Day 12: Simply, Love God and Love Others

Dributts has created a simple product to help save lives. in 2013, over 1.6 million children lost their lives to fecal related diseases. Most of these children were under the age of 5. We created a very simple product to help free families from disease. When these diapers are used correctly, families have the tools to control fecal in their homes form their babies. This is a simple solution to a huge problem. 

Over 2000 years ago, a simple baby was born to save the world. He was born in a manger in a sleepy town called Bethlehem. Jesus came to be the solution to a world dying of sin. He is the reason we celebrate this season. Jesus cam to give us the greatest gift we could ever receive. He gave us the simple gift of Grace.

Later, Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment. He could of answered with a 12 point thesis telling everyone how they should live. He could have complicated it and made it too hard to follow. However, He answered in the simplest of ways. Love God and Love Others. He gave us all the simplest way to follow him. Simply, Be Love. 

DriButts tries to follow these two simple rules. Simply, love others with the love that only He can give us. We love people by providing a simple product that they can see His love through us. We not only want to save lives through diapers, but also share the love of God through the time we spend with each family. We simply Love them because He first loved us. 

Click Here To Donate Diaper

Day 11: Fox News Tells Our Story

After witnessing poor sanitation and poverty in Haiti, Michael and Starla Wahl created a reusable diaper to help its children stay healthy Watch video covering topics about Infectious Disease.

Michael Wahl is a 40-year-old missions pastor who made it his duty to ensure healthy and sanitary living for people in developing nations. As part of his work he helped install water filtration systems in some of the poorest parts of Haiti where there is no running water or bathrooms. During his time in Haiti, he began to notice something that troubled him.

“A mama was holding on to a baby that was naked and the mom bent down and picked up fecal matter with her hand and threw it out of the house after the baby had went and done her business on her,” Wahl, who lives in Georgia, told FoxNews.com. This was not an isolated case and Wahl knew that his efforts to bring clean water would be moot if this extreme poverty was bringing people into such close proximity with human waste.

Dr. Joseph Rahimian, an infectious disease specialist and NYU Langone, told FoxNews.com that there are a whole host of deadly diseases, bacteria and parasites that can be transmitted through stool contact and “anything that reduces the transmission of those diseases will be very helpful.”Knowing this, Wahl decided he had to do something to help avoid illnesses that are easily avoidable.The solution was simple: a diaper. But the execution would prove to be much more difficult.

Disposable diapers were too expensive and without a proper sanitation department in Haiti, there would be no safe place to throw them away. After careful research, Wahl ruled out reusable cloth diapers because the materials typically used can also trap bacteria.

Wahl decided his best option would be to research fabrics and start making diapers himself. With the help of his wife, Starla, and their friends, they came up with DriButts, a breathable diaper that they say doesn’t trap bacteria.

“It is made out of athletic Dri-FIT material,” Starla said, adding, ”the one that we use is a polyester spandex blend for the outer shell and the inner shell is a polyester lining.” The insert that is placed inside the diaper is made out of bamboo.

To help make DriButts a reality, the couple reached out to two Georgia companies, Slingshot Product Development Group and Supply.com, for funding and establishing contacts. Slingshot even arranged to have the diapers mass produced in China, but at the time it would take months before they could get started. Wahl, however, knew he didn’t have months to wait so they did things the old fashioned way – sewing the diapers at their kitchen table. Together, they made a whopping 700 pairs.

Each diaper costs $15, but the company asks for $30 donations so that they can send two diapers to families in need. In addition to the diapers, the families learn the importance of proper disposal of waste and how to clean the DriButts.

Families are taught to wash the diapers with soap and water and hang them up to dry, which should take about 40 minutes. They should throw waste in latrines or bury it in areas where people don’t go.

Dr. Rahimian said that this information is crucial because without knowing how to properly dispose of waste, the diapers would, in effect, be pointless.

The company believes in transparency and sends photos of the families it’s helping to donors and ensures that their money is not going to waste. In addition to training, recipients of DriButts are monitored for a year to make sure that they are using the diapers.

Michael and Starla strongly believe that their company is saving lives. For more information, visit DriButts.com.

