Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Heart of Haiti


A year ago tomorrow, tragedy struck Haiti with a 7.0 earthquake 16 miles from the Capital. There were multiple aftershocks for weeks.  It was devastating to watch the news of the suffering. I wanted to personally adopt every child that I saw on TV. Even now a year later, with the cholera outbreak and people still living in tent cities, it is hard to comprehend.

Willa Shalit, daughter of Gene Shalit, has started a company called Fairwinds Trading to help 3rd world countries make money by selling wares that are unique to each country. Haiti is one of the countries she is helping. Through Heart of Haiti and  Macy's, she is creating an outlet for the artisans of Haiti to sell their beautiful wares. You can find the details here. Items include $225 canvas prints to $35 pieces of pottery to $10 necklaces. The artisans receive 22% of all the sales of these items which in turn help their families and their community.



Love the bright, beautiful colors!
Here is an example of one man working on his craft of colorful pottery.


The Heart of Haiti has about 350 employed artists and in turn a financial benefit for about 4-5000 people. The objective of the project is "trade, not aid". If your Macy's does not have these products in the store, you can order them right from Macy's website!

Like Heart of Haiti on FB and  follow on Twitter.

I was selected for this very special “CleverHaiti” opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are my own.

2 comments:

Vodka Mom said...

I am so humbled by people who are able to plan and implement these incredibly generous and greatly needed acts of kindness.

Anonymous said...

I need some of these. They are beautiful! It amazes me how something so lovely can come out of such sadness! Nana