Haitian American Dream

When Delivra Beauplan arrived in the United States at 18, in 1984, he had little money, little English, and no support network. But it was a move he felt he had to make to escape suffering in Haiti. It was a decision driven by the verities of hard work, discipline, education, and faith—learned as a child in his native country. But leaving Haiti, and his mother, wasn’t easy.

“One day after school, I think to myself, I need to change direction and leave Haiti,” Beauplan said. "My mother was crying because I'm the best one of the kids, helped them work, get the job done. When my mom started crying, I was crying too, because I love my mom. But I told my mom, 'I don't like this situation. I see what they do over there, the government.' I told my mom the way I want to grow, I'm not going to have that kind of opportunity to develop myself in Haiti. Let me go to some big country so I can develop. I was my mom's boy. She loved me. She didn't want me to go nowhere. But I was young, I wanted to try to find someplace where I can develop myself because I knew I had a lot of stuff in my brain to develop."

A family member who made a life for himself outside of Haiti provided inspiration.

"I chose the United States because my uncle was living in Nassau, Bahamas. One day he went back to Haiti. He talked to me. He told me how it was in Nassau, Bahamas. Then I thought to myself, 'I don't want to go to Nassau, Bahamas. Let me go to Florida.”

To get out of Haiti, Beauplan had to earn money. Fortunately for him, he already knew how to do that.

"I started working when I was nine years old,” he said. “At nine years old I'm working hard. I'm already doing a lot of stuff. I never get vacation. I'm always having stuff to do."

Beauplan was the youngest of six children.

"My father probably has 14 kids,” he said, "but with my mom I have six. She didn't want to see her baby leave. Because I was the head boy.”

Coming to the U.S. alone was not easy for Beauplan.

“Sometimes you're not too happy when you come by yourself,” Beauplan said. "No mom and dad, no friend, no brother, no sister. You don't know who you're going to deal with. When I came, yeah, I was afraid because I didn't know nobody here. But when I came, I had a little money in my pocket because in Haiti I used to work hard. I saved a little bit of money and I cashed that in and they give me American money when I came here."

Beauplan had roughly $1,000 to start his new life in the United States. He figured that it was enough to survive on if he didn’t find a job immediately in the U.S.

"If I don't work the same day or same month when I come, I had a little bit of money for me to live,” he said.

He reasoned that his work ethic and kind personality would pull him through.

"I knew I was a good worker when I came here. And I know I'm a nice person. I don't speak English, but I thought I could live."

The English Beauplan knew when he arrived in the U.S. he had learned in school in Haiti. One of his first goals was to build on another foundation that was built in his homeland.

"I went to school in Louisiana to be a pastor,” Beauplan said. "I went to school for four years. I have my certificate. Everything I need to be a pastor. Even when I first came here with no father, no mother, I always figured out what good things I could learn to do. When I was a little boy, I used to work in the church in my country. They let me teach little boys and little girls. I was 12 when I started to teach all the little kids. I'd say respect for your mother and your father. Don't take stuff that doesn't belong to you. Don't fight.”

One of Beauplan’s first priorities when moving to Naples was to find a church.

"First church I went to was Church of God,” he said. "It was an American church because there was no Haitian church at that time. When I came to Naples, we didn't even have 500 Haitians."

As of 2025, American Community Survey data shows 13,077 Haitians in Collier County.

Beauplan, a multi-instrumentalist, also went to school when he came to Naples.

"I went to school for three years in Ft. Myers to be a music engineer,” he said. "I play a little music. I play guitar, I play bass, I play drums, I play trumpet, I play saxophone, trombone, and accordion. I play keyboard, but that took me seven years before I can play. You need to practice, practice, practice. Music is nothing you can learn in one day. No, you need to practice."

A pivotal point in Beauplan’s life came when he met Tom Bogan, a landscaping contractor who would later join the Marco Island Fire Department and rise to the rank of battalion chief.

“When I started working for Tom,” Beauplan said, "I was 27. I took classes before I started to work for Tom, but even if you take classes, you need to see what to do. Tom is the second guy I worked for. The first guy I'm working for was a good guy, but the only problem I had with him was not starting to work till 10 a.m. I figured I was young and 10 o’clock is too late for me to start work. The second problem was he didn't have enough equipment for me to use. So I quit him. When I worked for Tom, Tom had everything. Tom had a lot of experience, too. Life experience. Tom had big knowledge. In agriculture, Tom can do everything because he's very smart. And he's a good guy, so I worked with him."

Bogan, who has retired from MIFD and relocated to SW Georgia, has fond memories of Beauplan approaching him for a job.

