Update on ProLiteracy's Haiti Partners
Many of our donors have contributed to the Proliteracy Haiti Earthquake Emergency Fund and we would like to update you on the current situation with our partners in Haiti.
FONKOZE
It has been confirmed that five Fonkoze employees lost their lives in the earthquake and its aftermath. No one died in any of their buildings. There was significant damage to Fonkoze employees’ housing, as 145 had their houses destroyed. The current plan is for Fonkoze to provide each of their employees $1,000 from the donated funds that have been received, so that they can focus their energies on helping Fonkoze’s clients. Another 121 employees have homes that need repairs. The plan is to provide them with $500 each from donated funds. Many employees lost family members, close friends, etc.
With grant money Fonkoze is launching an innovative pilot project that will get one of their branches operating almost immediately. The plan is to operate Bizoton out of a van that is owned by Alternative Insurance Company (AIC). It has speakers, it’s covered in advertisements about micro-insurance, and it’s well equipped. Within a few days we’ll be operating the branch out of the van. In the relatively near term, there are plans to establish the branch in a building location some days of the week, and then, on the other days of the week, operate a “roving branch” in the van in nearby neighborhoods. It will be the first mobile bank branch in Haiti (this is being done in other countries as an actual methodology).
GWOUPMAN TET ANSANM PEYIZAN FAYET (G.T.A.P.F)
GTAPE works in Fayet, a small community that is part of the Leogane region. It is a mainly rural area, with an approximate population of around 2000. Fayet was one of the communities that was hit hard with the earthquake, and ProLiteracy’s contact, Gerald Lumarque, recently wrote using ProLiteracy’s Latin American Network listserv to let us know about the destruction in Fayet, and to assure everyone that he is fine. The biggest problem for the community that he lives/works in is loss of housing and businesses/income. For the members of GTAPF, it appears they have all lost their homes, as well as the office and the school that they had been supporting. They are struggling to feed members of GTAPF and nearby community members. Gerald has stated that if he had money, he would use it to feed people first, and also purchase other supplies that are needed. At this moment, his access to internet is limited.
AyitKonseVet
AKV projects, staff and member communities did not experience direct damage from the earthquake. No one was injured by the quake itself, no project work damaged – but since everyone in Haiti has family, friends in Port-au-Prince, almost all AKV members have personal losses and an already tight and tense lifeline to supplies, electricity and fuel has gotten even shorter. Wedens (Pierre Deceus), the general coordinator of all AKV projects, writes that he has taken in 12 relatives from Port-au-Prince. This is true for almost all the families AKV serves. People who lost their homes in the capital travel to be relatives or just to find someplace they believe to be safer than Port-au-Prince. Wedens said he has received appeals from the Haitian Red Cross in Mamlad /Marmelade, way up in the north central mountains of Haiti, for help caring for the scores of patients triaged to their small rural clinic from Port-au-Prince. June Levinsohn, AKV founder, will be going to Haiti this week to help wherever she can. June is a registered nurse and fluent in Creole.
H.A.S. (Hospital Albert Sweitzer)
“During the past several days, we have helped more earthquake patients to leave the hospital; others remain, recovering from surgery, and benefiting from rehabilitation services. Almost all have been bed-ridden for almost 3 weeks, and for some of them, learning to walk again is a precarious challenge. It has also become possible to travel to Port-au-Prince to establish personal relationships with the international aid agencies which have established offices in tents on the grounds of the airport. The loss of a limb is devastating to any person, but the challenge is compounded in the case of subsistence farmers or laborers whose independence and economic survival requires physical labor. The demand for prostheses will be significant during the coming months, and discussions have begun with several entities which could establish a fabricating plant in Haiti. One of the major impacts of the earthquake has been the internal migration of many residents of Port au Prince to outlying regions. All estimates of these patterns are unconfirmed, however according to the Government of Haiti, Minister of the Interior, as of January 29, more than 482,000 people had departed Port-au-Prince for secondary cities.
FONKOZE
It has been confirmed that five Fonkoze employees lost their lives in the earthquake and its aftermath. No one died in any of their buildings. There was significant damage to Fonkoze employees’ housing, as 145 had their houses destroyed. The current plan is for Fonkoze to provide each of their employees $1,000 from the donated funds that have been received, so that they can focus their energies on helping Fonkoze’s clients. Another 121 employees have homes that need repairs. The plan is to provide them with $500 each from donated funds. Many employees lost family members, close friends, etc.
With grant money Fonkoze is launching an innovative pilot project that will get one of their branches operating almost immediately. The plan is to operate Bizoton out of a van that is owned by Alternative Insurance Company (AIC). It has speakers, it’s covered in advertisements about micro-insurance, and it’s well equipped. Within a few days we’ll be operating the branch out of the van. In the relatively near term, there are plans to establish the branch in a building location some days of the week, and then, on the other days of the week, operate a “roving branch” in the van in nearby neighborhoods. It will be the first mobile bank branch in Haiti (this is being done in other countries as an actual methodology).
GWOUPMAN TET ANSANM PEYIZAN FAYET (G.T.A.P.F)
GTAPE works in Fayet, a small community that is part of the Leogane region. It is a mainly rural area, with an approximate population of around 2000. Fayet was one of the communities that was hit hard with the earthquake, and ProLiteracy’s contact, Gerald Lumarque, recently wrote using ProLiteracy’s Latin American Network listserv to let us know about the destruction in Fayet, and to assure everyone that he is fine. The biggest problem for the community that he lives/works in is loss of housing and businesses/income. For the members of GTAPF, it appears they have all lost their homes, as well as the office and the school that they had been supporting. They are struggling to feed members of GTAPF and nearby community members. Gerald has stated that if he had money, he would use it to feed people first, and also purchase other supplies that are needed. At this moment, his access to internet is limited.
AyitKonseVet
AKV projects, staff and member communities did not experience direct damage from the earthquake. No one was injured by the quake itself, no project work damaged – but since everyone in Haiti has family, friends in Port-au-Prince, almost all AKV members have personal losses and an already tight and tense lifeline to supplies, electricity and fuel has gotten even shorter. Wedens (Pierre Deceus), the general coordinator of all AKV projects, writes that he has taken in 12 relatives from Port-au-Prince. This is true for almost all the families AKV serves. People who lost their homes in the capital travel to be relatives or just to find someplace they believe to be safer than Port-au-Prince. Wedens said he has received appeals from the Haitian Red Cross in Mamlad /Marmelade, way up in the north central mountains of Haiti, for help caring for the scores of patients triaged to their small rural clinic from Port-au-Prince. June Levinsohn, AKV founder, will be going to Haiti this week to help wherever she can. June is a registered nurse and fluent in Creole.
H.A.S. (Hospital Albert Sweitzer)
“During the past several days, we have helped more earthquake patients to leave the hospital; others remain, recovering from surgery, and benefiting from rehabilitation services. Almost all have been bed-ridden for almost 3 weeks, and for some of them, learning to walk again is a precarious challenge. It has also become possible to travel to Port-au-Prince to establish personal relationships with the international aid agencies which have established offices in tents on the grounds of the airport. The loss of a limb is devastating to any person, but the challenge is compounded in the case of subsistence farmers or laborers whose independence and economic survival requires physical labor. The demand for prostheses will be significant during the coming months, and discussions have begun with several entities which could establish a fabricating plant in Haiti. One of the major impacts of the earthquake has been the internal migration of many residents of Port au Prince to outlying regions. All estimates of these patterns are unconfirmed, however according to the Government of Haiti, Minister of the Interior, as of January 29, more than 482,000 people had departed Port-au-Prince for secondary cities.
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