Click Here To Donate To Dributts

Day 10: The Babies Coming

Babies are a blessing. One of the highlights of Dributts is loving on these sweet babies we get to hold and put diapers on. When we started doing Dributts our rule was the mom, dad, or caregiver had to have their baby with them so to receive diapers. We do this for transparency so donors know where their money goes and they can see the faces of the lives they helped change. Also, we had this rule because we wanted to make sure they had babies. In some poverty stricken areas some people will not be honest to gain something they can sell to make some money. This is a rule we put in place to help keep the integrity of our company strong. 

On one diaper drop we came across a situation that forced us to reconsider our rule. We had a mom come to us for diapers. When we asked where her baby was, she said it wasn’t here yet. We asked her if she could go get her baby. She grabbed her stomach and pointed to her belly. She was pregnant! Someone had the idea to do an “I’m expecting!” sign for the donor pic since we had no baby for the picture and it was a perfect! Now at every diaper drop we have several “I’m expecting signs” for pregnant moms.  Dributts is happy to provide these expecting moms diapers for their babies to use when they arrive. What a blessing it is to be able to provide diapers not only to make life easier for these moms, but also so they wont have to worry about their baby getting sick or dying from fecal matter related diseases. We are blessed to be able to give them the tools to help control that.  

Day9: DriButts Partners Save Lives

We have been so humbled to see the amount of people loving what Dributts is doing.  We wanted to find ways to harness this excitement and let people get involved and make a difference in the lives of others.  We created several avenues to get people involved.  One of these avenues is though church partnerships. 

We’ve had  churches ask us if DriButts could be their mission project for youth camps, mission week, and VBS. So we started a DriButts Partnership Program this year and it was amazing! These churches raise support and donations for diapers by setting a diaper goal and doing a campaign. We provide them the needed information and they create a fun campaign to get everyone excited. Once the funds are raised Dributts takes the diapers on their next diaper drop to deliver. We take group pics of the families that received their diapers saying “Thank you, Oakdale VBS” or that church groups name for each set of diapers raised. Then we send the pics back to the church contact person to show the church group the lives of the people they changed.

 Children love this and it really gets them thinking about missions and the kind of things people in 3rd world countries struggle with.  It also gets them involved and making a difference in the lives of others. When they can see the faces of the lives they helped change, it really makes a huge impact.

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We were asked to go teach the missions part of a VBS in Kentucky. It was such a great experience sharing what Dributts is doing with all these children. They asked so many questions and really started thinking about missions on a deeper level. One little girl, about 7 years old, was touched by the pictures she saw and concerned that some kids did not have adequate clothing or toys to play with. She asked how she could help. She ended up with an idea to raise support for clothes and toys to take on her churches next mission trip! We love getting to be a part of stories like this. It’s not just about Dributts raising money for diapers, but helping to prepare and guide young hearts with a desire to help change the world. We love Guiding and preparing the minds of young missionaries and humanitarians of the future. 

DriButts goal for 2016 is to partner with over 60 churches. We cant physically go to every church and do the mission class like we did in Kentucky, However we can supply churches with all the tool to do their own. We’re so thankful and blessed for God opening the door for Dributts to be created and a blessing to so many. We pray you will join us on this journey and help us change lives.

Click Here For More Info About Partnering With DriButts

Day 8: The Mountain School

While DriButts was in Haiti last summer, we met a young man who was trying to do some good in his community. We drove up a mountain littered with huts and shacks. As we reached as far as we could drive, we hiked a short way to the top of the mountain. We ended up at a small metal hut that had been converted into a school. This young man sectioned off a small area in the back of his house, the size of a small bedroom closet, for his living area. The rest of the house, about the size of a small living room, was used to educate 50 kids with ages ranging from 5-18 years of age. His education was at maybe a 8th grade level and he was working with very little supplies. He did this out of love. He said he’d watch kids, whose families could not afford school, run around the mountain with nothing to do. He wanted to give them an opportunity to learn like the other kids. His heart ached for them.

This young teacher is willing to sacrifice his life for the children in his community. He has literally given up his home to see these young children have some type of education. So, DriButts has begun collecting school supplies to help this young teacher. We are also exploring other ways that we can help this teacher and this extremely impoverished community.  

It’s stories like this that really touch our hearts and begin to make a difference in the lives of others. We can’t wait to see the difference it makes when we can deliver the school items and be at a point where Dributts can financially be able to support this little school in the mountains. DriButts really does change lives! 

Day 7: Babies Need Diapers

Could you imagine going one day without putting a diaper on your child?

