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One of Haiti Babi’s success stories is Martha (hard t, soft h), a recent hire. Her husband Samuel was without work when Martha found a job at Haiti Babi. They had saved just enough to pay their yearly rent (Haitians pay rent once a year instead of monthly like we do in the US) and their landlord announced it had increased by 30%. It was an impossible jump to make in such a short time. They had somewhere they could move, land purchased when Samual was working, but it was uninhabitable. They had expected to build on it over years, if not decades, cinderblock by cinderblock. Because Martha was now employed by Haiti Babi she qualified for a bank loan that allowed them to quickly finish the walls of two rooms and install a tin roof to move their family of 7 just in time. They are still without a bathroom, kitchen, electricity or water. The kids sleep together in one bed. Despite this, they have a lot more than the other families I visiting during my stay.
I’ll be auctioning this print at Haiti Babi’s annual Raise Hope fundraiser on May 7th, 2016 at 415 Westlake. Buy tickets here. In the meantime please consider a small donation to cover any one of the items on their wish list. Just $20 provides the moms with a one month supply of clean drinking water.