Help Haitian Families Rise From Poverty to Dignity

110 Families Graduate and Begin New Lives Thanks to You

On July 27th all 110 families in the fifth cohort of Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program graduated – thanks to their hard work, perseverance, and determination, and your generosity and solidarity. Thank you for making this day possible!

Each of these families now lives in a sturdy, dignified home, has access to clean drinking water and a sanitary latrine, and can afford to pay school fees for their children. Hunger, illness, and isolation -- constant companions in the past -- are a distant memory. Their lives are forever changed, thanks to you.

Families Successfully Navigate Multiple Challenges on the Way to Graduation

As Haiti’s growing political crisis drives up the cost of living and makes basic foodstuffs more difficult to afford, families are using what they’ve learned in the program to navigate the increased financial burdens they face.

Here’s a look at some of the challenges that families have successfully navigated through, thanks to your generous support and solidarity.

• Extended Drought Delays Graduation – Extended drought on Lagonav and the rising cost of living has significantly impacted all residents of the island, including participants in the Family Graduation Program. Lagonav is now considered to be in Level 4 (Emergency) of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC); Level 5 is Famine. There are some reports of animals dying from a lack of water, lack of food, and/or illness. Families have been doing their best not to sell animals or deplete savings. Families are also struggling to put money in savings or other activities. Graduation was scheduled for the end of May; however, pushing ahead without considering the humanitarian context impacting families would jeopardize successes and gains made by families. It was decided to postpone graduation by two months to the end of July and to provide additional humanitarian support for families including additional cash stipends, support for home gardens and/or food kits. Your generosity made it possible to provide the additional activities. Thank you!
• Long Delay to Procure and Deliver Construction Materials for House Construction – The last group of 22 families finally received construction materials to begin/complete housing construction projects. The delay was due to the unavailability of those materials on Lagonav Island because providers were not able to get orders delivered from Port-au-Prince.
• Increased Cases of Illness/Sickness Reported Leading to a Shortage of Medicine – Numerous families reported flu-like symptoms, including fever. The project nurse exhausted the stock of medicine faster than expected and it was difficult to replenish because orders had to be made on the mainland. Symptoms looking like cholera were detected in the area and one participating family was affected. Caseworkers took preventative measures by conducting information sessions with participants and distributing soap and disinfectant materials.

Thank you for standing in solidarity with families while they navigated these additional challenges to make it to graduation!

Additional Activities Leading Up to Graduation Made Possible by You

Your generosity also made it possible for these activities to take place leading up to the July 27th graduation ceremony:

• 25 houses were fully completed; 85 houses were in the final stages of completion (just windows and doors to be added)
• All 110 families attended a three-day workshop on confidence building
• A new round of six-weeks of emergency cash stipends were initiated for all 110 families to help respond to increasingly worse food insecurity
• 623 animals received treatment from the project veterinarian
• 10 children of families received treatment for malnutrition

Weekly Coaching Visits Help Get Families to the Finish Line

One of the ingredients for success in the Family Graduation Program, and the reason all 110 families graduated in this, our fifth cohort, is the close accompaniment of a coach. Right away, a family that was isolated before joining the program can now count on at least one visitor every week. That's what happened when these 110 families who just graduated joined the program in November 2021.

Since then, a dedicated coach has sat with each family every week to provide support, monitor progress and brainstorm opportunities.

At group training, families can talk with fellow families who are on the same path to a brighter future. Thank you for making this kind of close accompaniment and support possible.

A Sense of Dignity, Confidence, and Independence Restored

Your support and their own hard work and determination has changed the trajectory of life for these families, restoring their dignity, confidence and independence, and giving them hope for the future. It’s that sense of confidence and dignity regained that did as much as any material item – such as livestock to breed and sell or the goods to start a small business – that your generous support provided.

That’s because families that live on the margins often feel as though they have little or no reason to hope for a better future, much less plan for one, so they don’t. Your support gave them a reason and taught them how – for the very first time – to earn a living, plan for the future, and provide for their children and themselves long after they graduate. If you have any questions about this final report, please contact Brian Stevens, Engagement Director, at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net. Thank you again for your generosity, your care, and your concern for vulnerable children and families.

Links:

• Learn more about how the Family Graduation Program works.
• We are committed to transparency. Review our latest 990s.
• Beyond Borders has earned a Four-Star Charity Navigator rating.