From Caribbean360

The Hollywood star was among a group of volunteers who performed the grisly task weekly, giving the poor a dignified burial.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Thursday March 20, 2014 – Hollywood actress Olivia Wilde, who is generally associated with the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous, left it all behind to volunteer in Haiti, exchanging her role as one of the beautiful people for a stint in a ghoulish real-life horror story.

In the spring edition of Darling magazine, which is due to hit US newsstands today, Wilde and her business partner Babs Burchfield recall their harrowing experiences in the earthquake-ravaged country, explaining how it changed their outlook and led to the founding of their company, Conscious Commerce.

As they wrote in one section: “We stood next to each other, cigarettes dangling from our mouths, rum burning our throats, hazmat suits covering everything but our sweaty faces, clutching a handful of rosaries each.

“We were aware of the unlikelihood of the moment – two white American girls working to bag bodies in a morgue – but this was Haiti, and we had come to expect the darkly unexpected.

“We were among a group of local volunteers who made this gruesome journey weekly, giving a dignified burial to the city’s discarded poor.

“The cigarettes were to mask the retched smell, the rum to ease the shock.”

Haiti, which is still suffering from the devastating effects of the massive quake that killed close to 200,000 people, has been the recipient of several celebrity efforts to assist with its recovery.

Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, who received the Nobel Laureates Peace Prize for his work there, is known to have raised millions of dollars in aid, as well as provide logistical and hands-on support from the outset in 2010 to the present.

Wilde and Burchfield, meanwhile, returned home from their grim interlude determined to invest in an alternative way to raise funds for good causes. This led to the founding of Conscious Commerce, which they describe “an experiment in living (and shopping) with a conscience.”

“This is our attempt to be useful humans, and we’d like to share what we’ve learned so far,” the two write on their website.

“Along with pointing you in the direction of cool, ethically sound businesses, we have paired some of our favourite brands with small, locally run organizations, to create limited edition products.

“These exciting collaborations are our way of bringing together consciousness and commerce, and making them make sweet, sweet love,” they say.

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/haiti_news/1107313.html?utm_source=Caribbean360+Newsletters&utm_campaign=d6e6bb4713-Vol_9_Issue_057_News3_20_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_350247989a-d6e6bb4713-39393477#ixzz2wWtBeUHi