in a position of authority I can cite as being a good honest leader actively employed in government in Haiti. I met some Commune Majistras who are good people but they lack resources to do anything. I have yet to hear anything bad about Muscadin. About a month ago it looked like PAP was trying to relocate him from Miragoane to Jacmel but he said no. He is a Commissioner of Government for Miragoane/Nippes--which is like a State Attorney General in the USA.

[@ryanjones4917]

Hopefully more like him will rise and the people will take notice.

[@kaltonian]

Incredible achievements guys

[@jaypee389]

Iridium. Haiti has Iridium. Hell, I got a buddy with General Motors that needs pallets of Iridium. Start with Iridium...move on to manufacturing.

[@kevinmitnick1913]

Yes they technically have the largest known Iridium deposits but they are not economically viable to extract at the moment. The Iridium was discovered by researchers studying the meteor impact theory for the extinction of the dinosaurs. The Iridium is in the KT barrier layer. The1.5"-3" seam is visible between PAP and MIragoane (i forget the town name). I passed the research report made by the paleontologists to an acquaintance of mine to review if the site could be good to start a mining operation. He said no. According to his math, we would need to process many many tons of dirt to get 1 ounce of Iridium. i.e. millions of cubic yards of soil would need to be removed to strip mine it. Haiti has commercially viable gold deposits in the North East. Haiti also has abundant raw materials for manufacturing concrete. High quality limestone deposits are all over the place--at least to the places in Haiti I've been to.

[@jaypee389]

Ford, G.M. and Monsanto can provide many jobs. United Fruit...hell...I got a buddy with United Fruit. Get ya started. Start with pineapples and move on to G.M. parts.

[@kevinmitnick1913]

If your friend at GM is actually in a position in charge of manufacturing and open to setting up a shop in Haiti, I'd like to meet them. My small crew and I have been working to court large companies (e.g. Dubai Ports World) to partner with to build a manufacturing plant/industrial park in Jeremie City, Haiti. Jeremie Haiti does not have a gang problem and peaceful. hand-work manufacturing would be perfect. e.g. A GM supplier named Cooper Standard makes GM's fuel line connectors. Each connector includes 2 to 3 1/4" o-rings in/on them and this is done by hand. AG Simpson pays workers $16+/hour. The minimum wage in Haiti is 500 Gourde (local currency) per day which is about $3.25/day. Jeremie also has a port capable of shipping directly from the Jeremie to USA (but only small ships under 350' can use the port). If workers in such an American factory were $1-$2/hour, we would get the cream of the crop and at $1-$2/hour, it would start a "middle class" in Jeremie. It's the Henry Ford $5/day principle. Under the U.S. HOPE Act, textile products made in Haiti can be exported to the USA with no tax consequences or tariffs. I was just in Haiti this February. I had no safety/security problems. FYI Haiti, which is the same size as New Jersey, consists of 10 Departments which function like the 50 States in the USA. Most of the violence is confined to Department Centre (Port-au-Prince). We are looking to set up a manufacturing base in Department Grand Anse. We have built relationships with local leaders already.

[@daveboon5992]

Amazon is the answer !!

[@killermonjero]

It has been a failed state as long as I can remember and will continue to be until France takes it back. These people have noble intentions, but they are ultimately pointless.

[@kevinmitnick1913]

Or some of the Departments declare independence from Port-au-Prince and chart their own path. The Grand Sud (Departments Nippes, Grand Anse, and Sud) don't have gang problems. They are just poor and can't get any commerce flowing because they are ham-strung by the National laws in PAP. e.g. There are only two international ports and two international airports in Haiti. And PAP wont grant that legal status to other ports and airports so they can maintain central control.

[@The_Red_Off_Road]

Andy, one of the reasons I watch your show is because you don’t have a bunch of bullshit ad reads. I usually can’t sit through all of danger close. Unless it’s somebody like Ed. But I usually quit watching because of ads. SRS has too many ads too

[@tenplus1025]

Sean Penn…I’m out 😂

[@johnhopkinson4054]

Yeah he comes off as a dick but occasionally he does good things around the world

[@KFrog602]

Why is it we care about hati but not America and Americans???

[@kevinmitnick1913]

Without Haiti, there would be no America. It was only bc of the Haitian revolution and their defeat of France that forced Napoleon to sell the Louisiana territory to the USA. Napoleon lost 25% of his cash flow when he lost Haiti. The only way to continue funding his plan for world domination was to sell Louisiana to USA. Haiti is only 40 miles from the USA (Navassa Island) and 90 miles from Guantanamo Bay. Haiti is the ideal place to offshore US manufacturing-compared to China. If the USA does not help Haiti build infrastructure and develop, China and Russia will step in. China offered $2billion to build water and sewage systems in Port-au-Prince right before Moise was killed. Some Haitians now waive the Russian flag in protests. The USA still has not returned the gold it took for "safe keeping" back in 1914. history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/haiti There is also the issue of whether it is cheaper to build basic infrastructure in Haiti or cheaper to re-settle the thousands of Haitian migrants who illegally enter the USA at a growing rate. The USA profited immensely from Haiti in the past. During WW2, the US Army operated timber cutting and rubber tree plantations in Haiti employing 90,000 workers at their peak.

[@movetanzo3320]

Haiti got Iridium and uranium, gold and few other undiscovered resources, so the west don’t actually care bout Haiti they care bout what Haiti got n what they just discovered

[@johnhopkinson4054]

Not sure what your pont is, in relation to what ?

[@blncosicario5046]

so much better episodes when its not zoom, i click off when its zoom

[@ericthomas9915]