Speaker Intro was delivered by Jim Mc.
David Stanley was born in Strathroy, Ontario in 1957. He spent his early childhood in Senegal, West Africa, where his parents were missionaries. He grew up with his parents and five brothers in a grass hut with no electricity, running water, or any other foreigners until he was 17 years old, at which time he returned to Canada in 1973. When he came back to Canada, not liking snow, he quickly moved to Haiti, where his older brother was working for a hospital that worked primarily with children, providing vaccinations across the island against tuberculosis. Welcome, David.
David, a recent member of the Rotary Club of Tulsa, Oklahoma, shared his personal background and the humanitarian work he is now leading in Haiti. Raised in Africa as the child of missionaries, he later moved to Haiti as a teenager, where he learned Creole, worked as a translator, and built a long career managing shoe factories amid political instability, dictatorship, and economic collapse. He later worked in the Dominican Republic before reconnecting with a long-time Rotarian deeply involved in Haiti.
Another Rotarian asked David presenter to carry on his legacy of work in Haiti. Through Rotary District 6110, the Holton Foundation, and the Haiti Engagement Project, David now helps oversee six vetted projects in Haiti. Rather than creating new initiatives, the focus is on supporting trustworthy local organizations to avoid corruption, which has undermined many aid efforts.
The projects align with Rotary priorities and focus on reforestation, clean water, and child protection. Reforestation efforts emphasize planting food-producing trees to prevent deforestation and soil erosion while supporting food security. Clean water initiatives use bio-sand filters to reduce disease caused by contaminated water.
The greatest focus is on children, addressing extreme poverty, lack of education, child trafficking, and exploitation. David works closely with organizations such as RAFA and God’s Vision for Haiti, which rescue trafficked or orphaned children and place them with families or foster homes rather than orphanages, which are often corrupt and harmful.
David also described Haiti’s worsening crisis: gang violence, government collapse, environmental devastation, severe food shortages, and displaced families surviving in dire conditions. Despite the overwhelming scale of need, the presenter emphasized a “starfish” approach—helping one child or community at a time—believing targeted, accountable action can still make a meaningful difference.
The above summary was rendered via ChatGPT.
