Friday, April 8, 2011

Unsung hero

This post is dedicated to one of Afrawear.com’s top suppliers. 

They specifically asked that they not be named as they’re not in it for the fame but I felt moved to tell you a little bit about what they do.

I know I’ve given you the highlights before namely that they donate 2% of all their proceeds to African orphanages.  Well, now I can fill in a bit more detail.

Since October 2007, they have donated a total of $122,500 to a total of six different orphanages in Congo.  In two of these orphanages, the money went to paying for improved facilities while in the others it pays for food and other expenses including, in some cases, school fees.

In February 2008, $5,000 was donated to help support a home for street kids in Dakar, Senegal. The money paid for rent, repairs to the building, salaries for two employees, food and vaccinations for a total of two months. The following year, a total of $7,500 was donated to the same cause. 

In March, 2008 they donated $2,500 in order to help expand a business training and development project for reformed prostitutes.  Part of this money was loaned to the women to trade with and to start very small legitimate businesses. The idea being that they become able to support themselves and their children without resorting to prostitution.

The main focus of this company is that the sales from African made products help to support working craftspeople in Africa as they generally live in very difficult situations.
So how can you help, you may ask?

As a wholesale buyer (such as Afrawear), you can help the most by being successful in selling African products.  Not only does this help the company to support these children, it also keeps people working through making their traditional crafts in Africa.  
The more you sell, the more people in Africa can thrive in their own businesses, and the more funds can circulate through these communities in Africa.  If you are going through a slow or difficult time in your business, remember some of the other people who are supported by what you do.  A small sale here can go a very long way in some of these African communities.

On a simplified level, every $7.50 worth of product that is purchased  from the company, sends enough money to Africa to purchase a days’ worth of meals for a child. 

If you are buying things for yourself rather than as a wholesaler,  be sure to look for African made products when you can or businesses that support African made products.

Remember every purchase you make can have a tremendous impact on different people and communities in Africa.

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