FAQs

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.