Our Story

The Open Road

Some of the clearest moments of my life have come in the saddle of a Harley.

There's a freedom out on the road that's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't felt it. No phone, no meetings, no noise — just you, the machine, and your own thoughts. For me, riding has always been a form of meditation. It's where I connect with myself, where I can hear what actually matters.

And even back in my twenties, out on those rides, I knew something: I wanted to spend my life helping people. I built a successful career in worldwide logistics — decades of it — and I'm grateful for everything that career has given me and my family. Looking back, the moments that gave me the most fulfillment were the years I spent teaching and helping others grow professionally. I didn't realize it at the time, but those moments were pointing at something. Through all those years, I always felt I wasn't yet following my true calling.

It turns out the calling was patient. It was waiting for the right moment, and the right reason.

Burkina Faso Changed Everything

The turning point came through family. When Therese and I traveled to Burkina Faso to visit her family in Ouagadougou, I saw the country the way few outsiders ever do — not as a tourist, but through the eyes of the people who live its reality every day.

What I learned stayed with me. In the northern regions, violent extremist attacks have destroyed entire villages — and too often, the children are the ones who survive, emerging from hiding to find that every adult they knew is gone. Layered on top of the violence is poverty so severe that loving families are left unable to care for their own children. Conflict creates orphans. Poverty creates orphans. Desperation creates orphans.

There was no single dramatic moment for me. It was the cumulative weight of seeing it firsthand, listening to Therese and her family, and researching what was happening in a crisis that remains largely invisible to the rest of the world.

In all my conversations about this work, I've encountered only five people who knew of the country, and just three who knew where it is: north of Ghana, in West Africa. More than twenty million people, in one of the world's most overlooked crises — and most of the world doesn't know it exists. That invisibility is part of why I had to act.

This time, I didn't just hear the calling. I answered it.

Five Years of Quiet Groundwork

Haven Harbor Heritage didn't begin with a press release. It began with five years of patient, self-funded preparation — all of it paid for out of my own pocket while working full-time.

In that time, we secured three properties in Burkina Faso where our facilities will be built, shipped a vehicle to the country to support operations on the ground, and completed our legal formation as a recognized 501(c)(3) public charity in the United States.

And because trust is everything to me. Without the trust of our donors, we have nothing — so we will never misrepresent who we are, what we've done, or what we plan to do. Not once. Not ever.

Why "Haven Harbor"

I've spent nearly thirty years vacationing on the coast of Maine, and the maritime world has always spoken to me. A harbor is the safe zone — the place a ship runs to when the open sea turns dangerous.

That's the vision: a safe harbor for every child.

The name may seem ambiguous at first — it doesn't mention Burkina Faso, or even Africa. That's deliberate. We're building this organization to impact as many children, in as many countries, as we possibly can. Burkina Faso is where the work begins, but a safe harbor means the same thing in every language and on every coast. Our name will translate anywhere in the world, because the need for safety is universal.

And the nautical theme runs deeper than the name. The compass points the way. The lighthouse guides ships home. And the anchor holds — every child who comes through our doors will have the anchor of the Haven Harbor family for the rest of their lives. We exist not just to shelter children, but to orient them — to give them the direction, education, and foundation to navigate their own lives, knowing they always have a place to drop anchor.

Turning Disadvantage Into Advantage

That phrase is mine, and I mean every word of it. But before I describe what we're building, let me be straight with you about where we are — because I will never let our vision read like a finished product.

Haven Harbor is in the construction phase today. Properties are secured; facilities are not yet built; no children are yet in our care. Everything below is what your partnership will make real — and we will report our progress to you every step of the way.

It starts with the fundamentals every child deserves: security, safety, comfort, and a full stomach. A child in survival mode can't learn. Our first promise to every child who comes through our doors will be simple: you are safe here.

Then comes the part I'm most passionate about: education that teaches children how to think, not what to think. Critical thinking. Deductive reasoning. The ability to see a situation from more than one angle. Our long-term curriculum plan includes instruction in French, the national language, and English — opening doors across the globe.

The goal isn't to produce any particular kind of graduate. Maybe a business owner. Maybe a pilot. Maybe something nobody's invented yet. What matters is that every child leaves educated, grounded, and carrying something most of them lost: the feeling of having a family. Haven Harbor alumni will always have a home to come back to.

The Honest Truth

Ask me what I want supporters to understand, and I won't give you a polished pitch.

I'm just a guy with a dream. I'm not perfect, and I make mistakes. I will be the first one to raise my hand and say, "I have no idea what we're doing right now — let's figure this out together."

I spent years as an instructor in my corporate career — some of the most fulfilling work I've ever done — so I know good teaching when I see it. But our children deserve dedicated, professionally qualified educators, and that's exactly who we'll hire, working from proven curriculum. I'm not a builder, so we'll work with skilled people on the ground. What I bring is what I've always brought: the ability to earn trust, keep my word, and make every decision by one simple test — does this serve the mission?

Long-Term Vision

I'm not building something that dies with me. I'm building a legacy that will serve children for generations — in Burkina Faso first, and then wherever children need a safe harbor.

And I'm honest about the fact that I can't do it alone. Haven Harbor needs financial supporters. It also needs people willing to donate their talents — web design, administration, education expertise, professional skills of every kind. If you can't give money, give what you know. If you can give both, even better.

We can build it together.

So here is my question — the only one that truly matters:

What We're Here to Do