Hello Dears!
Back in July, I told you all about a special opportunity to give back, and boy did you take it and run with it. Jasper House is a program in Haiti that provides resources and healing for women who have been abused and traumatized. Until Jasper House was founded in 2015, there were virtually no resources for women facing assault or abuse. That was a major issue, considering 1 in 3 women in Haiti ages 15-49 have experienced sexual and/or physical violence.
The Healing Centre at Jasper House was founded in 2015, and here women are provided with therapies such as counseling, art, yoga, and self defense so they can heal, restore their self worth and be empowered to transform their lives. They weren't merely a safe home, the Healing Centre was a place where hope is restored and new life begins to take root.
Since 2015, Jasper House has grown! The majority of the women at Jasper House were over the age of eighteen and had reached an average academic level of second grade. There were no adult alternative education options in Haiti so Jasper House created one. The Women's Academy for Learning provides basic education and literacy in addition to 3 vocational tracks so that the women are able to support themselves and have professional careers.
Their most recent program is Rise and Empower, a type of non-profit business that employs people and earns income in order to help address perceived social or environmental issues. With the creation of handcrafted clothing and accessories, made primarily with locally sources materials, R&E is a business that will not only provide cutting edge fashion pieces that will long outlast the trends, but will also provide our women long-term sustainable income, empowering them to take back the keys of autonomy and independence for their lives.
Jasper House recently expressed the need for a Tap-tap. What's a Tap-Tap you might ask? A Tap-Tap is a painted bus that is used to transport people around Haiti.
Jasper House currently has no form of consistent, reliable and safe transportation for their students to and from school. Having a Tap-Tap would increase educational performance by decreasing the amount of class time missed due to the lack of safe transport.
They began raising money for a Tap-Tap in June and were about 25% of the way to their goal.
We wanted to pitch in so that they could be closer to their goal by the start of the new school year. I announced my plan for the Tap-Tap minis, and you guys responded! Through all of our lovely mini sessions, we were able to donate $1800 to the Jasper House Tap-Tap fund! That was only possible through YOU wonderful people! We can't thank you enough for your willingness to give back.
If you missed out on the mini sessions, don't fret! Jasper House is still accepting donations for their Tap-Tap fund, and you can find that by clicking the button below. Just click on the drop down menu and choose the Tap-Tap fund.
