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Fathers Doussan and Brougher
While I was in New Orleans I had the opportunity to interview two Catholic priests, Father Douglas Brougher and Father Douglas Doussan, who have collectively supported the growth of Fonkoze’s branch office in Fòlibète. Both credit a retired priest, Father Matthew Rousso, for introducing them to Fonkoze.
Fr. Doussan was so impressed by the potential of microfinance to alleviate poverty in Haiti that he shared the story of Fonkoze with his congregants at his 40th anniversary celebration as a priest. He told them that if they wanted to make a commitment to help the poor, they should make a donation to Fonkoze. His predominantly African-American congregation donated $10,000 on the spot.
Fr. Doussan then needed help deciding how best to put that funding to use. He contacted Fonkoze USA and was told that Fonkoze was opening a new branch office in Fòlibète and would love to put the $10,000 to work there. Since his parish already supported a nearby church in La Tesse, Fr. Doussan knew that Fonkoze’s new branch office would reach those parishioners as well.
At the time, the citizens of La Tesse had no access at all to formal financial services and were forced to rely on moneylenders for loans and their mattresses for savings accounts. In addition, Fr. Doussan pledged an additional $5,000 to help support the computerization of the branch. This money was to come out of his monthly Social Security checks!
Fr. Brougher, a chaplain at Touro Hospital in New Orleans also does parish work part-time. He liked the idea of helping people help themselves through small micro-credit loans. He knew about other international organizations working in micro-credit programs, and when Father Rousso told him about Fonkoze’s track record in Haiti, he was impressed. He joined forces with Fr. Doussan and also pledged his monthly Social Security checks to Fonkoze!
Now, thanks to the generous contributions raised for the branch over the years, Fòlibète is thriving even though it was shut down temporarily during the political crisis in early 2004. As of June 30, 2004, the branch had a loan portfolio of well over $120,000, was servicing over 1,000 borrowers, and had close to 1,900 savings accounts, In addition, the Fòlibète branch office recently pilot tested a revised version of Fonkoze’s business skills development training module.