Hand in Hand with Haiti

Our hearts go out to those affected by Hurricane Matthew, particularly those in Haiti, where the Hurricane has been especially devastating. One of our partner brands, Hand in Hand Soap, has donated to and volunteered at orphanages in Haiti for years, and they provided this update about the situation: 

"As many of you already know, Hurricane Matthew, a category 4 storm, made landfall in Haiti yesterday. We have been in touch with our non-profit partner, My Neighbor's Children, who have been keeping us in the loop on the storm and how it's affecting the orphanages we work with. Here is what we know so far:

• The eye of the storm was mainly over the Southern Peninsula of the island, situated over the town of Jérémie.
• Most of the orphanages we work with are in Port-au-Prince, which was Northeast of the storm. Port-au-Prince was hit hard with rain and experienced bad flooding.
• New Life Orphanage, where we stay on our donation trips to Haiti, reported a lot of flooding. All of the children and staff have moved to the top floor of the main building. The grounds and first floors of the homes and buildings are all flooded. 
• In Bon Samaritan, an orphanage we have worked with since 2012, all the children and staff have moved to the second floor of the building. Their ground floor is also flooded.
• In the town of Onaville, the location of our first well, there are concerns of mudslides. This town was built on the side of a mountain with little to no vegetation. It is also the fastest growing town in Haiti. In 2013, when we installed our well, there were 30,000 people living there; today, there are 80,000! 
• Many areas outside of the main cities were hit hard, particularly in the mountains where wind speeds were especially high.
• William and Tammi from My Neighbor's Children will be flying into Haiti as soon as the airports open up, possibly as early as today or as late as Friday. They will keep us posted on the ground and we will keep you all updated as we learn more. 

 

There is no infrastructure in Haiti and no government body to deal with massive disasters like Hurricane Matthew. NGO's are crucial to providing assistance after a crisis. If you would like to help, you can make a donation to our non-profit partner, My Neighbor's Children. If you live in the Orlando area, you can volunteer to help put together food, medical and sanitation kits that will be going out in a few weeks. Use the link below for all donation and volunteer opportunities. 

In response to the disaster of #HurricaneMatthew, we are sending 50,000 bars of soap to Haiti this week. Your purchases make these donations possible, and we at Hand in Hand Soap thank you so much for your continued support." 

 

We hope you will join us in contributing to the relief efforts in Haiti. And we want to thank Hand in Hand Soap for their true dedication to making a difference for people in need. The Hand in Hand team is the real deal when it comes to social businesses, and we are honored to support their efforts. 

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