Dubai A Dubai resident is on a mission to complete an extension of a classroom she started earlier this year in quake-hit Haiti.
Briton Melissa Gilchrist Higgins, who raises funds for the quake-ravaged country’s orphaned and affected children through her unique line of designer wear, Frontline Fashion, says she needs Dh20,735 to turn the two existing makeshift classrooms into full-fledged schools.
“This would mean that 150 people, each donating only about $37 [approximately Dh140], should be enough to provide the needs of two schools with 100 desks, six tables, 300 chairs, 14 chalkboards plus provisions for 300 uniforms and other stationery,” explains the former media professional-turned-social worker who raises significant amounts of money to fund her other projects by also selling fashionable tops aptly named Humani-Tees.
The schools project may be Higgins’ latest all-consuming passion, but healing Haiti has been an ongoing process in her life. “Once in a while, something touches your life. For me, it was the desperation of the situation in Haiti. I was overwhelmed with a desire to travel there and to provide whatever help I could. Before I knew it, I had quit my job and was on my way to provide the earthquake victims with basic necessities — care, food, clothing and shelter,” recalls the Scottish-born fashionista of her ‘moment of truth’.
No doubt the catastrophe shook the entire world but for Higgins, it touched a raw nerve.
“I still remember the day it happened: Tuesday, January 12, 2010. An earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter scale hit Haiti killing thousands and leaving many homeless,” she says.
Higgins spent months in the Caribbean island helping quake victims, and on returning, she set up Frontline Fashion. With the help of her ‘on the ground’ partners ACTS she also launched what she calls the Zanmi Project (Haitian for ‘friends’) to build a community on the outskirts of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The seven acre project that is 20 per cent complete comprises an orphanage, a dormitory for volunteers. The school, central to the project, had 40 pupils last year, but has seen a tremendous demand, with 200 children registering this year, the reason why an expansion was required, says Higgins.
Her long-term aim is to help achieve a more prosperous future for the community in Haiti which has perennially been wracked by poverty and corruption. “Images and reports of the wreckage may no longer make prime-time news bulletins, but Haiti still needs our help,” says the 38-year-old.
The humani-tees can be bought from www.fashlink.com. All donations can be made through www.frontlinef.com or dropped off at Fashlink office in media city