 We all need a safe way to use the bathroom, no matter your age, gender, or income bracket. In developing countries, when this issue is not handled correctly, disease begins to spread. In these areas, over 80% of disease is the result of poor sanitation.

In poor developing countries we noticed something very important. Most of the babies are naked. That’s when it hit us...BABIES DON'T USE TOILETS, BABIES USE DIAPERS.

Babies are the biggest cause of the problem. Without a diaper, their fecal matter ends up all over the house. They contaminate everything including the food and water source. Babies are bringing the sanitation issue into the home and their parents feel like they have no answer. 

That’s why we created

Dributts Diapers

The Dributts Diaper is a reusable diaper made from  athletic fabric. We made it wringable and quick drying, so it can be easily cleaned in a bucket with soap and water.

Outer shell:

-       Athletic Fabric

-       Durable

-       Quick dry shell

-       Fits infant-2 years

-       Breathable

-       Light weight

-       Low risk of rash

Inside Absorbent:

-       Durable Bamboo Fabric

-       Extra absorbent fibers

-       Antibacterial tendencies

-       Quick dry liner

-       Absorbs 10x its weight

-       Retains liquid

Easy to clean


Click Here To Donate DriButts Diapers

Day 6: Plywood People + DriButts

The Dributts diaper idea began in January of 2013 while on a mission trip to Haiti.  The diaper has evolved through the years, but the initial concept and idea has stayed the same.  We began making only a few diapers at a time from our home. We knew there was a giant need, so we just started producing them in small batches. Honestly, it was still more of an idea than anything else. That’s when Plywood People came into the picture and helped.

We submitted our idea to a conference called Plywood Presents. Plywood People is an Atlanta based non-profit that is an incubator for social justice start-ups. They hold an annual conference called Plywood Presents. They also produce an ideas contest during their 2 day event. Every year they select 5 contestants who have a great social justice style idea and allow them to pitch it to a panel of judges for the opportunity to win $5000. We were selected to present our idea during the 2014 conference.

We were all so excited to be picked to present our diaper at the conference. However, we had a few challenges right away. We really only had an idea and a diaper. They wanted a company name, logo, website and presentation in one week. We had none of the above. So, we called the company DriButts. The name worked for us because we use Dri-Fit fabrics to cover butts around the world. Seriously, that's how we came up with the name. Then, we contacted some friends to produce a logo, website and presentation ideas. We somehow pulled it all together for the presentation in less than a week. 

Our pitch had to be less than 5 min and we presented it in front of about 1000 people. They had the panel of judges right up front and then they asked question to each presenter after the pitch. We presented the idea and actually won the entire contest. Honestly, this was gigantic for our small company. We took the $5000 and invested it into diapers. We covered over 200 Butts with the winnings and fully launched our company. This was the launching pad for Dributts and our mission to change lives.

We are forever grateful for companies like Plywood People. Their contest helped start our non-profit and their encouragement has helped us move forward. As we grow and continue to change lives, we will always remember how we got started and the people that help us get their. 

Day 5: A Heart To Serve

Christmas isn’t just about giving. It’s also about serving. I’d like to tell you about a friend of ours in the field who serves God, his family, community and Dributts. Meet Pastor Easau. He works as a translator and is one of our leaders on the ground in Haiti. He organizes the diaper drops for us in the field. He goes into local villages to talk to the leaders, finds the moms in need of diapers and helps up with our diaper drops on the ground. 

Easau has been helping Dributts long before Dributts was even a non-profit.  His 2 young children were some of the first to receive the earliest proto-types of the field diaper. His heart and dedication to serve his people and his humility to help them in the roughest of situations is a beautiful thing. He has such compassion and love for his people and the children. He does so much for others and never complains.

After our last diaper drop, we were sitting around a table talking about the living conditions of the people in the area we were serving. We were currently staying in a facility with no running water or electricity. It was rough and so hot. We learned that for most families in Haiti, this is normal. We realized in the last 3 years we’ve known Easau, we had never asked about his living conditions. We started asking questions and learned that Easau did not have running water or electricity in his home. The cost of utilities is very high, so most go without. Some buy barrels of water to use for washing and drinking water. Some are fortunate enough to have a well for water that many share, or they go to the creeks to get water. It is considered a luxury in Haiti to have running water, a shower or an indoor bathroom. All the people in this area live in these conditions, including Easau. Yet, he never complains about his circumstances and is alway ready to help others. He is a true example of the amazing people we work with around the world.

