Written By: Hayley
My eyes widened with shock as I looked out the window of the airplane descending into Port-au-Prince Haiti. The tin shacks, dirty crowded streets and poverty were all I saw. If I hadn’t spent a year and a half in, what I thought to be, the poorest of the poor countries, Honduras, I might not have gotten off that plane. Honduras was looking like a resort right then compared to what I was seeing…and smelling.
Luckily I love adventure, and I was eager to get to know my husband's homeland. Adventure soon found me as a major hurricane hit my husband’s hometown of Gonaives that day! After weeks of the roads being too damaged to drive on, we boarded a bus and went to help dig people’s houses out of the mud. It was then that I fell in love with the people in Haiti and knew that THIS is what I wanted to do with my life. Not dig mud…that was hard, but help the people in Haiti who desperately needed it! Since my first adventure in Haiti I have gone back many many times. Haiti is where my heart is (and some of my children, but that’s a story for another day)!
Thankfully my husband is just as passionate about helping people in Haiti. He realized what a privilege it was for him to be able to go to college and learn, that the first thing he did when he got the chance was to teach anyone who would listen the things he learned about entrepreneurship and business. A LOT of people wanted to listen. He taught over 100 people and inspired some to start their own businesses.
Everyone was pumped to start their businesses, but most were not able to because of lack of funds. Most people did not even have jobs! There just weren’t any jobs available. We knew we needed to find a way to give people a form of employment, so we came up with a great idea. We started a peanut butter factory and named it Manba Tropical.
Manba Tropical has been an answer to many people’s prayers. It proudly employs many Haitians who can now support themselves and their families, but there are still many jobless hard workers out there who we want to employ. So we are expanding Manba Tropical and bringing our unique peanut butter to the U.S.
We are currently raising funds though Kickstarter. We need $6,000 to aid in the expansion and are currently 20% funded with only 6 days to go. The thing with Kickstarter is that it’s all or nothing! If you want to do something truly life changing for people who are in need THIS is your opportunity!
Please donate here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2018223579/spicy-haitian-peanut-butter
Every little bit helps. Every share helps. And not to mention you get some delicious spicy Haitian peanut butter to try! You’re going to LOVE it! No joke!
The thing I love most about this business it that it not only provides employment for people who need it, but it also gives us a way to provide aid to orphans. We decided that for every jar sold $1 would go towards providing food, clothes, toys, hygiene kits, and more to a special group of orphans in Gonaives that stole our hearts. As much as people need those jobs, these orphans desperately need our help. I LOVE them so much and am going to do all I can to help them…even if it means going WAY out of my comfort zone and literally asking for money.
Helping people in Haiti has brought me SO much joy! I am so happy I stepped off that plane and into a hot, humid, humbling, wonderful adventure. I have the strongest desire to just do good things and make a real difference in the world and I invite you to join me!
-Hayley <3 <3 <3
No comments:
Post a Comment