COVID-19 Haiti Project #50744

Fight 4 Haiti's Communities-Konba Pou Kominote!

by Economic Stimulus Projects for Work and Action (ESPWA)

Project Report | Dec 28, 2021
Taking A Stand For Haiti-Never Giving Up!

By Marie-Rose Romain Murphy | Servant Leader

Dear Friend,

We are never tired of thanking you for your support. We so appreciate your supporting our cause and investing in our vision of a thriving Haiti!

The Earthquake of 2021 has devasted our communities and broken our hearts. We poured ourselves into it as communities of Haiti's Grand Sud that had not fully recovered from Hurricane Matthew were hit again. We've started a campaign on GlobalGiving that we hope that you can support. To date, we've supported about 28,000 community residents impacted by this disaster. We poured our "everything" into these efforts and have been so thankful for all of the partners and individual donors who have come through to help us.

What has been happening with the projects that we had funded and supported? We are thankful that even though many of our community partners were affected, many have been able to continue their work. The Earthquake has hurt thousands of our people, killed too many and made too many homeless in a context where state structures don't provide a safety net. Animals have fallen into cracks in a way where it was dangerous to retrieve them. Damaged houses are structurally compromised and will have to be rebuilt. But hope remains and life goes on. Community residents continue to nurture their crops and support each other as we work on helping them help themselves.

On September 11, we met with community representatives and discussed their priorities which are as follow:

-Support the most affected families with school fees and school supplies

-Help microenterprises and small businesses get back to business

-When possible, help rebuild small schools and health clinics

-Help to repair their water distribution systems which have been impacted by the earthquake- water is life!

-Support communities as they are trying to get back on their feet with their income generating activities from agriculture to animal farming and other

We are closing this campaign but hope that you will be able and willing to support our Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction efforts.

The truth is, our people don't seek charity and prefer to be able to fend for themselves. In the face of adversity, we are committed to be there for them and help them find their way to a better life and future for our communities.

THANK YOU FOR THE HELP THAT YOU HAVE PROVIDED!

Warmest regards,

The Haiti Community Foundation Network and the Haitian communities that we serve!

P.S. Happy Holidays to you and your family!

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Aug 30, 2021
Seeds of Change & Hope 4 Haiti's Communities

By Marie-Rose Romain Murphy | Servant Leader

Dear Friend,

I want to thank you for always investing in us and for helping #HaitiansHelpingHaitians! Your support helps us make a difference for Haitian communities as we work WITH them and FOR them.

I want to tell you about the "good news' first and the seeds of change and hope that you have helped us spread. We are sharing a lot of photos, because photos sometimes speak louder than words.

We've worked over the past few months with 13 community organizations on various initiatives see list below and a map in the photos showing where they are. Our goal (as always) is to implement community chosen projects that help them achieve self-sufficiency. Call us a catalyst. Call us a true partner as we work with groups, learn from them, with them and support their goals in various ways from money, linkages, training and validation.We're building community and building nation.

Groups have leveraged the increased demand in ginger and honey (items in demand because of COVID-19 as they are immunity boosters) to plant ginger and set up beehives. Goats are always on demand. We make sure that groups get them vaccinated and tagged as they are not tied down in our communities but rather wander around. Agriculture is always a major piece because, after all, although grossly under financed, it is Haiti's most prominent sector. We are finally working both on the support of the development of Mutuelles Solidarites (a collective community financing platform that gives access to financing to those who usually don't have it), and on the development of a network of these Mutuelles also called MUSOs.

Now friend, there are also plenty of bad news. I am sure that you know about the murder of the President that threw Haiti in a tailspin. On top of it, we also experienced the 2021 Earthquake which greatly impacted the Grand'Anse. There are thousands dead, thousands of homes destroyed and altogether, overwhelming needs. We've mobilized and have been meeting these needs. This and also the recovery and reconstruction are and will be our focus. We've set up a campaign on GlobalGiving to address the earthquake that we sincerely hope that you will consider supporting. We are closing this one. Yes, we continue to fight for community and there will be another campaign soon enough to focus on the reconstruction of our communities.

WE ARE HERE TO STAY. JOIN US & SUPPORT OUR FIGHT!

THANK YOU!!!

Yours, in solidarity,

Marie-Rose

P.S. Before the Earthquake and after President Moise's murder, we started a series of webinars featuring Haitian Leaders talking about their vision, perspectives and initatives for transforming Haiti. It's been well received, and we're continuing it even as we are stretched by our disaster response efforts. Now, more than ever, it's critical that the world hears from Haitian leaders and that we have our say and lead the way.

