As most of you may know, in January, 2013 I went to Cite Soleil, Haiti and visited the Capvva IDP Camp. At the time, the camp was filled with over 300 individuals that were living in small tents, had limited to no food, and the area did not even have a proper sewage system (yes, that means no toilets or running water). After visiting Capvva I was so moved by the living conditions of these people that I wanted to help in any which way that I could. With that being said, I began working with the nonprofit organization, Join The journey, on several initiatives.

On Saturday, June 22nd 2014, I held the Hope for Capvva Fundraiser, that helped bring a broader awareness for the people of Capvva. Through this fundraiser I was able to raise over $500 to donate to Join The Journey to assist in Capvva relief efforts.

After that time, I realized that I wanted to do more but I wasn’t sure how. In August, 2014 I decided to create an initiative through my line where for every $10 spent on ilia by Tatiana Ilia merchandise, $1 gets donated to Join The Journey to assist in their relief efforts for Capvva. This initiative has assisted in providing food, water, clothing, school uniforms, mobile health clinics, plus much more to the people of Capvva.

Also, in February, 2014 I began working very closely with the members of Capvva that were interested in making their own jewelry to sell in the United States. Through this jewelry program, natives created handmade woven bracelets, Join The Journey members then mailed them to me, and once the bracelets were received I sold them through my line. All of the proceeds from those Capvva bracelet profits went directly back to Join The Journey and their jewelry program.

Fast-forwarding to now, it is bittersweet for me to say that my work with the people of Capvva is now done. Although I do still plan to work very closely with Join The Journey, the IDP Camp that was once known as Capvva is now closed. All of the families that were living there for about 3-4 years have been relocated to other parts of Haiti, with the help of the UN and Join The Journey. Join The Journey still plans on assisting certain families by providing them with small grants that will help better their situations, but aside from that I am not sure what the next chapter has in store for us all.

With that being said, my “$10 Spent, $1 Donated” initiative with Capvva and Join The Journey has now come to an end. I do plan on reinstating this initiative again with another non-profit but I am putting it on hold until I am able to find another cause that I am sincerely passionate about, just like with Capvva.

Thank you to all that have supported this initiative, and those that have believed (and continue to believe) in my line, Capvva, Join The Journey, and all that we have tried to do to help in rebuilding Haiti. I sincerely appreciate every purchase, act of kindness, and overall support for what I do.

Blessings To All,

Tatiana Ilia

XOXO

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON JOIN THE JOURNEY VISIT: WWW.JTJOURNEY.ORG

For Every $10 Spent, $1 Donated to Capvva (Ended)