Disaster Response Haiti Project #53409

Earthquake Solidarity Project 4 Haiti by Haitians

by Economic Stimulus Projects for Work and Action (ESPWA)

Project Report | Nov 27, 2023
It's About People and Communities...

By Marie-Rose Romain Murphy | Servant Leader

Dear Friend,

First of all, we want to thank you for your consistent support and tell you that it continues to be needed...

The August 14, 2021 Earthquake in Haiti destroyed 90% of the community cisterns of Pestel, a town located in the South of Haiti. Yes, it’s 2023, and the rebuilding continues!

This is Jackson, a longtime Community Organizer of Pestel and one of our Community Leaders Representatives, talking to Clémita, a community resident who benefited from Fondation Communautaire Haitienne-Espwa/The Haïti Community Foundation’s Family Water Cistern Repair Initiative. Clémita used to walk 20 kilometers to get a gallon of water. She has regained water access and agreed to share it with her neighbors.

This is part of an initiative that repaired three large community cisterns and five family cisterns that serve tens of thousands of residents, in collaboration with community leaders and the City of Pestel who worked with us on identifying communities and people most in need. The community design and approval process was critical.

There’s a lot of talk about the situation in Haiti. The political situation is extremely complex, and so is the humanitarian context. Our organization’s focus ( and what keeps me and us grounded) is working with communities to help them meet their needs and their priorities. The politics are dire. Our people shouldn’t have to endure and suffer…We fight with and for them for a more manageable life and a better future.

Thank you again for your support!

Warmest regards,

Marie-Rose, on behalf of the Haitian communities that we serve through ESPWA and the Haiti Community Foundation Network

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Jul 31, 2023
Support Communities Through Crisis

By Marie-Rose Romain Murphy | Servant Leader

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your continuing support. We deeply appreciate it as it enables us to support our communities through thick and thin.

The good news is that we have expanded our geographic focus to the Grand Sud and taken on more partners. The not so good news is that a lot of our funding is project based and we were not able to support impacted communities after the recent flood that affected them. More than ever, we need your support.

The Grand Sud

We have expanded our geographic focus to the Grand Sud which includes the Grande Anse, the Departement du Sud and the Département de Nippes. We have just selected two community partners and are in the process of adding more. As you know, we take directives from the communities in terms of their priorities and work with them on project planning, technical support of various sorts and financial support. We must stress that in many ways, our capacity reinforcement work and social capital development are critical components of what we do, as it isn't something easily available. The fact that we follow communities' directives when it comes to their priorities makes our work even more unique. We just funded two networks in the Grand Sud, one is a network of Handicapped Women (see photos) and one is a network of fishermen and fisherwomen.

We continue our work in the Grand'Anse as we focus on very low-income communities such as Chambellan where the majority of residents live on less than one dollar a day. We are working with them on a mill project to enable them to transform their crops (corn and cacao) and generate more income. We are also starting to work with three other communes on projects that address their priorities.

The crisis in Haiti is (as you know) creating more hunger, food insecurity and extreme poverty. There are many issues at the root of the gang problems that are paralyzing the economy and destroying the country as Port-au-Prince is 'over centralized'.. One of them is the fact that while more than 50% of Haiti's population is 25 and under, there are no opportunities for them. Many of the youth that are joining the gangs are from rural areas like the Grand Sud where there are no economic opportunities for them. One of the strategies that is necessary to address the many ills of our country has to be community-led development initiatives shaped by community residents and focused on generating income for people of all ages including young people.

Water Access Projects

We recently completed the repair of a large central water cistern that now serves over 20,000 residents and their families living in Pestel and its surrounding communities. The water is CLEAN! Pestel was one of the communities with the highest rate of cholera and its population suffered from a range of health issues because of their lack of water access. We have been able to work with its local government and community leaders on building three community cisterns located where the community felt that they would be accessible to the greater number of unserved families.

The Recent Flood

Sadly, we were not able to serve communities affected by the flood because of the lack of funding. Most of our funding lacks flexibility and are "project funds". A pity.

Our Priorities

Our priorities are two-fold right now:

With climate change and the cyclonic season, we would like to be able to access emergency funds that allow us to serve the hardest hit areas of the Grand Sud and the most affected people who are usually single mothers and their children, pregnant women, elderly people and the injured and handicapped.
Our other priority is to secure flexible funding to enable us to continue to support our community partners and our communities the way they deserve to be supported.
In general, as you know, what is consistently our priority is to work with communities for communities on their self-selected priorities in a way that supports their self-sufficiency and creates pride, dignity and advancement.

Last note: We hope that all is well with you and your families. Many countries are experiencing war, droughts, civil unrest and challenges. We appreciate your solidarity with Haiti and the communities that we serve.

Warmest regards,

Marie-Rose on behalf of the Haiti Community Foundation Network

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Apr 2, 2023
Kenbe Fem- Standing Strong for Haiti

By Marie-Rose Romain Murphy | Servant Leader

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