Cyma Orchids Purchases 5,000 Handmade Orchid Baskets from Victims of 2010 Earthquake in Haiti – Provides Much-Needed Jobs for Basket Makers
Anaheim, CA (PRWEB) February 14, 2015 -- Cyma Orchids, a local family owned and operated grower, wholesaler and distributor of high quality orchids and unique home décor accessories, partnered with Stepping Stone Trading Inc. of Artesia, California, in order to purchase 5,000 hand-crafted plant baskets for their fresh orchid plants that will be sold at Home Depot from victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. All of the proceeds go directly to the Haitian basket makers and enable them to become self-sufficient, feed their families and rebuild their villages.
After traveling to Haiti and seeing the devastation caused to villages by the 2010 earthquake, the lack of assistance and support offered and the resulting huge numbers of unemployed (80%), Jennifer Park, Director of Stepping Stone Trading Inc., wanted to do something to help. She saw piles of leaves all over the area and an idea came to her. What if she could organize a program that would create jobs by enabling the people in the village to make baskets that could then be sold? If they could make baskets that could be sold, she reasoned, they would be able to work and earn money and this would enable them to become self-sufficient. By partnering with Mr. Etienne Kim, Field Director at Serving Friends International, a non-government organization dedicated to providing emergency assistance to people in third-world countries who suffer hardships, Jennifer was able to implement such a program. She contacted Ken Chung at Cyma Orchids and he was immediately interested.
“When I heard about Jennifer’s idea to help the victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and saw a sample of the baskets they could make, I was immediately interested,” reports Ken Chung, owner of Cyma Orchids. “The baskets were high quality, finely made and we could purchase them for a reasonable price. We saw that we could put our orchid plants in them and sell them at Home Depot while helping people who really needed to work and earn money become self-sufficient—it was a win-win for everyone involved,” he continued.
All of the monies earned from the baskets went directly to the basket makers in Haiti and project costs and helped the victims of the 2010 earthquake to become self-sufficient and make enough money to feed their families, rebuild their villages, and build schools for their children.
The project is called The Haiti Cherie Project and can be viewed online at the following link: http://vimeo.com/haitibasket. For more information about or to donate money to the project, contact Jennifer Park at 562-743-7703.
About Cyma Orchids:
“Highest Quality Orchids & Home Décor Plants Grown and Cultivated with Care and Nurturing – From Our Family to Yours”
Cyma Orchids is family owned and operated wholesaler and distributor of more than eight different high quality orchid species that are grown, cultivated and nurtured on our 15 acre farm located in Oxnard, California in Ventura County. Best known for our quality orchids and the primary supplier for all Southern California Home Depots and Albertson’s grocery stores, we produce the finest quality orchid plants through our customized care, cultivation and nurturing of each and every plant we raise by our family approach to growing on our farm, proving that man over machinery is the key to achieving beautiful and luxurious orchids that provide long-lasting pleasure and enjoyment. For more information call 800-395-9754 or visit http://www.cymaorchids.com.
About Stepping Stone Trading, Inc.:
Stepping Stone Trading, Inc., located in Artesia, CA, is a company dedicated to helping create job opportunities for the peoples of third-world countries using natural resources.
About Serving Friends International:
Serving Friends International is a humanitarian, development provoking, non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They serve the people who are suffering from AIDS, poverty, and other hardships by practicing genuine love through emergency relief, life aid, and regional development. For more information, visit their Web site at http://www.servingfriends.org/eng/about/ngo.asp.
###
Edith Quiroz, Cyma Orchids, http://www.cymaorchids.com, +1 714-462-9585, [email protected]
Share this article