Taking Care of Our Partners

For years, Soles4Souls has been able to provide opportunities for women in countries like Haiti and Honduras to make a sustainable income and support their families and communities. And if it weren’t for our in-country partners, like Raul, Sam and Paul, none of it would be possible. Our partners are the gateway to our entrepreneurs– getting them their shoes, mentoring and setting them up for long-term success. And then COVID-19, something none of us could have anticipated, happened. The global pandemic has had a severe economic impact on our partners and their network of micro-entrepreneurs, and now, it’s up to us and our supporters to show up for them in a big way.

“I know the virus is really dangerous, but people here simply don’t have enough resources to survive. Things are not going well here, but for a very long time,” said Paul, our partner based in Haiti.

In a recent call with Paul, he discussed the increase in Haiti’s food prices, which are now nearly double from what they were pre-COVID, and how the feeding program he helps run for around 200 children, has been halted due to safety precautions. 

“One of the biggest problems is we have no hospital infrastructure here. There are buildings but we don’t have enough medicine, beds or even money to pay the doctors,” he says.

In addition to the pandemic are all the riots and country lockdowns, which have prevented the entrepreneurs from being able to sell shoes.

“It’s been really tough, but I’m still hopeful that maybe this pandemic will require our country to put an infrastructure in place that is long overdue,” he says.

The livelihoods of our entrepreneurs and partners have been put even more at risk, and Soles4Souls wants to help in the best way we know how: getting more shoes to the people who need them most. To do that, we want to cover the cost of a container of shoes for each of our partners, and ultimately alleviate the cost to our entrepreneurs. This will allow them the opportunity to focus their funds on providing basic needs for their families. Any additional funds donated will go to helping them with more specific needs as it applies to their countries and entrepreneurs. 

We love our communities around the world, and we can’t allow the progress made to be reversed. We have to take care of our people who have helped change the lives of so many women and families. Consider donating, or sponsoring a 50-pound sack of shoes to be sent to our partners. To learn more and donate go here.