Journey to Haiti July 2013

On July 22^nd 2013, my friend Victoria & I embarked on a journey back to Haiti, to set Bay Lavi, a project I’ve been dreaming up for two years, in motion at the St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs. Bay Lavi, Creole for Give Life, started as a line of fabric jewelry I created while in college with my mom to fundraise for Students for Haiti. My first trip down was in April 2012 during my senior year of college. This experience sparked the inspiration to further this charity line into something more sustainable, and so the idea of creating a jewelry employment program was born.After a year of establishing my business eff.Y.bee & with the completion of the hospitals vocational training center, the time was finally right both here and there to circle back and get things going.

Selling Bay Lavi bracelets at Haitifest October 2012

Group pic of SFH in Haiti, April 2012

Victoria & I in DC at the Roots of Development annual event 

Our project is unique because our focus at St. Boniface is on spinal cord injury females, all of who were injured on January 12^th 2010 during the earthquake. Women in Haiti are already severely disadvantaged with tremendous gender inequality and a lack of economic opportunities. Disabled women are the most vulnerable population, having it even harder with mobility issues, finding job opportunities, & an overall dependency that takes a toll on their pride, self-esteem, and their ability to better their own lives. 

Victoria is the President of Students for Haiti, one of my dearest friends, and one of the most genuine and kindhearted people I know. Sharing in my excitement for Bay Lavi, she came down to assist in getting the project started, helping to document our journey, and to see the progress the hospital has made since our last trip. I couldn’t have done this without her.  

Though usually a meticulous planner, I instead decided to go on this trip without a specific itinerary. Rather than sweating the details of what to bring and what to do, I decided to go with the flow and focus more on the experience of meeting our founding team of women. I would have never guessed the extent to which this experience was about to open my eyes and change my life.  

So here is the story of our experience, how Bay Lavi became established at St. Boniface Hospital, and of how a group of women from different cultures and life experiences, through jewelry, found a common ground, communicated without language, and became family.