Bringing Some Sweet Relief to Haiti

As people around the world continue to send aid to Haiti, in the wake of a 7.0 earthquake on January 12, Imperial Sugar Company is sending more than 5,000 pounds of what it does better than anyone: sugar.

“The needs in Haiti are enormous, and everyone is touched by the stories and pictures on the news,” says vice president George Muller. “We felt compelled to act.”

Sugar bound for Haiti waits in the Port Wentworth plant warehouse with team members that helped on project. (l-r)Wilkin Cuter, Brenda Rose, Sheila Bryant and Ronell Clark

Those following the earthquake story already know that getting supplies to the people in need hasn’t been easy. The earthquake initially damaged Port-au-Prince’s north and south piers, making the import of supplies by ship impossible. Ten days after the earthquake, Haitian authorities and the U.S. military had finally reopened one pier, allowing one ship to dock at a time.

Working through the logistical challenges of delivering pure cane granulated sugar to Haiti is Brenda Rose, appointment coordinator at the company’s Port Wentworth refinery outside Savannah.

“I’ve been so excited to come to the office in the morning and work on this,” says Rose. “It’s tougher than I thought it would be,” Rose says. “There are so many hoops to jump through, I feel like I’m in the circus.”

Before even contending with the challenge of finding a functional dock in Haiti, Rose had to jump through her first hoop: getting all 2,560 two-pound bags of sugar to a dock in the United States. To solve that problem, she called in a favor with a friend who owns a tractor-trailer line. “He said he’d pull the container wherever we want him to,” says Rose.

Next, she had to find an organization willing to donate a shipping container — which she found through charity group Food for the Poor.

Imperial Sugar team loads truck with sugar bound for Haiti. (l-r)Reggie Simmons, Gary Hendricks, Brendea Rose, Derrick Exely and Sam Gent

Once the shipping container itself is in Haiti, it likely won’t come back. “I’ve seen the news,” says Rose. “I know that once they unload the container, it’s going to be used as housing. We’re good with that.”

The next hoop turned out to the most challenging: finding a ship to take the container to Haiti –which she finally found, after dozens of phone calls to friends in Florida and overseas.

On February 11, nearly one month after she started working on the effort, Rose watched with gratification as 18 pallets of sugar were put on a truck bound for Miami, to be transferred to a shipping container and then sent to Haiti. With the hoop-jumping behind her, Rose immediately began gathering monetary donations from co-workers to give to the Red Cross’s Haiti relief fund.

It’s a huge accomplishment, but Rose doesn’t expect praise. “Someone helped us out at one time, so it’s our turn. I don’t need accolades. God gets the glory out of all this. And I get what I need from God.”