I certainly do not have a low carbon footprint right now. I’ve been on and off of planes between Boston and Haiti at a rapid clip this year getting our program off the ground. Good thing I use public transport, walk and eat locally while home to offset some of this environmental impact. Maybe my three years of bucket baths and little electricity in the Peace Corps help even it out too??

As much as I love traveling to Haiti, I’m happy to report that it is becoming less necessary for me to go as often. Not because we are slowing down, but rather because things are picking up! And, most importantly, because we now have an amazing local team. I’m so fortunate to have been able to hire two of the most impressive women I’ve met in Haiti. The program is in very good hands with them.

So as I’m flying back from Haiti now (after the dust of the busy 2 week visit settles in my mind), I thought I’d take a moment to introduce them.

Regine is our Interim Country Director. I met her a year ago and ever since she has been engaged and supportive of our work. From our first mosquito-ridden meeting at the Hotel Roi Christophe, she has been pushing us to think deeply about our model and has been connecting us to some of the critical people in the Cap Haitien community. She is now working part-time with us to help oversee the program on the ground, manage our partnerships, and find the first group of apprentice entrepreneurs for our program.

DeeDee is our new Operations Manager. During her interview when I asked her “why are you interested in this job?” her answer was “because I want to show the amazing work that Haiti can do and call up my friends in the States to say ‘walk into that store and pick up a candle – you’ll see it says “Made in Haiti” on the bottom. I did that!’” She has just joined the team and is going to be responsible for all of the candle-making operations – from sourcing raw materials to creating the candles with the women to prepping them for export.

After a surprising turn of events, we had to find a new space for our candle workshop. With DeeDee’s help, we found a great new space that we are going to transform into a welcoming, productive workspace devoted to inspiring, educating and supporting women. I like to think of our candle enterprise as a classroom of sorts. While the nuts and bolts of our work is about creating candles, it is actually about so much more than just candles. Candles are the focal point, but they are a vehicle for learning and transformation. Using the candles as a tool, we’ll be teaching the women about business, entrepreneurship, marketing, personal financial planning, women’s health, and women’s rights.

We’re delighted to be moving into May ready to recruit our first group of women and offer them work readiness training.

I was also fortunate to accompany a travel group from the Women’s Donor Network where I learned about some fabulous programs focused on women in southern Haiti. What an inspiring few days!

We’ll keep you posted as events unfold!

~ Siiri