Zanmi doll project.

Work in progress .

This summer we were able to purchase a stove for every woman in our project so they no longer have to cook over charcoal. Now we are raising money to build water proof roofs for them before the next rainy season. Because Zanmi means ‘friend’ in Haitian Creole, we call the dolls they make ‘Zanmis’.

The 31 women we are helping now -as of summer 2015.

All Zanmi dolls’ tags show the woman who made that specific doll however, each t doll purchased goes into Project Medishare’s Zanmi Project fund and is used to benefit the entire group of of women in our project.

Our Zanmi project is taking place in the Central Plateau which is the poorest region in Haiti. Most people live in huts which have dirt floors and thatched roofs. Therefore during the rainy season the leaking roofs turn their homes into awful mud filled messes. Water tight metal roofs for these women is something they desperately need and will improve the quality of life for them and all their families.

Why metal roofs?

Zanmi doll project happens in the Central Plateau of Haiti.  Most people live in thatched roof huts -in the rainy season the leaking roofs turn the floors into a muddy mess.  Corrugated metal roofs are a big improvement.

I buy a Zanmi doll. What happens with my money?

The idea of our Zanmi project couldn’t be any simpler: 100% of proceeds go to the women in our Zanmi Project. They receive $1 for each doll they make, and then (if the doll is sold for $10) $9 for each doll sold is donated to ProjectMedishare which is deposited into the Zanmi fund.
All checks made out to ProjectMedishare should restrict the money for the Zanmi Project (on a check to ProjectMedishare write in the memo “restricted to the Zanmi project”) so it will not accidentally go into their general fund. All donations to Project Medishare are tax deductible.

Curious? Google for “ProjectMedishare” -there are other charities with “medishare” in their names. There’s also “MedShare” which we know and think highly of.

What really happens with my money in Haiti?

Of course we here at ThingsHelpingHaiti.org don’t know that either. Maybe it all gets wasted. As ThingsHelpingHaiti.org is not yet a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization we will give all the money we get to ProjectMedishare.org, earmarked (“restricted”) for our Zanmi project.

Heikki Ketola has been involved with Project Medishare in Haiti since 2009 and decided to partner with ProjectMedishare.org after the 2010 earthquake. Immediately after the earthquake ProjectMedishare constructed a tent hospital at the Port-au-Prince airport to care for hundreds of earthquake victims. ProjectMediShare.org operates a number of clinics in Haiti’s Central Plateau and they partner with us helping the women in our Zanmi project. The women in our project were chosen by Project Medishare’s local administrator Rose Merline. She chose the most impoverished women in her area to be part of our Zanmi project and she continues to be a wonderful support along with ProjectMedishare’s country director Rachel Belt.

ProjectMediShare.org manages everything on ground in Central Plateau.  She has selected all our 31 Zanmi doll makers -the most impoverished women in her area.

So all our proceeds will be used to build metal roofs for the women in our Zanmi project.