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Kore Fanmi Fonkoze – Fonkoze’s Core Post-Earthquake Recovery Program
Kore Fanmi Fonkoze (KFF), which is Haitian Creole for “Fonkoze Family Recovery Program”, is the name of Fonkoze’s efforts to help clients following the earthquake which devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010. The program is based a catastrophic insurance product that Fonkoze was about to roll-out to its clients when the earthquake struck. Working with its partners, Fonkoze was able to provide benefits to its clients as if they were already covered by catastrophic insurance.
All members of Fonkoze – clients who paid their initial membership fee of about $6 and are in good standing – were eligible to be considered for participation in the program. This includes members who had a loan on the day of the earthquake and members who did not have a loan. Member-clients who belonged to the ten most effected branches were automatically eligible for benefits while member-clients living outside the earthquake region qualified if they lost their home, business, or both. In total, nearly 18,500 clients received benefits. Initial benefits were available to clients in late February 2010 and the program was nearly complete as of June 30, 2010.
There are four core components in the program which was designed in accordance with the specifications of the catastrophic insurance program under-development at the time of the quake:
- All qualifying member-clients received a 5,000 HTG cash indemnity payment intended for livelihood recovery including housing and food
- All qualifying member-clients who had a loan on the date of the earthquake received a reimbursement of their outstanding balance on January 12, 2010
- All qualifying member-clients are eligible to take a new loan when they are ready
- Participating member-clients had to complete new education modules in disaster preparation, catastrophic insurance, risk mitigation, and home repair and rebuilding
Fonkoze’s members-clients need assistance as they restart their businesses and rebuild their lives. This innovative program is helping them meet their immediate needs and get back on the staircase to a brighter, more hopeful future for themselves and their families.