This content was produced in partnership with Hope for Haiti.
While on a mission to improve the quality of life for the Haitian people, particularly women and children, Hope for Haiti has been around since 1989. It is one of the most trusted nonprofit organizations working in the region and has achieved some truly wondrous goals — like the launch of a $12 million Short and Long-term Response Plan, to be implemented over two years. That initiative was kicked into gear in the aftermath of the massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2021 and has continued to help foster recovery, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. But some of its most influential efforts are, believe it or not, being done with the use of innovative digital philanthropy.
Through an NFT campaign called Hope Endures and another digital project utilizing virtual reality, Hope for Haiti is raising awareness about its ambitious relief work and raising funds to help with its many efforts. Hope Endures merges the idea of Haiti’s past and future through beautiful artwork and imagery, created by six prominent Haitian artists across an exclusive collection of 900 unique pieces — all collectible NFTs. Any proceeds from the sale of this art will directly support the construction and rebuilding of two schools in southern Haiti, originally destroyed in the earthquake. Of course, that is just one of many projects this incredible team is spearheading to help local Haitians recover and thrive. If you’re interested, feel free to check out that NFT collection below, or keep reading for more details on Hope for Haiti’s formative work. There are some really intriguing projects in their portfolio!
Digital innovation making a difference
NFTs and digital technologies get a lot of flack at times, but it’s certainly interesting to see how they can be used for the greater good — in this case to help improve the quality of life for the Haitian people. While the Hope Endures NFT collection — available on Snowcrash — is undoubtedly an intriguing effort, it’s not the only thing Hope for Haiti has in the works. In fact, one of the most compelling projects utilizes VR to deliver an immersive, meaningful, and more compassionate experience allowing everyone to visit Haiti.
Called Inspiring Hope, the experience allows interested parties, including you, to explore and see Haiti in new and enchanting ways. With it, you can step into and explore a local three-room school, complete with interactive elements, explore nearby environments, and browse an NFT collection from within the app. The idea is not just to provide a digital sandbox for everyone to play around in but to give a more lived-in and practical example of how the team is on the frontlines providing critical aid for the local populace. What are they doing, exactly? How are they creating pathways out of poverty through education? You’ll find out all of this and more through the VR experience, and the app is available for free, as a public download, through Sidequest — so go check it out if you haven’t already!
Building empathy to achieve support
By the numbers, Hope for Haiti’s impact is impressive, reaching over 6,700 students across 24 partner schools, 492 primary and secondary school teachers, and over 110,000 medical consultations across a variety of mediums — from pediatric to general and wound care. But even so, there’s so much more to do.
If we could all visit Haiti and witness firsthand some of the struggles and adversities Haitian families have overcome, we’d have a much better understanding of how Hope for Haiti’s team is making a difference. Hope for Haiti CEO Skyler Badenoch wholeheartedly believes in the importance of “show don’t tell,” especially when it comes to experiences like this, which could potentially breed strong and passionate donors.
Resources are the bottleneck if you will, and without empathy and support, those resources will never come. That’s where the digital solutions come into play. By reaching new people through entirely new and innovative experiences, Hope for Haiti aims to bring in a new generation of support. The Hope Endures NFT collection, for example, will include hundreds of interested donors and supporters, willing to support projects through traditional fiat and cryptocurrencies.
It makes sense, too, why the VR app was nominated for several awards, including the 2022 Auggie Awards, 2022 VR Awards, and 2022 Raise/One Cause Awards, the latter for the Most Innovative Non-Profit project. Hope for Haiti’s official logo espouses its instrumental ideals, to learn, rise, and thrive. With these digital projects that’s exactly what they’re doing. If you’d like to play a role, you can download the VR app and give it a try, or get involved with the NFT collection, and purchase some of the gorgeous artwork that’s available. In the meantime, Hope for Haiti will continue its mission to make a better world for Haiti and its people.