And, THIS, is why we make toys.
Battat donates a portion of sales to WE.org, a charity that brought over 1,000 schools to communities around the world. The WE model is brilliant, yet simple: focus on sustainable development; and by doing that, impact the lives of generations to come. Through these donations, Battat has now adopted 8 villages in 5 countries (Kenya, Haiti, Ecuador, China, and India) We’ve been there from A to Z, building classrooms, bathrooms with proper toilets, and wells for clean drinking water. And just like any proud parent, we are thrilled to present to you those 8 communities. Your toy purchases help fund these villages, so you can feel like proud aunts and uncles too.
In 2015, many lives definitely changed for the better in a tight-knitted, yet very poor, community high up in the Haitian mountains. The tiny village of Manac, with the help of WE and Battat, saw its school attendance increased from 120 to 700 with the construction of 2 school blocks and 4 extra classrooms! Today, the community can rely on a well for clean water, a mobile medical clinic, and many other positive changes.
Kalthana’s two primary schools had poorly equipped rooms, no handwashing stations with running water, and inadequate septic systems and latrines. Today, with help from WE and Battat, schoolrooms have been improved, a new water system installed, and more are under construction. Kalthana’s residents now benefit from regular health and hygiene workshops, and new smokeless chulha (stoves) addressed problems of smoke inhalation from food preparation. Additional nurses and workers also visit the rehabilitated anganwadi (health center). Thanks to a successful agriculture and food security program, participating farmers report complete food security. Women involved in the program have opened new bank accounts after earning over $1000USD from the sale of surplus goats! Plans include outfitting a computer lab with solar power, ongoing agriculture projects, and health and water programming.
Kalinjar’s 837 community members engage in subsistence farming and live on less than 2 dollars per day. Families face challenges of food insecurity, a shortage of qualified medical staff, and an inadequately stocked anganwadi (health center). The local school’s old rooms are in poor condition, and newer rooms are dark and poorly-ventilated. Classrooms lack desks, benches and other furniture. All of these factors severely limit student learning potential. The school has only 1 functioning latrine, and there is no water within the school grounds. After building trust in the community, WE plans to begin infrastructure work in Kalinjar with Battat’s help. After the construction of a new school building, the government will appoint additional teachers. The hope is that students will complete grade 12, which is uncommon in rural schools.