The container sat in Port-au-Prince for six weeks, until February 12, 2023, when we received the final invoicing for broker fees, walk-through fees, additional-day-in-port fees, customs fees, and transportation-to-the-new clinic fees. These fees totaled $8,610. (Often, donations of medical equipment and supplies acquired stateside, are not used as intended due to lack of funds at shipping time. Contents have to be randomly dispersed at ports.)

  

However, in our situation:

  

1) We had come too far to see everything unravel at Haiti's doorstep; we knew of the enormous time, money, and efforts that had brought the project into Florida and then into Haiti.

  

2) Without payment, we knew that customs officials would disperse the contents of the container at will.

  

3) We personally knew of the great need the receiving community (and surrounding communities) had without access to medical care and we believed our next move was the right thing to do.

  

Remember the question we posed at the beginning: What would you have done?!

  

| CLICK to read what we did