An Income Generating Project for Sandia's Family in Haiti

Sandia, my partner through People in Need Partnership, and I have been talking a lot online these days (above, before I became her partner). One thing I had noticed was that she was always talking about plants, drawing plants, and asking about gardens. I thought it might be nice to help her start a small garden-- I had the PINP people talk to her family but they came back with another idea. Sandia's mom used to run a small shop outside the home, but was not able to anymore. The family is very interested in having her restart this business-- her mom even added that they could plant a garden with some of the profits. I thought this was a great idea. I was told they needed atleast $200 to get everything together, so now it's time to fundraise for Sandia and her family!

Sandia is 10 years old and lives with her mother, Maristima, who is 40, and her father Nazaire, who is 42. She has four siblings, her brother Sonson is 16, and sisters Junia (19, living in the countryside), Monise- 8, and Nadia 4. Nazaire is a porter and works 6 days a week, making about 0.25-0.64 cents per day). This as you can imagine, is hardly enough to feed the 6 people living at home.

Sandia is doing well (picture from July 2010 to the right)-- since she has a partner she was able to go to school and she completed 1st grade and is now a second grader. I am not sure if any of her siblings go to school. I know from my conversations with her that her family often has very little to eat, and I have arranged for her to have a few extra meals per week after school, and send food baskets (these include rice, beans, oil and some meat that makes about 20 meals and usually lasts a few days) for her family, but I think that restarting this business will really improve life for them-- they will have a greater income and have more food security, rather than relying on what little they have plus donated food.
Additionally, the business could provide further income to help them improve their home (it is made of sheet metal with a dirt floor, and is often wet and muddy in the rain) and send more of their children to school.

So far $45.00 has been raised towards the goal of at least $200. If you would like to help Sandia's family you can either contact me at lindseyrieder@gmail.com or if you prefer to pay by paypal, you can send a donation as a "gift" to the same email address without a fee. If you do so, please let me know so that I can add you to the list of donors. I will email everyone with the updated information and any photos or videos they provide one Sandia's family gets their small business up and running.

Above are pictures of Sandia at her front door, and her home. Her home is situated in a large slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Sandia's Package

At the end of July, I contacted PINP about sending a package to Sandia. I thought I would have to send it to Haiti (and wondered how well the mail system worked) but as it turned out, one of the staff members was about to travel from the U.S. to Haiti. I was told that as long as the package was under 3 lbs, I could send it to her in the U.S. and she would bring it with her to Haiti.

I inquired about her clothing size, and then began shopping. I always find it difficult to buy things for sponsored children for many reasons. I want to get them something useful, but also fun. I want it to be something they can enjoy. Another concern though, is going overboard. I always get worried about sending too much at once, because it may be overwhelming for a children, especially if they have always had very little. I toyed with the idea of sending gifts for everyone in her family, but then was unsure what I could get that would be small enough to fit into a 3 lb. package. In the end, I decided to just send some things for her this time, and plan on sending some more stuff for the family later.

After much shopping and wandering, and thinking, and putting outfits together, and wandering, and thinking (I am a very indecisive shopper) I ended up with a small photo album (I printed out some pictures of her, of me and my friends and family so she can see the things I talk about). I got her a butterfly keychain (random but cute), colorful barrettes, three t-shirts, a pair of comfy shorts (for sleep and play) and some denim shorts. I also got her a cute pair of flip-flops. With all of this I sent a letter. I also really wanted to get her this adorable dress, but ended up choosing the more practical and mix and match items because I thought she could get more outfits/wear out of them. Also I was worried about the weight limit, but I ended up being quite under when I got to the post office.

Sandia is 10, and ended up getting her child small (6/6X) (the shorts had an adjustable waist) and her flip flops were kids' size 3/4. They all ended up fitting very well, which I am happy about because I was a bit worried about that.

She sent me a letter thanking me, and then a bit later I got this video. She looks quite shy in the video, which surprised me, since she seems quite talkative in her letters. But that's alright, I understand being on camera can make one nervous:



P.S. the photo at the end of Sandia with the food is from a food package I sent her family when I started sponsoring her. It was $25 and provided the family with enough staples for a few meals (depending on the size of the family.)