Tisha Ricketts
Magalie Dresse was born and raised in Haiti, one of the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Dresse is the owner of Caribbean Craft, a successful business located in Port-au-Prince.
I am sure you have heard the saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime“. Magalie Dresse is a true example of what this means.
One of the truly inspiring thing about Magalie Dresse is her deep commitment to empowering her fellow Haitians. She pays her employees, wages and benefits that are far above what is normal in Haiti. For years, many companies exploited Haitian workers by paying them low wages. But Caribbean Craft provides employee benefits such as health and accident insurance, one meal a day at the on-site facility, and educational opportunities.
Dresse is determine to bring about substantial changes for the Haitian people and she is doing it in a number of ways. For example, last September, 37 of her employees completed a six-month literacy-training course through PRODEV, a Haitian-led nonprofit organization. This will go a far way especially in a country where less than 50% of the adult population in Haiti is literate.
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In a recent interview, Dresse said “While Haiti is clearly in everyone’s hearts these days, its future, is ultimately in the hands of Haitians: “Our hands”
I totally agree, Haiti like most of the rest of the Caribbean, will progress if we put our future in our own hands.
