“I Want My Children"

Leyla Earrings from Gift of Hope Haiti

Do you ever have “God appointments”? The ones where you were in the right place at the right time, to either give or receive help?  Some may say they are lucky or coincidental, but I think they are God ordained.    

Four years ago we had one such moment while my husband, Frentz, was sitting in the social service office here in Haiti. A young mother walked in carrying two very sick children.  Their limp limbs and rust colored hair gave away their severe malnutrition at first glance.  The mother, also malnourished herself, stepped forward to the desk of the office administrator. Trembling, she timidly but bravely asked if she could receive help for her children.  The social service employee told her she could place them in an orphanage if she couldn’t raise them.  She replied, “I don’t want to put them in an orphanage.  I want my children.  I just need help.”  She was not so gently told that there was no other help.  If she couldn’t feed her children, she could put them in an orphanage. 

This is one of the reasons why there are so many orphanages in Haiti.  The orphanage system is filled with children who have living parents who could not afford to feed or care for them.  Recent studies estimate that as many as 80% of children in orphanages have at least one living parent – maybe even two.  Poverty rates across Haiti are high, leaving the majority of the population unemployed and surviving on less than $2 a day.  Notice I say “surviving” and not “living”. There is a huge difference. The solution to caring for poverty orphans is not by creating more orphanages, but by empowering families to have the means to care for themselves. After all, these children are not actually orphans.  

My husband spoke up and said, “There is another option.  My wife and I have a mission here in Haiti and one of our programs is designed to help mothers raise their own children.  You can come with me and we can explain a few options for you to keep your children and be able to care for their needs.”   So she did.  I met Mama K for the first time that afternoon.   

Mama K was malnourished and her babies were barely hanging on.  Both her son, Wes, and her daughter, Leyla were admitted into our malnutrition program.  Wes even spent some time in a local hospital.  Mama K began a job doing laundry part time at the baby home so she could be with her children as they recovered. She began saving money so she could buy food for them when they were strong enough to return home with her.  As Mama K began to trust us, she opened up about her life.  We learned that she had a high school diploma and could speak fluent French. Despite a good education, she could never find employment.  We realized Mama K had untapped potential and skills far beyond doing laundry, so we began training her to become a jewelry artisan at Gift of Hope.  Mama K began learning how to make our signature bottle cap earrings, and practiced the fine motor skills it takes to create jewelry. 

Four years later, she is now a lead jewelry artisan on our team.  She has recovered from malnutrition and doubled her weight. Her children have never needed to reenter our program or any other program for nutrition support, and she receives no food handouts.  She smiles, tells jokes, stands up for herself with confidence, and has a tremendous amount of pride for her children.  They are hers. And they always will be.   

When Gift of Hope recently came out with a new horn and bone jewelry collection, we chose to name each exquisite piece after a daughter who has recovered from malnutrition, and is back thriving in her mother’s arms.  Read below the description of our Leyla Earrings that were named after Mama K’s beautiful daughter.

“Our Leyla Earrings are natural, ethical, and stunning. Featuring a 14k gold filled hammered hoop, and a circle pendant of natural, polished cow or goat horn, these earrings are defining ethical jewelry on a whole new level.   Each piece of ethically gathered cow and goat horn + bone was handcrafted by local, skilled artisans.  Just like the women and children we are empowering, no two polished pieces are alike.  Their natural variation ranges from ivory and caramel to ebony and cream.

The Leyla earrings are named after a petite little girl who recovered from malnutrition in our sister program, Hope House.  She is delicate, beautiful, and bold, just like these earrings.  She is home, thriving with her mother, who is one of the jewelry artisans that hand crafts our Leyla Earrings.  By purchasing Leyla Earrings, you are empowering Leyla and her mother, and other families like them who need an opportunity to free themselves from poverty.”

To make this story even sweeter, Mama K herself modeled the Leyla Earrings for our product promotion shoot.  She beamed with pride that these beautiful earrings are named after her beautiful daughter. 

We need more people to rise up and defend the orphan, the widow, and vulnerable families.  You can fight with us by shopping with us. There is a direct correlation between the sales of our products and the number of mothers we can employ. Remember Gift of Hope when it comes time for Mother’s Day, your friend’s birthday, Christmas, or when you just want to splurge a powerful purchase on yourself!  I see first hand the life changing impacts earning a fair wage makes.  I know children who are no longer child slaves because their mother’s have a job.  I’ve held babies who are no longer going to grow up in an institution because their mother’s have a job.  These powerful jobs rely on your powerful purchases. 

My belief and passion for the solution to poverty orphans is far greater than just one program.  It has birthed in me a true understanding of ethical fashion. Knowing vulnerable mothers and watching their stories unfold is proof of the transformation that steady employment and healthy working conditions have on an impoverished family. 
It preserves their dignity. 
It prevents children from orphanage living. 
It empowers true living, not just surviving. 
Being an ethical fashion advocate means I respect a person’s work instead of exploiting their talents.  I would never want my clothing or accessories to be made at the expense of someone else’s family or dignity.

I am so grateful for the “God appointment” we had the day we met Mama K.  God saw her needs and met them.  The growth of her faith and walk with the Lord has been such a beautiful thing to be part of.  Her passion for justice and love burns brightly.  She has found new skills and a love for fashion and creativity that she never knew she had.  In Mama K, we have found a faithful, talented employee.  She is an important part of our jewelry program.  She is welcoming to the new moms who come needing encouragement, and she is unashamed to share her testimony or lend a helping hand.  Mama K is one of my family’s greatest prayer warriors.  When I returned to Haiti after a complicated pregnancy, Mama K was the first one to rush to my car, as it entered Gift of Hope, and snatch my healthy son from my arms, and smother him with love and dedication to the God who healed him in my womb. 

The day we met, I saw three hungry, weary people, but God could see the future of our relationship and knew what a beautiful thing it would become.

His Kingdom come, His will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.