“I was working by myself,” Bogan said, “really struggling. I bumped into Del at 7-Eleven, and he said he was ready to work. I remember he started that day and we worked for the next decade together.”

"I can cry,” Beauplan said, "because Tom is the best guy. He helped me and he didn't even know who I was. If I'm good, if I'm bad. Tom said, ‘Yes, I can hire you.’ He asked me, ‘Are you a good man?' I say, 'I don't need to tell you. You can try me; if I'm not too good, then you can send me home.' He said, ‘Okay, I'm going to try you.' First day I'm working. Second day he said, ‘Oh, I'm lucky I have you.'”

“We always knew Del would be successful,” Bogan reflects. “He has a heart of gold."

Working with Bogan wasn’t Beauplan’s only job. He was already working two other jobs when they met, including a restaurant on Marco called Chef’s Garden.

"I did three jobs,” Beauplan said. "I worked for Tom and I worked at night at the restaurant as a prep cook when I finished with Tom at 2 p.m.”

By this time Beauplan had returned to Haiti and married his wife, Julia.

"I brought her here,” Beauplan said, “then she went to school for a bachelor's degree to be a pastor."

"Del was a very dedicated person to his family,” Bogan said. "He walked into Kathy's and my life back in the day and he left an impression on us forever. We are so happy that he is successful and his wife Julia is a beautiful person for him.”

Beauplan was especially valuable to Bogan when Bogan entered the fire academy in 1991.

“Tom went to school for the fire department every day,” Beauplan said. "Tom dropped me on the job, and then he didn't even worry because he knew when he left me, I'm working. You know, I done a good job. I remember he told me, ‘Delivra, I've gotta go to school for the fire department. But you're going to stay and do the job for me. Remember you are the guy that’s going to pay for my house because I'm not going to work too much. I can't. Can you do that for me?' I said, ‘Yes, I can do it for you.' And then he said, ‘Okay, I can make a deal with you. When I come back, when I finish, if you keep your promise, I'm going to keep one promise to you. When I come back, I’ll give you some jobs.' When he came back, he give me one condominium for myself. He give me four houses to get me started.”

“When I got hired at the fire department, I couldn’t do all my work,” Bogan said. “I knew he needed to make more money, so I gave him a condo and some homes to help him get started. And he still worked for me part-time to help me out. So it worked out good for both of us."

Beauplan found Bogan to be a man he could trust. He even helped him buy a truck.

“That was my first truck,” Beauplan recalled fondly. "He took me to the Ford company. He helped me buy a good truck. I used it to start my business. I got so many opportunities from him. I like him. He's a serious person. He tells you one thing; tomorrow he's not going to change. He's a good guy.”

Beauplan made a lasting impression on the Bogans.

"Del was a very dedicated person to his family,” Bogan said. "He walked into our lives back in the day and he left an impression on us forever. We are so happy that he is successful. And his wife Julia is a beautiful person for him. Del is a true American Dream who came from Haiti. He did everything right, worked hard, and is now a good United States citizen. Kathy and I think about him often. We’re so glad he’s doing good. “

Beauplan’s career trajectory was on an upward path. He went on to add more clients and buy property that he turned into a four-acre nursery. He and Julia started their own church in Naples in 1998. He’s recently purchased five acres at Orange Tree and Immokalee Road where he hopes to start construction on a new church in the next year. All the while, he and Julia have been raising three children, two girls and a boy. Their first daughter, Julie, has given them their first grandchildren.

Beauplan is especially proud of his plant nursery, located adjacent to the home he purchased in 2006.

"The idea was in my head when I worked for Tom,” he said.

Today his nursery, Del’s Wholesale and Retail Nursery, has 200 mango trees and 1,000 avocado trees. He also grows plantains, six varieties of bananas and lychee fruit. He said he’s the only nursery in Naples with a variety of bananas. He also sells mango and avocado trees that he has grafted.

“I’m busy,” Beauplan said, surveying his thriving nursery. "I supply not only Naples, but everywhere. I think I’m going to retire and just do this. I love to do this." Beauplan, 60, takes care of the nursery by himself.

But when Beauplan says he’s going to retire from everything but his nursery, he’s not including his church.

"I'll never stop preaching,” Beauplan said emphatically. "Since I'm a little boy, I love preaching. And I love to teach people. I don’t need pay. God already paid me. I work for God. I don’t need people to pay me nothing. I play music, I’m preaching. My wife’s preaching. My wife does the service. That’s what we went to school for. We don’t need money. People come in, we show them, explain to them: Don’t do bad things. Respect God, follow God. We try to explain what God wants, what God said. This is my destiny."