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Liste des OCB partenaires de la FCH-Espwa

Nom

Sigle

Commune

Type Initiative

Mothers Club-Espwa Fanmi Dayiti

MC-EFADA

Jérémie

Mutuelle Solidarité

l’Organisation Corvée Planteurs Grand’Anse

OCPGA

Jérémie

Mutuelle Solidarité

Asosyasyon Fanm pou Avansman Dèchan

ASOFAD

Jérémie

Mutuelle Solidarité

Rassemblement des Patriotes Abricots-Bonbon

RAPAB

Bonbon

Agriculture

Aksyon Fanm Bonbon

AFAB

Bonbon

Elevage caprins

l’Organisation pour le Développement et d’Intégration

Pour une Nouvelle Vie de la Grand’Anse

ODINOVGA

Roseaux

Agriculture / Environnement

Konbit Peyizan Gran-Vensan

KPGV

Roseaux

Elevage caprins

l’Òganizasyon Fanm Devwe Gòlbotin

OFDG

Roseaux

Agriculture/Stockage

Organisation des Citoyens pour le Développement de Beaumont

OCIDEB

Beaumont

Route agricole (secondaire)

Femmes Coopératives Commerciales Agricoles Coordonnées de Bellance

FCOCACB

Beaumont

Elevage caprins

Gwoupman Fanm Pa Chita

GFPC

Beaumont

Agriculture

Asosyasyon Travayè Peyizan Fondikak

ATPF

Corail

Processus en cours

Groupement des Femmes Progressistes Pour l’Avancement de Corail

GROUFPAC

Corail

Processus en cours

Mouvement des Jeunes Pour Le Développement de Champy

MOJEDC

Corail

Processus en cours

Rassemblement des Valeurs Pour l’Avancement Communautaire

RAVAC

Chambellan

Processus en cours

Coopérative de Production, Commercialisation de Denrées

COPCOD

Chambellan

Processus en cours

Rassemblement des Citoyens Organisés de la Grand ’Anse

RACOGA

Chambellan

Processus en cours

Rezo Òganizasyon Pwodiktè Pwodiktris Agrikòl Grandans

ROPAGA

Jérémie

Organisation-Consultant

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Apr 30, 2021
Why We Fight for Haiti & What We do

By Marie-Rose Romain Murphy | Servant Leader

Dear Friends,

First and foremost, we want to THANK YOU for your support. Be assured that it makes all the difference in the world. First we want to tell you WHY WE FIGHT FOR HAITI. Then, we will tell you what we are working on with our community partners. Our work is directly benefiting over 2,000 community residents in rural Haiti.

WHY WE FIGHT FOR HAITI

The constant socio-political crises in Haiti and the turmoil they cause have caused the international community and many of our country’s loyal Diaspora to give up on Haiti. Too many including those living in the country have expressed a sense of hopelessness about the situation of Haiti.

We, at ESPWA and the Haiti Community Foundation refuse to give up and we continue to fight. The million-dollar question is why?

We fight for the local leaders, the “poto mitan”/supporting beams that keep our communities alive at the cost of their own health. You will find them in every community. They are the go to people who will seek solutions and provide advice and support for everyone (for the collective, not just themselves!)

We fight for communities that are left behind in terms of health care, access to basic services and capital. We fight for our communities that still believe in “peyi”/country even though too much of the country’s resources are concentrated on Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital and too few people benefit from these scarce resources that need to be spread around to benefit “our people and communities”

We fight finally for our children who deserve a better country and a better future that we should all be building for them. We don’t’ want ‘charity’ for them that leads to dependency. We want fair access to opportunities to not just meet their needs but also to realize their dreams.

Haiti is our country and our motherland. One doesn’t give up on one’s homeland. One fights for it.

WHAT WE ARE DOING

We are working with 11 local organizations and associations. They determine what their communities need and we work with them on giving them the financial and technical support that they need.

Some of them are working agriculture with a focus on climate change. Coffee for example has been very affected by climate change. Some of them are working on Mutuelle Solidarités which are community collective financing programs. These programs are essential and critical for community development as many don't have access to capital. and if they do, it's at an exorbitant cost (36% interest rate or more). One community group is working on improving on community access as their community is located in an area which is cut off from the rest of the region. They are working on a road together. The impact of this road is tantamount as it means access to markets, access to health care, water etc. A couple of groups are working on goat farming.

In brief: WITH YOUR SUPPORT, we are meeting self-identified community needs: the formula to effective and sustainable development.

Below, please find the list of our community partners for now (yes, we have a waiting list!):

Mothers Club-Espwa Fanmi Dayiti, MC-EFADA in Jérémie, L’Organisation Corvée Planteurs Grand’Anse OCPGA ; Asosiyasyon Fanm pou Avansman Dèchan ASOFAD in Jérémie (working on Mutuelle Solidarité).

Rassemblement des Patriotes Abricots-Bonbon RAPAB Bonbon Agriculture Aksyon Fanm Bonbon AFAB in Bonbon working on Elevage caprins/goat farming

L’Organisation pour le Développement et d’Intégration Pour une Nouvelle Vie de la Grand’Anse ODINOVGA in Roseaux working on Agriculture / Environment

Konbit Peyizan Gran-Vensan KPGV in Roseaux Elevage caprins/goat farming

l’Òganizasyon Fanm Devwe Gòlbotin OFDG in Roseaux working in Agriculture/Stockage

Organisation des Citoyens pour le Développement de Beaumont OCIDEB in Beaumont working on Route agricole (secondaire)- road.

Femmes Coopératives Commerciales Agricoles Coordonnées de Bellance FCOCACB Beaumont and Gwoupman Fanm Pa Chita GFPC in Beaumont working in Agriculture.

None of this would be possible without your support.

Thank you! Mési anpil!

The Haiti Community Foundation Network on behalf of the communities that we serve

P.S Last but not least, we are working a group of young artists in the Grand’Anse to raise community residents’ awareness about the need to be vigilant about COVID-19! They worked on the formulation of the project with each of the communes.

Links:

Article in Alliance Magazine, a global philanthropy magazine

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