DriButts is a better company because of people like Easau who have dedicate their lives to changing others. When you support DriButts, You are also supporting leaders like Easau and his family. We love changing lives through diapers and employing amazing leaders in the field. We Change Lives! 

Click Here To Support Dributts

Day 4: Thankfulness

So many good feelings come from the holidays. The one I’d like to focus on today is thankfulness. We say thank you when we receive gifts or when someone does something nice for us. We’re also thankful for family and friends, memories made and time spent with loved ones. Each day I know we are thankful for are the most basic of needs like a job, a house to live in, utilities, food, water, and sanitation. Today’s story is about a group of moms who were thankful for a gift given to them in the midst of their poverty.

On a diaper drop this past May we were in a new area of Croix des Bouquets, Haiti. We met some very sweet moms in a small village in that area. We began the diaper drop with our education segment first. We not only educate them on use of the diapers, we also make sure the moms understand the diapers are not free. We begin to share with them the story of how someone paid for them to have the diapers. We let them know that their are people who care about them and want to keep their family safe from disease. After we take the “Thank You” picture, we share with them the name of the person who donated the diapers. 

After the diaper drop was over we noticed a group of ladies hanging out near the back of the church. They got up and approached us with huge smiles on their faces. Through the interpreter, with tears in their eyes, this is what they said,” We appreciate that someone in America thought about us and helped us to keep our babies safe. This will make such a difference for us. Please tell our donors thank you, not just from a picture, but from us.” One lady even said her donors name as the interpreter talked. They had tears of joy and such big, beautiful smiles. After many hugs and tears we all took a group picture. One mom hugged me again and then handed me her precious little angel to hold for the picture. I was so touched. These moms don’t have much, but were so thankful that other were thinking of them and willing to help provide a need. In the midst of poverty, there are still things to be thankful for.

- Starla Wahl, DriButts Co-Founder

Day 3: The Medical Clinic

Dributts was invited to a government run clinic in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti to pass out donated diapers. As we walked into the clinic there were over a thousand people lined up in a small area in hopes to get some type of medical attention. As we walked through the crowd, we met the head nurse who was excited that Dributts was there to pass out diapers. She began to tell us that she had been a nurse for over 30 years serving her community. Even with an education and job, life is still hard and it takes a lot to get by. Only 1 in 10,000 people have access to proper medical care in Haiti. However, she finds ways to get them the medicine and care they need. She also teaches classes to parents on nutrition, hygiene and self care. When she hears about a product or organization that can help the health and well being of the community she serves, she finds a way to get it to the people in her community. That’s how Dributts got invited into a government run facility.

We rushed to get set up and began passing out diapers in a small examining room off the main hall in the clinic . We quickly began to get overwhelmed at the long lines of moms and dads with babies waiting to get their diapers. It was amazing to see the need for something as simple as a diaper. However, it was a little overwhelming and we were getting warn down quickly.  As we were working, four other nurses saw the need we had and came in asking if they could help us. They were all nursing students who went to a local nursing school in Port-Au-Prince. They wanted to help because they, like the head nurse, were so grateful to be able to go to nursing school and wanted to help the people of their community. They struggle with daily life just like everyone else, but find joy in being able to help others during their hard times. These four student nurses worked hard stuffing the inserts in the diapers, helping to put the diapers on the babies, and talking to the mothers. After spending some time with them, we learned they all had babies at home who had no diapers. Even with a job and education most families still cannot afford the luxury of a simple disposable diaper. So after the diaper drop was over each of these young mothers received 2 donated Dributts diapers for their babies. They were all so overjoyed and excited to receive the gift of DriButts. These nurses go above and beyond to help the people in their community. They know what it means to invest in your community and make a difference in the lives of others. Even though they have it hard, they know how blessed they are and that others who have it worse. These amazing nurses all show what true compassion and love really looks like. 

This season is about the ultimate gift of Jesus who is the savior of the world. This is a gift that none of us deserve, yet was given freely to us all. We can see that same spirit of giving here in those who serve the less fortunate. This holiday season while we’re having fun providing gifts for our loved ones, lets take that extra step and reach out into our community to help meet the needs of those who are struggling. Together, we change lives. 

