Humanity is always in Style - makes its debut on tv!

She’s done it again!!!!!!

Pixie-princess and perfectly formed Simone Heng has shown her love for our Haiti project.

Whilst filming, this week’s movie review segment, for Dubai One’s Out and About, she rocked the easy-rider look accompanied by, ‘girl with attitude’, uber-cool locks, right-on-trend shoe-boots and of course our Humanity is always in Style tee.

We are incredibly lucky to have such an amazing ambassador for this project and can’t thank her enough for her on-going support.

Simone, we salute you!

 

 

 

 

Damage, donations and determination!

As if the quake 9 months ago didn’t cause enough damage, the storms that hit Haiti just a couple of weeks ago were a further difficulty that could definitely be done without.

The situation for the homeless in Port-au-Prince is so grim that a 10-minute rain storm with high winds on Sept. 24 ended in yet more tragedy. The devastating downpours and gales left at least five people dead, hundreds injured and thousands of shelters — tents, tarps and sheets — destroyed.

Eight months after the earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, between 1.5 and 2 million people are still living in temporary shelters in over 1,000 and sites scattered throughout the city. Rain leaves many sites filled with mud, with large pools of standing water. Sanitation — garbage disposal and waste facilities — are hit or miss. Many homeless in Port-au-Prince have trouble finding drinkable water and enough food for themselves and their families. Jobs are few and far between.

Haitians have a proud history, filled with bravery and courage in resisting tyranny and oppression that at the time seemed overwhelming. They smashed the French army that Napoleon sent to re-enslave them. They resisted the 1915-1934 U.S. occupation. They resisted the U.S.-backed Duvaliers. They elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1990.

Reconstructing Haiti after the devastation of Jan. 12 is another epic challenge for the Haitian people.

Donatin ‘Babby’ Erick, is just one of these people who, has to rebuild his home again. He is one of the lucky people who has been able to do this with the help of your generous donations. Within two days of receiving the money we sent him, supplies were purchased and work on the new family house had begun. He is so keen to show how grateful he is, being able to get this project started, that he has enlisted some friends to take pictures and send them to us to show the progress.

         
Babby, his brother and friends, get to work putting the frame work together – love the safety goggles!!!!

Message from Babby:

“Yes i know on monday i bigining with my brother, before i bigining i show you underground,after i will show you, believe in me my friend. Melissa thank you, a lot! a lot! a lot! GOD still bless you and your friends and your husband and your family. Love for you and peace for you. Thank you thank you.

Melissa hear my voice my friend you never lost it you make for me.(not tomorrow only wednesday for photos ) . God bless you and your friends heping you to help me my friend 1 million thank you.”

We can help one person, one family at a time!

Babby says thank you.

We have previously alerted you to the fact that the market sale was a mammoth success and that we had reached our $500 target to enable Babby and family, to start rebuilding their home.

We can now report with glee and gladness, that the money has been wired to Croix des Bouquets, Haiti, and has been collected by Babby.

This was only possible due to the generosity of you dear friends.

Babby has sent a little message, of his own, to say thank you:

“Melissa the raining back again still problem for me at night is problem for me don't lost time to send money for me my friend. Thank you a lot God bless you.

Yes thank you lot, i got it easy in this morning.

Thank you a lot my friend Melissa God bless you and your friends take of yourself.”

 
 
 
 

 








 


Remember to buy one of our ‘Humanity is always in Style’ t-shirts!

Super-stylish, sassy Simone wears our new ‘Humanity is always in Style’ t-shirt and looks fabulous!

   

Simone looks so stunning in these shots that we simply couldn’t choose our favourite!!!!!!!!!!!

We did it!!!!!!

The alarm goes off at 5.15am. It’s still dark outside and I reluctantly slide myself out of the bed.

I scramble for my clothes (trying not to wake up hubby) and get ready for the day ahead – the Safa Park Market.

Fortunately, I (on the suggestion / persuasion from the hubby) had packed the car the night before. Thank goodness I did as I doubt I could have managed, doing this in my half-awake state, this morning. The car was packed full to the roof, making it impossible to see out of the rear window. Thanks to all of the wonderful people who so kindly offered donations of goodies to sell; the final count was 2 suitcases, 4 rucksacks, 2 boxes and a runner rail.

On arriving at the park’s main entrance, I couldn’t believe all the nutters that were already there with goods in-tow and each of them was wearing the same ‘it’s too early’ expression that I had. Now, I am quite prepared to class myself as one of these nutters along with all my fellow seller, but I simply couldn’t believe the whole new level of nutter presenting itself to me – the ones who were queuing to get in!! I understand that you want to be there early to get the first pick, but 2 hours before the place even opened??!!!!!

I meet my fellow nutter, sorry, seller Lucy, who I have to admit, is looking far more stylish and glamorous than me. We empty our first car loads and make our way to the hordes of nutters stretched out in front of us. Loaded like a pack-horse, I wait in line as she sorts out the payment for the table.

So, with the required orange sticker clearly displayed on my top and the receipt for the table in my mouth (I have no free hands) I enter the market bazaar (or should that be bizarre market)?

With the time now approaching 7am, I look as if I have just completed the London Marathon and the main event hasn’t even begun. I haven’t even made it to the allocated table yet, never mind started to unpack my first mountain of merchandise. By the time I reach the table, my vest and shorts are soaked through with sweat, I have no moisture left in my mouth (as I have sweated every morsel out), my hands and feet are covered in blisters and I have lost 2 wheels off my runner-rail which Lucy and I are now attempting to lift and carry over the grass area. Not so easy, to carry or balance, when it is weighed down with bags and boxes.

Giggling with hysteria and the fact that there are hundreds of other nutters just like us going through this, we start to unpack – Lucy on the right hand-side of the table and me on the left. I actually think I am being rather kind using the terminology nutters, as before I had even finished unzipping bag one, there were fellow sellers rummaging through my stuff. I then realised that I had not been aware of just how crazy the day was actually going to be.

We took it in turn to return to our vehicles and collect the next heap of goods to peddle. And then the crazy reached a whole new level.

The mass mobs of bargain hunters were swarming towards us. A neatly displayed table was futile and one by one they grabbed an item and yelled “how much?” You bargained back and forth until an agreement was reached and money was handed over. The stranger the items you had on sale, the more appeal they seemed to have; which baffled me. Actually, the first 2 items to sell were things I thought would never shift.

The next 7 hours panned out to be crazy, sweaty, surreal and exhausting, but all that aside, knowing that each dirham that I put into my brown purse was going towards helping Babby and his family build their home, put everything into perspective.

Believe me, there is not a single negative sentiment regarding participating in this day, I have simply written it in such a way to amuse you, the reader. Crazy? Yes! Worthwhile? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Not a chance!!!!! Only kidding.

Most importantly, we achieved our goal! We met our target and made the sum needed to buy the essential items to help a family rebuild a home.

So, a massive thank you to all who helped, donated or made a purchase from the table or splashed-out on one of the Humanity is always in Style t-shirts. You made this possible!

We raised just over a whopping $500!!!!

Thank you!

(A special thank you to Binu, Chee, Simone and Iain. Also to Sarah and Tim for their generosity plus dropping off items when Tim was under the weather).