Expanding our reach in the community of Cayes Jacmel with skills training.
Over the past couple years D2C has expanded its focus from just meeting today’s immediate needs of children in Haiti to also being more forward thinking in its programmatic approach. Vulnerable children today can easily become vulnerable adults tomorrow, whose children will be born into the same adverse environment they grew up in. The cycle of poverty will keep on rolling causing wreckage in the lives of all in its path. Development occurs when another path is opened up; when education, skills and opportunity co-exist to lead others away from the rut of poverty and offer a better future. D2C is determined that the children under its care find this new path and help carve a new and thriving future for themselves and Haiti.
D2’C’s In-Country Director Evelyne Dynasty comes to our organization with deep reserves of compassion, knowledge and skills that can benefit the children and community we serve. One of those skills is sewing and clothes-making. As a talented seamstress, Evelyne will be initiating D2C’s new Sewing Life Skills Project in order to pass on this useful craft to our Family Home youth. Having the ability to sew and create basic in-demand clothing items like school uniforms and other accessories has the potential to provide our youth with a reliable profession and good source of income once they reach adulthood. Moreover, it will promote a sense of pride and accomplishment as well as empower our youth to become future entrepreneurs and business owners.
The Sewing Life Skills Project will be D2C’s second livelihood focus program, joining the already established and running Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Program which is focused on the burgeoning tourism industry in Haiti and outdoor recreation.
While both boys and girls will participate in the D2C sewing project, opening up more potential sources of employment and income for Haitian girls is a critical step in raising both themselves and the country out of extreme poverty. Many girls in Haiti are unable to obtain jobs with liveable wages because they are unable to complete their education. Haitian girls who do not have access to education are more likely to be poor, affected by violence, and have more children. For those women who do find work, they receive lower wages than men, work more in the informal sector without social security and are less represented in formal employment.
We are seeking $500 in start-up funding to get the Sewing Life Skills Project running. This includes the purchase of a Treadle sewing machine as well as materials like fabric, scissors, measuring tape and more. If the project proves successful, our long-term aim is to be able to purchase each youth practitioner their own sewing machine as well as inviting more children in the community to participate in the project.
Please help the children and youth of Haiti create new paths for themselves and lead the next generation towards a more prosperous future!
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