In Memory of Shelsie

Romper by Liz Alig | Earrings by Gift of Hope Haiti

There is just so much to love about a romper with pockets.
1. The pockets
2. It’s a complete outfit in itself, so you don’t have to decide what to wear with it.
3. The pockets
4. They are trendy. Everyone says so.
5. Oh! And it has pockets.
**Just try not to drink a lot because using the restroom is a rather humbling experience…

I do not personally know the hands who made this awesome, recycled denim, ethically made romper, but I sure feel powerful when I wear it!

I do have the blessing of holding the hands with the women who made my earrings. In fact, I am with them today. These talented, brave women use their hands to create beautiful things so they can keep and care for their children. Their dignified job as a jewelry artisan is empowering their family and raising them out of poverty. That is pretty powerful stuff.

My hands also had the privilege of holding and caring for the sweet, little baby these earrings are named after. Shelsie was the first baby I took in and cared for in Haiti. She was handed to me through a bus window, barely breathing, her fragile life in the balance. Her mother had recognized me from the times I had spent doing mission work in her village over the previous two years, and in an act of love and desperation, she lifted Shelsie up, through that window, and into my lap. I looked down at her frail body, wrapped up in a white towel. I thought for a moment she was already dead. My eyes lifted up to look out the window at where she had come from. I saw a group of neighborhood women gathered nearby, watching with tears in their eyes. They all wanted Shelsie to live, and they weren’t equipped to help. This is what they knew to do. Pass her to a missionary who would have access to the food and medicines Shelsie needed to survive. If only it wasn’t too late. An American friend and nurse who was sitting next to me on the bus was quick to grab a wash cloth and dip it into her water bottle. We spent the next forty minutes dripping tiny drops of clean water into her mouth in an attempt to rehydrate her and keep her alive.

Shelsie spent a few weeks with me, healing from malnutrition and infections, at the guest house where I was living in Port-au-Prince. My travel carryon suitcase became her bassinet. As Shelsie recovered, I began a relationship with her mother and helped her establish a small business selling hygiene products so she could afford to care for Shelsie’s needs. She began opening up and sharing more of her story with each passing day. She told me that she was born with HIV, and that her parents sent her away to live with an aunt when she was only five years old because they could not afford the things she needed to survive, and not too many years after that, they both died. She was not able to attend school for as many years as she had wanted to because she did not have someone supporting her education, and she was required to do hard labor and many chores in the home of her aunt. She did not have a motherly figure in her life, and she did not feel equipped to be a mother. She needed educated, encouraged, and empowered. Little did I know, helping Shelsie and her mother would only be the beginning of my journey to empower women to keep and care for their own babies, and reduce the number of babies in Haiti being orphaned by poverty.

For six months, Shelsie returned home with her mother and they lived a happy and healthy life together. Unfortunately, HIV was also passed on to Shelsie at birth, and her immune system was compromised. After the earthquake in January 2010, a number of illnesses plagued our city. A week before Shelsie’s first birthday, she passed away. Her death was sudden, and a shock to all of us. Shelsie was one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. She lived her last six months of life showing off her dimples, and with a magical spark of life in her eyes. Her beautiful face and sweet fighting spirit will never be forgotten.

God’s divine intervention that began an empowering relationship and a small shampoo business saved Shelsie’s life for long enough to leave a legacy: a model that could be recreated over and over again to keep more babies in their mother’s arms. When mothers in poverty are given opportunity for income, their children are less at risk of becoming orphaned or abandoned.

Shelsie and her mother are prime examples of why I feel so powerful when I dress with fair trade/ethical fashion pieces. I live with people whose lives have been saved and transformed because of having dignified sewing and artisan work. I see the women stand taller and laugh more often. I see the children gain weight and even bigger smiles. I see families being protected and restored. There is such great purpose behind beautiful products like the ones we make at Gift of Hope.

And with Mother’s Day coming up quickly, perhaps you could honor your mother by empowering mothers in poverty. Purchase her a gift that has purpose. Check out www.giftofhopehaiti.org for powerful gift ideas perfect for your mom!

His Kingdom come, His will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.

You were loved, sweet baby girl.

And now you are singing at the feet of Jesus, in the arms of your mama, dancing for the King.