CLINIC UPGRADES HELP MISSION
Who doesn’t love a new TV? It’s an upgrade for anyone, and we installed one in our clinic waiting room. While the women wait for appointments we loop educational videos for them. Folks are truly enjoying what they are learning, and oh, they get to charge their phones for free while they wait, too! Also, we’ve updated our clinic admissions intake form, gathering more information about our patients to help us to serve them better.
Also, health, hygiene, and sex ed classes continue for our our soccer players, and women and girls (and anyone, really) in the marketplace and at the library. The clinic nurse works alongside the artisanat women selling during market days, and at the library, to get the word out.
6 / 0% INTEREST MICRO LOAN PROGRAM
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Our microloan program has become a critical kickstarter tool for many of our women hoping to start a business, get school fees paid for kids, and/or expand homes. This program has been a huge success! We lend/advance small funds to our employees and they pay us back over time using their salaries. The funds are funneled right back into the microloan fund to be lent out again. These loans, on average, are about $75 each. As part of the program, the women help us learn more about their day to day struggles. Check out this graph to see where they spend your dollars.
6 / 0% INTEREST MICRO LOAN PROGRAM
The Artisanat really took it to the next level this year.
1—The women are producing at record levels! In 2019, they finished 27,000 items-from nightgowns to sanitary pads and a few things in between.
2—Our ladies were the first-ever embroiderers from Haiti to be invited to the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the industry, it’s considered an honor to be invited. We crushed it with sales just below the $20K mark in a single weekend! And, we’ve been invited back for 2020! Yup, we crushed it.
3—So, we were out of raw materials in November. Ziltch. We couldn’t get them there because of civil unrest.
To keep the women working, we had to get creative. We started brainstorming new product ideas that could be made from items found at the local market (jeans, dress-shirts, t-shirts, you name it) and boy did they deliver! Take a peak at the samples they made. Should we add these to our website? You be the judge.