Microfinance in Haiti – One Woman’s Story

Contributed by Heather Balke

In March 2009, I boarded a plane destined for Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I wasn’t sure what was ahead, but I knew it was going to be a learning opportunity and an adventure. A month earlier I signed up to go to Haiti on a microfinance delegation with Fonkoze USA, to see first-hand the programs and activities of Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest rural microfinance institution.

My experience began with peering out a jeep window as we left the Port-au-Prince airport. I saw the most glaring urban poverty, ramshackle buildings half erected and children chasing pigs in the street. As we meandered up the hill towards Fonkoze headquarters, I viewed what I considered to be a garbage dump next to homes on the main road. I did a double take when I saw a woman defecating in that dump in broad daylight, and in plain view.

That evening at the historic Hotel Olaffson, Anne Hastings, the Director of Fonkoze, told the story on how she built Fonkoze from a vision of Father Joseph Philippe, Fonkoze’s founder. In the early 1990’s, when a hard-fought democratic system was taking hold in Haiti, Father Joseph knew in his heart that political democracy would mean little without what he called, “economic democracy.”

Father Joseph understood that unless the poorest had access to the financial services they needed to rebuild their own country, having the vote would not mean as much. Out of this vision and philosophy Fonkoze became Haiti’s alternative bank for the organized poor, and Anne Hastings has spent the last 14 years making that vision a reality.

How Fonkoze Works

Fonkoze’s borrowers are primarily women who are climbing what Fonkoze calls the Staircase out of Poverty. Fonkoze meets women whereever they are on their journey out of extreme poverty. There are several levels into which women can enter the program, and like all microfinance institutions, Fonkoze understands that for every step forward, there is the possibility of moving backward. Fonkoze provides women with the financial services and accompanying social programs they need to become, and succeed as, entrepreneurs.

The steps consist of the following:

Chemen Lavi Miyo (CLM) in Creole, translates to “path to a better life,” and is the first step. CLM is an 18-month program for the ultra poor which provides confidence building, enterprise training, minimal subsidies, asset transfer and health services.

Ti Kredi, or little credit, reaches out to families not ready to manage a loan as large as $75, and offers a smaller initial loan of $25, shorter repayment periods, and additional support from loan officers and literacy classes.

Solidarity Group lending is the core program. This is typical Grameen-style lending where groups of five friends organize themselves into solidarity groups to take out loans together. The groups are organized in turn into credit centers of 30-40 women and become long-term associations of women devoted to individual and community economic and social development.

Starting with 3 month loans of $75, women can progress within this program until they are borrowing sums as large as $1,300 for six months. The groups meet together regularly for literacy, business training, and other educational programs, and become an incredible platform or network on which other services and programs can be launched (for example, malnutrition campaigns).

The final step on the Stairway out of Poverty is Business Development for very successful solidarity loan clients who are ready for individual’s loans and entry into the formal sector economy.

Experience on the Ground in Haiti

During my delegation experience last spring, I had the opportunity to see all of the steps for myself in different parts of the country. In Twoudinò, we were introduced to CLM graduates, where we were welcomed into the village to see how the women were progressing. Some were building onto their homes brick by brick with profits from their new business, some were able to feed their family by selling beans they had grown or eggs from their new chickens, and others were accumulating additional assets like horses, goats, or even savings.

For me, the most impressive improvement I witnessed was the new-found confidence the women possessed. It was life changing to see a woman go from misery into poverty with the ability to feed her family, and face her future. This was huge!

Fonkoze is well-positioned to be a major part of the rebuilding of Haiti after the devastating earthquake that occurred in January. Fonkoze is much more than microloans, offering full banking services, along with much-needed social programs in one of the best organized rural networks in the country. For example, remittance services are what will keep the economy moving forward during this fragile time, and Fonkoze’s 41 branches are still open and serving the rural poor with transfers of funds from friends and family abroad.
In a few months, as the news stories fade from view, it will be easy to forget about this tragedy and the women of Haiti. As I left Port-au-Prince at the end of the delegation so many things ran through my mind. But, one thing was certain: I was not going to forget what I saw. And, I know I can make a difference for a nation, and for the dignity of women and their families in Haiti.

How You Can Help

Please don’t forget these strong and motivated women. Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, two hours south of Miami, and suffering more than it has ever before.

You can get involved by supporting the bank on which the poor of Haiti can rely. Fonkoze is committed to continuing and expanding its programs to bring women onto and up the staircase out of poverty. Another option is investing, or loaning funds that can revolve in Fonkoze’s loan fund. These funds provide the capital needed by Fonkoze clients and their families in Haiti.

Tax-deductible donations can be made to Fonkoze USA, 50 F Street NW, Suite 810, Washington, DC 20001.