We're all in this together, helping artisanal miners with Gem Legacy
Since temporarily closing our studio, and with the shuttering of retail spaces and other nonessential businesses, it’s made me especially conscious of the impacts this has on our supply chain. It isn’t only here where supply chain disruptions are putting some of the most marginalized people at great risk. The closures of schools all across the world, places unique challenges on families everywhere, even in the remote and rural areas where many of our gems are mined.
This is why we’re donating 15% of sales from our website to Gem Legacy to help provide access to meals and sanitation for children in Kenya and Tanzania. For many of these children, school closures limit their access to food and puts them at risk for malnutrition due to poverty. The Sanawari primary school in Arusha, Tanzania and the Mwatate Children’s Home in Kenya are both key to helping these kids get adequate nutrition and Gem Legacy is working with them to help even while schools are closed due to COVID-19. $25 feeds one child lunch everyday during the month and they need all of our support.
Sanawari Primary School feeds its 1,500 students, age 5-14, lunch on a daily basis. 228 of its students are considered high-risk for malnutrition at home due to poverty. The school administrators will monitor the food distribution to maintain proper social distancing etiquette. The 28 orphans of the Mwatate Children's Home are fed lunch at school each day. Many of the kids attend Secondary Boarding School where they are fed 3 meals per day. The Home does not have the finances to adequately feed the kids for this month.
Similarly artisanal miners, with international trade and travel drying up for an indefinite amount of time going forward, are faced with a sudden loss of income. The lockdowns and shuttering of nonessential businesses means they can’t find other work to supplement their lost income either. Gem Legacy is working to help feed the miners and their families and supply them sanitation supplies and guidance on how to stay healthy during the outbreak. Awareness and education about COVID-19, how it spreads, and how to prevent it is additionally of the utmost importance since accessing accurate information is difficult for many mining communities.
A crisis like this really shows us how we are all connected and that we are really all in this together. While our industry is so global and diverse, it’s more important now than ever to lean in and support each other, especially those who are most vulnerable. That’s why we’ll be donating 15% of sales from our website to Gem Legacy to help with their emergency fund. Thank you for joining us in this effort to give back.