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By Liz Moody

Ingredients:

• wood
• nails (ungalvanized will do if that is all you can find)
• rebar
• corrugated zinc
• concrete
• tools (including, but not limited to, saws, machetes, hammers, and measuring tape)

Step 1: Go to Haiti. For authentic flavor, achieve this in Pathfinders style. Spend the better part of a day waiting in a Dominican border town for your contact to arrive. When she appears, throw yourself into the truck among the supplies (see list above). Cross the border through backwoods channels, pleasantly greeting all possible officials you encounter along the way. None of them are officials. Arrive at the halfway point to find out that your second ride has left without you. Wait some more. When the truck arrives at 3:15 am, cram your supplies into the back, and hang on (no sitting room in this one)! Arrive at the mason’s house and learn that your house is actually located elsewhere. Put on your pack and head over: down the mountain, into the valley, and up the next mountain. Whew. Now the work begins!

Step 2: Find a hole! Hopefully the family has already dug one in anticipation of your arrival.

Step 3: Cover the hole with several layers of wood, chopped by machete from the surrounding trees. Take some measurements. Disregard said measurements in favor of the eyeball method espoused by your local helpers. Trust that everything will work out fine (it does).

Step 4: Nail the wood together. Be careful; the ungalvanized nails may be reluctant to cooperate. Cover with a layer of rebar, painstakingly tied together by hand to prevent it from rolling.

Step 5: Dig holes for posts, which will provide the skeleton of the little shelter. Place the posts.

Step 6: Pour the concrete (don’t fret, you can leave this part in the capable hands of the local mason).

Step 7: Continue adding boards to the framework of the latrine.

Step 8: Now it needs some walls. Nail on some corrugated zinc. There is no way to do this quietly. Accept that you will startle local wildlife and cause a ringing in your ears.

Step 9: A door isn’t a bad idea. Saw some more wood, nail it into a frame, and add corrugated zinc to taste.

Step 10: Admire the finished project. You’ve helped stop the spread of waterborne diseases and made a huge difference in the lives of a family and a community.

It’s not too late to support the Pathfinders’ latrine-building work in Haiti—click here to donate!

Credit to Pathfinder Wendy Webber for firsthand details and photographs.

Because such a large percentage of the black community is highly religious, black nonbelievers find themselves in a minority within a minority, with scarce opportunities to connect with other black skeptics and freethinkers. In addition to that, there’s a lack of outreach and support for black nonbelievers in the wider freethought community, a group with a lot of work to do when it comes to diversity and inclusiveness. In response to these problems, Donald Wright created the National Day of Solidarity for Black Non-Believers.

Celebrated the fourth Sunday of every February, the National Day of Solidarity promotes community among black nonbelievers. According to Donald, “DoS has been organized as a way to counter the religious voice that all too often serves as the lone voice of black consciousness and experience. These gatherings will promote fellowship and the pursuit of humanist strategies to solve the problems facing humanity—especially those affecting the black community.”

To learn more about the Day of Solidarity and how you can get involved, visit these links:

• The official Day of Solidarity blog has information about events taking place in New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, and Los Angeles.
• Check out the Day of Solidarity Facebook page.
• Mandisa Thomas, one of FBB’s newest board members and the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, Inc., wrote about the Day of Solidarity for the Friendly Atheist blog.
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Thanks to everyone who voted in our recent board election! We’ve assembled a fantastic new slate of volunteer directors who will help determine the Foundation’s path moving forward. According to Executive Director Dale McGowan, “The Foundation has been incredibly lucky from the beginning in the board members we’ve had. Our founding board set us on course beautifully for the first three years, and we’re delighted to have Jerry, Mandisa, and Clare joining us for the next three.”

In this month’s FBB board election, you elected the following individuals to the FBB board of directors:

Trish Hotze Cowan. Trish has been honored to serve as a member of the board of Foundation Beyond Belief since its inception. She is active with the Ethical Society of St. Louis (serving as Sunday School Director from 2005 to 2011) and enjoys being involved with the larger Ethical Humanist Movement through the American Ethical Union. She is currently the national advisor for the AEU’s annual teen conference and assists with the national religious education and family conference as chair of the AEU Religious Education Committee. Trish’s greatest joy is raising her two critical thinkers, Porter and Jessie.

Jerry DeWitt. Jerry was a Pentecostal minister in Louisiana for 25 years and recently earned the distinction of being the first graduate of the Clergy Project, supported by Richard Dawkins and Dan Barker. His ministerial background provides a broad understanding of the religious lifestyle and its effects on personal well-being, and he strives to be both a dramatic and entertaining speaker/activist with a heartfelt compassion for those struggling with their negative religious experiences. Jerry has great fondness for the “Challenge the Gap” initiative at the Foundation, and is particularly interested in helping to guide this unique project.

Hemant Mehta. Hemant Mehta is the author of The Young Atheist’s Survival Guide and creator of the popular FriendlyAtheist.com blog. He previously served as chair of the Secular Student Alliance before joining the board of Foundation Beyond Belief, an organization he has been with since its inception. He is also a National Board Certified high school math teacher in suburban Chicago.
 
Zachary Moore, PhD. Zachary Moore was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, but got to Texas as quickly as he could. He is an active leader in the freethought community of Dallas/Fort Worth, serving as the executive director of the Fellowship of Freethought in Dallas, coordinator of the Dallas/Fort Worth Coalition of Reason, and treasurer for Camp Quest Texas.

Clare Wuellner. Clare was formerly with the Center for Inquiry in Austin, where she worked and collaborated with other secular organizations, helped design pro-science educational resources, and garnered the attention of local and national media to help spotlight and criticize the Texas State Board of Education. Trained as an entomologist, Clare is a skilled researcher, writer, and educator. Through her efforts to partner with the Clergy Letter Project in the interest of promoting acceptance of evolutionary theory among religious believers, Clare is passionate about finding common cause to serve the greater good. Clare would like to help the Foundation continue to make a positive impact on the growth and development of our community. 

Mandisa Thomas. Mandisa is the founder and current president of Black Nonbelievers, Inc., an organization based in Atlanta. Their mission is to provide socialization and support for other atheists and nonbelievers primarily in the black community who would otherwise be shunned by family and friends. She has been focused on creating community centers that provide financial assistance, educational resources, and creative outlets from a secular perspective. Her organization also sponsors a recovery group for members who are still overcoming religious beliefs, a resource that is sorely needed in the black community. Mandisa is interested in helping the Foundation identify optimal fundraising approaches, as well as helping expand awareness of the Foundation within the black community.

Kate Miller of Charlie’s Playhouse has played a crucial role in guiding the Foundation’s work from Day One. She has now stepped down after a full term on the board to focus on other projects. We will miss you, Kate!