Click Here To Donate Diapers To A Family In Need

Day 2: Adopted Family

Christmas is a time we get together with friends and family. We relive old memories and create new ones. Family traditions are started and carried on with and it’s a time we all look forward to. Sometimes we unknowingly take this for granted. Just for a few minutes I’d like for you to consider what it would be like to not have any family. It’s a heartbreaking thought, but for millions of people all over the world this is a reality.  Sometimes families are created out of need or necessity and formed through the most unlikely of ways.  Here is a story of one of these unlikely families.

During one of our diaper drops we had the privilege of meeting an amazing couple that came for diapers with 14 kids! After talking with them, we learned they ran an orphanage called Bon Samaritan in Leogane.  The couple worked as a team to manage the kids, but they said they were struggling so much to provide and take care of the kids. However, they sacrifice everything because they loved them, wanted to make sure they were taken care of, and felt loved.  The husband, Enock, worked an extra job to help provide for some of the most basic of needs for the children in addition to running the orphange.  The wife stayed at the orphanage taking care of all the kids, managing them, and running the household. You could see the love and care in the attention they gave to each of these kids.  They created a family atmosphere for these kids because every child deserves a family.

Out of the 14 kids, only 5 were the age to receive diapers. They explained that not having diapers was extremely difficult with 5 little ones running around the house.  They were having a lot of accidents in the house and they couldn't afford disposable diapers. We were so excited to offer them DriButts diapers and give them a way to manage and control disease spread in their environment. Dributts gave them 10 donated diapers and educated them on proper use. They were so thankful for all they received. Look at the smile on his face in the pictures below. So real, so raw, and so beautiful. Family is not just blood, but the people we love and the people who love us.  It’s a beautiful thing when strangers say, “ I will take care of you, I love you,” and become family. DriButts was honored to help this Orphanage and we are looking at other ways to help them on this journey. 

When you donate and support DriButts, you are helping people like Enoch and his wife control disease in their home. Please share this story and tell people about Dributts and our mission to change lives. 

Click Here To Donate Dributts Diaper To Families In Need 

Day 1: Walk In Love

The Christmas season is upon us! As we’re out shopping for gifts for our precious children, I’d like you to stop and think about how it makes you feel to be able to buy your children gifts. I’m sure you love to see the joy on their face as they open their gifts on Christmas morning. It makes you smile, doesn’t it? Your heart feels full to be able to provide the wants and needs for our most precious little ones.

Now, I’d like to ask you to look at it from a different perspective.  What if you were not able to provide Christmas gifts or even the most basic needs for your children?  What would you do? How would you feel? It’s a somber thought, but it’s a reality for millions of parents around the world.  Here is the story of one of our Dributts families living in extreme poverty and what she did for her children.

While in Leogane, Haiti this past September, Dributts was doing a diaper drop in an extremely poverty stricken area. Over 300 moms had come from several local villages to receive diapers for their babies. After the drop was over, we were packing up to leave when a mom arrived with 5 children. She had heard by word of mouth that we were going to be in Leogane passing out diapers.  She said her children had been sick with diarrhea and she really needed the diapers for her 2 youngest.  We asked where she lived and she said Jacmel, which is about a 3 hour walk to Leogane. We were shocked when we realized she had walked down a mountain, over 3 hours, with 5 children! We talked with her a while, and learned they had not eaten for a few days. We gave them what snacks we had, water, and diapers.  She was so thankful and grateful to receive all that we gave her that day. We also learned that she had some health problems and was not feeling well and she requested a medical check up. We had to explain to her we did not have a medical team with us to do a check up. After they rested, were hydrated and fed, they were on their way back home, over a 3 hour walk back up the mountain.

The picture above shows the rags the mom had tied around the baby's waist to use as a diaper. It was the best this mom could do. She walked over 6 hours, down and back up a mountain, in poor health, hungry and thirsty, with 5 kids who were also hungry and thirsty, just in hope she could get diapers for her babies who had been sick with diarrhea. That is love. Someone donated 4 Dributts diapers that we gave to this mom for her 2 small children allowing this mom to have proper diapers for her babies. That is love. 

This holiday season, lets remember what’s important and how something as simple as a diaper can make such a difference in the life of those who do not have anything.  Merry Christmas! 

DriButts is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization