Pest Management Professional, May 2016

ADVERTORIAL Raleigh Jenkins sees hope in Haiti Bayer takes its mission of Science for A Better Life very seriously The company is committed to operating sustainably and to addressing social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen while at the same time respecting the interests of all its stakeholders Values play a central role in the daily work of the Bayer team represented by the word LIFE Leadership Integrity Flexibility and Efficiency Its in that spirit that this month Bayer brings to you a profile of a customer who embodies those values and is doing his part to elevate the important work of our industry while creating a better life for society Raleigh Jenkins When Houston based ABC Home Commercial Services President Raleigh Jenkins became president of the National Pest Management Association NPMA in October 2009 he had no idea how profoundly it would change his life Thats because less than three months in on Jan 12 2010 a magnitude 70 earthquake struck the country of Haiti affecting an estimated 3 million residents Not long after Haitis Department of Interior reached out to the NPMA with a desperate plea What could be done about the pest problems springing up in the wake of the earthquakes devastation We put together a team of business owners entomologists and NPMA staff and flew over to Haiti to observe the devastation Jenkins recalls Once we got there we almost immediately were able to identify two priorities hospital emergency rooms and orphanages Because hospitals were in triage mode pest control was practically nonexistent he explains Flies and mosquitoes buzzed around staff as they performed surgeries Rats were destroying medicine almost as soon as it hit the shelves It was horrific Jenkins admits During the trip though our team was able to install mosquito netting and perform exclusions for flying insects We also did some rodent control to crash that population Once back home the team got the message out to the professional pest management industry which responded with 65000 in donations over the next two years With the funding the team was able to work with Haitian pest management companies to ensure the pest strategies would continue By 2012 he says the medical pest prevention program was up and running The team could then turn its attention to the second priority orphanages Fifty percent of children born in Haiti after 2010 dont make it till the age of 5 he says It was easy to see that we had to do something to turn that around In response Jenkins founded a 501c3 organization A Childs Hope One of the first tasks was to find a place to build his vision for the charity and he found it on top of the mountain La Montagne a 60 minute rocky ride by truck from the Haitian town of Jacmel It was there that Jenkins met Rev Lionel Frederick who founded a school for the mountain children These children normally wouldnt get a meal on an average day if they werent at the school Jenkins says Brothers Dennis Bobby holding a photo of his grandson Moss and Raleigh Jenkins in front of Moss Hall We reacted immediately to the need and for the past four years A Childs Hope has provided a free lunch to the students On this mountain Jenkins realized A Childs Hope had found the location to fulfill its mission of bringing in abandoned children The organization bought 13 acres surrounding the academy and just completed construction on its first house style dormitory it can hold 48 children plus staff members It is named Moss Hall in memory of Jenkins great nephew John Moss Pieratt Jr who passed away at just 14 months old in 2014 from Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood SUDC The funds for this project have come by and large from the pest management industry from Associated Pest Control Orkin Pest Control Steritech and many others Jenkins says The 480000 that has been raised so far has allowed us to complete construction on the building and also cover food and essentials for the children who live there Six students are currently residing in Moss Hall with staff members with the goal of 12 living there by the end of the year Thirteen acres in Haiti is huge Jenkins says noting that especially in urban cities like Port au Prince Haitians often live in crowded apartment complexes with few parks nearby Its a place for these students to grow up and play and be kids and live healthy lives Beyond the typical fundraising galas and donations Jenkins says that A Childs Hope abides by the wisdom of If you a give a man a fish he eats for a day if you teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime Its in that spirit that the organization purchases locally grown Haitian Arabica coffee beans grinds the beans into coffee and packages them for retail sale in the U S with all proceeds benefiting A Childs Hope Its available in bags as well as Keurigcompatible single serve cups It helps them become a self sustained community Jenkins says To order A Cup of Hope or to donate outright visit AChildsHope org 1 800 331 2867 www 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