Haiti + Covid-19, A Letter from our Founder

I want to first start out by saying thank you.Thank you for your love and of your support over the years. We are now celebrating ten years being in Haiti and working in the garment and manufacturing sector. Thank you for all who have been supporting these efforts through donations and through the purchase of leggings. These generous forms of support have allowed us to build and grow social programs that pour into the lives of thousands of factory workers in Haiti, primarily women. 

Today I want to speak to the pandemic of Covid-19 and its impact on Haiti. A country that does not have a sufficient healthcare system to address the needs of its people on an average day, let alone during a global pandemic which requires a vast amount of additional resources. It is important to share what the current circumstances look like for the developing world, specifically Haiti. 

Most of us in wealthy nations are able to access clean water to wash our hands, purchase hand-sanitizer if needed, and obtain the food we need to feed our families. Although times are difficult, our governments and countries have created social safety nets for us as we navigate through difficult economic times. In Haiti, there is no unemployment or social safety net. Therefore, when a mother or father uses their small daily income (many times under $5 per day) to purchase 5 gallons of drinking water for the whole family(which costs approximately $1) they are faced with a life-altering decision. Do they use that water to wash the hands of the entire family the newly recommended number of times throughout the day, or do they use that water to give their thirsty family something to drink to sustain life? None of us are faced with that choice. So as we learn to deal with this crisis, there will come a time when we need to turn to our brothers and sisters in less developed countries and say “How can we help?” The fallout from the economic and health crisis currently at hand is going to be substantially more devastating for them. They are living in systems that are broken and incapable of offering the help and assistance needed for millions of people to recover from this pandemic. 

So today I want to leave you with those thoughts that are close to my heart. As we are all watching this unfold and we are picking up the pieces of our fractured lives, there will be a time when we are called to reach out our hand and help the other. 

-Cynthia Petterson, President & Co-Founder