I grew up in a small beach village called, Ducroix, in the late 90s/early 2000s in the bracket of poverty that would seem well-off to some, yet shocking in my lack to others. There were days that walking to the communal toilet, which was a bona fide hole in the ground, or the meal for the day being a bread with sugar water made me wonder if things could ever change for me. But there were other days where the toys I crafted myself became so popular that they made me a sort of neighborhood celebrity.

At 12 years old, in 2002, I finally grew tired of walking past the orphans that always looked hungry, improperly dressed, and usually high off of paint thinner. Their parents were often too poor to even feed themselves or dead from childbirth or disease. With permission from my mother, I founded Les Enfants Demunis (The Children in Need). With the official certification in hand I was able to feed and clothe up to 6 children at a time. 
 

Fast forward to now and my childhood-self would scream that I've achieved the American dream! It's time to pick up the torch of my past and continue on with the mission God created me for: to rise as high as I can go so that I can help as many as I can. With The Smith Paul Foundation I am working with a specialized team in Haiti to find the orphans that still roam the same streets today and feed them, clothe them, pay their school tuitions, buy their school supplies, and eventually provide a safe space for them to sleep in.