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Buckets of love

April 17, 2014 at 4:00 PM

Here at H&O we often wonder which far nooks and farther crannies of the world our plastic buckets find their way into, and to what ingenious uses they might be put.  Many such stories have featured across our own news pages.

We can’t be sure any of our buckets have made it as far as Haiti, but never-the-less we were warmed to read of the amazing work undertaken by the Reiser organisation in America, and what they have been doing for the troubled island of Haiti.

loveheart.jpgThe organisation was set up by Reverend Bernard Reiser, who headed up several projects personally, for instance founding the Epiphany Church in the mid 60s.  The organisation (since 2011 run by the Reverend Reiser’s niece, Ann Brau) has particularly helped provide for the poor of Haiti, with nearly all its fund raising directed to the most vulnerable and impoverished on the island, for instance its homeless, elderly and most economically disadvantaged.  The organisation has, for instance, founded the Reiser Heights School in Lespinasse, it supports an additional school, funds a university scholarship and helps with various building projects.

So where do buckets come in?  Well, here in the UK it’s hard to imagine life without the basics – water, and power.  Reiser Relief currently runs various fundraising activities.  One - an event called Keep The Wheel Turning - encourages Americans to bid for auctioned buckets, which are then decorated with thoughts and messages of hope for the people of Haiti before being transported all the way to island by 12 volunteers.

Of course, the buckets - simple and affordable - can be incredibly useful to people in Haiti and can bring much joy.  However, it is the contents that are of real use: for instance clothing, and especially fresh water, brought by Reiser Relief to the most needy on the island.  Volunteers from Reiser Relief travel to the island four times a year, witnessing the real impact of their work, evidenced by the smiles on the faces, both young and old, of those they help.  They soon find they are welcomed into the community, playing football with the children and joining in family life.

Naturally this work is necessarily on-going.  For instance the roof of one of the main buildings of the Reiser Heights School now needs replacing, and Reiser also want to help with a women’s shelter, in need of repair.  So what’s the answer?  Auction more buckets, of course!  Last year Reiser raised over £25,000, most of it from the Keep The Wheel Turning event itself.  This year’s event is on April 23rd in Andover, USA, where they will hope to raise even more money.  After all, £25,000 buys a lot of buckets!  The volunteers will then return to the island with their buckets, although the long ball plan is to enable Haitians to become independent, and succeed for themselves.

At H&O we remain eternally amazed at the multifarious uses for the plastic bucket, and we wish the Reiser Relief organisation all the best with their important work.  Collecting money in buckets is one thing… taking the proceeds all the way to Haiti is quite another!



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Category: plastics news

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