Abiding Hope Haitian Timoun Foundation
The Mission of the Haitian Timoun Foundation (HTF) is to create generational change that transforms lives. Its vision is for a Haiti where ALL are valued and thrive.
Julie Skare
31 years in R&D in Cincinnati, OH.
Julie has been involved with HTF for over 9 years, organizing fundraising events in Loveland, OH as well as, since 2021, San Jose, CA. She is a member of the HTF Community Council, a group of congregation leaders across the US who meet virtually to exchange ideas on how to best support HTF in respective local communities.
In support of the proposed project, Julie writes, ‘The Chemen Lavi Mayo (CLM) project is important to me because ultra poverty in Haiti is an issue that affects millions of women and their children. Characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs and earning less and $1.25/day, the ultra-poor are those at the bottom of Haiti’s socioeconomic ladder. CLM has demonstrated success in helping Haiti’s poorest women and their families to gain self-sufficiency.”
Chemen Lavi Miyo, translated as ‘Path to a Better Life,’ is an 18-month program that empowers women to lift themselves from ultra-poverty. The program features one-on-one enterprise and life skills training offered during weekly home visits from specially trained case managers. These visits help the member gain confidence and develop the skills necessary to build livelihoods to create a better life for themselves and their families. CLM provides each member with the productive assets – such as livestock or a commerce inventory needed to start two income-generating activities. CLM members also receive the materials to construct a home with a sturdy roof, a stable floor, a latrine and a water filter. Each member also receives a small cash stipend while her fledgling business grows and free healthcare in partnership with Zanmi Lasante, Partners in Health’s Haitian sister organization. The program has a 95% graduation rate.
Our $15,000 grant will support a program cohort of 150 women in Mirbelais and Lascahobas, and help fund costs for a stable one-room home, livestock (chickens, goats or pigs) or assets to begin small commerce, a weekly stipend, and a caseworker that meets weekly to help navigate challenges and meet participant goals.
Yvrose graduated from the CLM program at the end of January. In December, when she was evaluated for graduation, she had accumulated 82,000 gourds (US$630) in wealth. That is a lot for a woman who had reported having nothing 18 months earlier. When she joined the program, she, her husband Jean Gaby, and their three kids had been living in the kitchen of a church that was built on her family’s land. Seeing her situation, the pastor eventually threw up a shack for the family, built from old roofing tin and wooden planks that no one wanted. During the program, the CLM team tested a new training workshop for her group, and Yvrose was excited to participate. She learned to make different snack foods from plantains, peanuts, and coconut and package them for sale. It is a way to make higher-mark-up items out of commonly available ingredients, and it can be more profitable than mere trading. By then, Yvrose had built her business capital up to 30,000 gourds ($227) and she put all that money into her new snack business. Her products are popular and the business is growing. She wants to add another room to her house to give her children more space, and she wants to build up her assets through investments in livestock so that she can buy more land. Yvrose is confident and has gained new skills to help sustain her family and provide a better future.