The Good Life – September-October 2018

Wil Dort
From Haiti to Haircuts
WRITTEN BY: ALEXANDRA FLOERSCH
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
It’s the story of a childhood right out of a TV commercial,
pleading “Feed the children,” “Donate just 63 cents a day”
or “You can shine bright in the toughest places to be a child.”
No electricity. A hilly, exhausting walk to school. And each
day came without a guarantee of his next meal.
Wil Dort, 33, was born into this life in Haiti.
Now the co-owner of Skill Cutz in Fargo, Dort recalls
his early years without the amenities of modern,
American living. He and his siblings grew up living
with his grandma in the countryside, because his
mother moved to the city to start a business in
hopes of supporting the family.
“My life, it was very different than what you see
here,” Dort recalled.
At just 4 or 5 years old, he would wake up at 6
a.m. to check on and feed the chickens, cows and
pigs and make himself a little breakfast – whatever
he could find – all before going to school.
“If you’re blessed enough where they serve lunch that
day, you’ll get a lunch,” he explained. “(Lunch) wasn’t
every day. It could be breakfast to dinner. You’d be blessed
to get a snack in between.”
Typically, the schools were funded through missionaries,
but now and then the pantry would get robbed.
“Times get hard and people look for a way out,” Dort said.
“We got a small allowance – maybe 50 cents or $1 for the
week at the most. I could never budget so I’d use that to eat
Monday and Tuesday, then it was gone.”
Living a 45-minute walk away from the closest river, just
getting drinking water came with its challenges.
“The same place the animals were drinking – that’s where
we had to drink, too,” Dort said. His trek to school looked
similar – two hours each way.
“It wasn’t flat. You have to cross like two rivers and climb
a mountain. It was quite the journey,” he recalled, able to
chuckle about it now. “We were considered better off and
more fortunate than most. As a kid, you’d never experienced
anything different. That was the norm.”
A Step Below Heaven
Early on, Dort recognized the common goal shared by all
Haitians.
“There’s 10 million people over there and everyone’s hoping
and dreaming to make it to America. Heaven is here,” he
said, setting the bar with his hand. “And America is here –
right below heaven.”
For Dort and his family, that dream would eventually
become a reality.
His father made the trek in 1994. He couldn’t read or write,
but he learned how to sign his name on the way to America.
Working for $5 to $6 an hour at Federal Beef in Fargo, little
by little he’d send money home.
“Unfortunately, he got us here on November 5, 1997 and
then he passed away the fall of 2000,” Dort said. “That
really took a toll on all of us. If he didn’t make the sacrifice,
we would have never made it here.”
Ex-Con Turns Life Around
to Open Skill Cutz Barbershop
urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 19