Help Mamas Keep Their Babies

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Before joining the artisan group in Haiti, Shirly had a difficult childhood. She is the oldest child in her family and was raised by her mother, aunt and uncle. Like the majority of Haitians, she grew up poor. Her hard-working, resourceful mother kept various jobs in order to provide for the family, even taking jobs that took her away from her kids for weeks at a time. The earthquake of 2010 destroyed all they had. Shirley’s mom sent her to an orphanage twice and sent her brother away too. She wanted the best for her kids but couldn’t provide for them. She kept working hard and promised she would return for them.After their reunion, Shirly started slowly working with our artisan group. At first, it was very difficult for her. She remembered all her mom’s sacrifices and mustered the motivation to try out for a more advanced job of bead roller. She advanced and began growing into new opportunities. Shirly says of her job, “My life was really stressful before I was working … it has made a huge positive impact in my life. I have hope and do believe some of my dreams can come true. I am confident and can do so many things I didn’t imagine I would do … Most of all, I am independent!” She has a heart for the homeless people and wants to have enough money and freedom to help as many people as possible, and find ways to give them opportunities that, like her, they never imagined. Shirly is now a happy, joyful mother of her own adorable son Marvin Lee.

Rescue Women from Sex Work & Human Trafficking

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“I worked in a brothel for many years until this group reached out to me. I joined the team and began working in production, but my struggles did not end there. My son was born with an ear that did not fully develop, as it should have. The only solution was surgery, which was very expensive. After working in production for a year I was able to save up enough money for my son’s surgery. It was successful and he now has a fully formed, completely healed ear. While I am extremely happy that my son is now healed, I quickly realized after his surgery that his health had been my primary concern for so long that I did not know what to do next. Thankfully, this group’s Holistic Care program helps women like me work on our educational, professional, and personal goals so that we can continue improving our lives. Now I am developing my sales and marketing skills by representing this group at different bazaars. I am learning how to develop my career goals so that my son and I can continue to experience freedom and establish our independence."
-Zang, Asia