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Fonkoze Hurricane Response
Text by Leigh Carter, Executive Director, Fonkoze USA
“Have you ever heard of someone taking a chance on you after you have just
lost literally everything – including your home and your business? That’s
what Fonkoze did. They took a chance on me.”
-- Mirlande Pasteur, Fonkoze client
The tragic events that transpired in
Most of us in the
In the midst of the crisis last fall, Fonkoze supporters like you – even in the face of your own economic challenges – opened your hearts to the struggles of the Haitian people. We thank you for your quick and generous support that was an inspiration and a sign of hope for our clients.
We do not want that effort on your part to go without recognition. We want to update you on exactly how Fonkoze used the funds you so graciously provided in time of great need. It was you who helped Fonkoze live up to its reputation as the “bank on which the poor can truly rely.”
Caring for our employees
First and foremost, in order to serve our member clients, Fonkoze had to attend to the needs of our employees in the flooded areas who lost everything. Most of our employees in Gonayiv were left with only the clothes on their backs. I made my way to the Gonayiv branch just after the floods, and one by one I listened to the staff’s stories. Every single employee present lost everything they owned!
How could we begin to address the needs of clients until our offices and staff were back on their feet? With your help, we did just that. Thank you again! But, as you may have already guessed, we ask you for your continuing prayers and financial support.
Addressing the needs of clients
Once our employees were back on their feet, Fonkoze recapitalization (Kredi Siklon) went into full swing. Fonkoze loan officers met with regional Fonkoze centers to assess the impact of the disaster on clients. How were they and their families affected by the disaster? What was the impact on their business? What would clients need to get back on track and bring in badly-needed income to rebuild their lives?
Our client Marili Pierre-Saint’s situation was representative of so many, “Everything is gone. I am forced to start all over again. But I am willing to do it if I can get some support and another loan from Fonkoze. . . . I just need something to work with,” she says. “I just have to work in order to feed my children."
More than 14,000 Fonkoze clients like Marili lost their businesses in the hurricanes!
Throughout November and December, loans were carefully and deliberately distributed by Fonkoze staff to clients. It is hard to put into words what a monumental effort this was on the part of staff. By January 2009, some 14,000 women had new loans in their hands.
If a woman had a remaining balance of 7,000 gourds on her loan of 10,000 gouds at the time of the floods and found herself unable to repay, Fonkoze put a new loan of 10,000 gourds in her hands. The 7,000 gourd loan was rolled into the new loan of 10,000 gourds so she was expected to repay 17,000 gourds. But she no longer had to pay interest on either the 7,000 gourd portion or the 10,000 gourd portion. And, she could choose to take twice as long to repay the 17,000 gourds.
In addition to the loan, Fonkoze distributed a small amount of food along with the cash explaining, “This loan is for your business, this food is for your belly.”
Looking toward the future
One donor agency who augmented your donations with large grants for the recapitalization effort did so with the commitment from Fonkoze that as the capital is repaid by Fonkoze borrowers, it is used to establish a catastrophic insurance program to prepare for future events of this type. We are underway in creating this insurance program!
Unfortunately, as a result of last year’s hurricanes and the continuing rise in prices for basic commodities, hunger and malnutrition in
At Fonkoze, our loan officers report that the health of our clients, and particularly their children, has declined. We interviewed a random sample of 355 clients with hurricane loans and found that 61% of them were “food insecure with hunger”! When we received word this month that the child of a client had died of starvation, we immediately sprang into action. We have initiated a National Malnutrition Campaign in association with some of our closest partners in
- education at Fonkoze centers to raise awareness of the problem;
- training for center chiefs and credit agents to help them identify malnutrition;
- identification of malnourished pregnant clients and children of our clients who are 5 years old and under; and
- access to health services through the brokering efforts of Fonkoze’s health director.
You have seen us through many trying events through the years, and last year’s hurricanes were no exception. You inspire us, you give us hope, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
You continue to walk with Fonkoze, and with the Haitian people, and together we stand firm in our commitment to put an end to extreme poverty in
click here to read Anne Hasting's account of her trip to Gonayiv... Gonayiv after the Hurricanes
click here for October 6 update ... Post Hurricane Update
Client Stories
by Linda Boucard, Fonkoze USA Director of Communications
Marili Pierre-Saint
After a 6-kilometer walk in soft mud, I arrived at what is left of the home of Marili Pierre-Sant, a Fonkoze client in the rural ruins of
Marili lives in what is left of her home with her husband and 7 children (ages 6 to 24). Marili has been a Fonkoze client in good standing since 1998. She informed me that she has never missed a payment because she realizes and appreciates all the “good things” that Fonkoze has brought to her life. In her words, “Fonkoze has helped me to educate my children.” She continues, “today, my oldest son has finished school and was in the process of getting into a technology program…something he has dreamed about for years.”
With her own cosmetic and hair product commerce completely destroyed by the storms, Marili doesn’t see how helping her son with his dream will be possible. Right now, she is just looking for ways to feed her children and to survive from day to day. Her home is a state of complete shambles. “Everything is gone. I am forced to start all over again. But I am willing to do it if I can get some support and another loan from Fonkoze.” “I just need something to work with,” she says. “I just have to work in order to feed my children"
Ginette Adajuste
Ginette's home is filled with mud. Nothing was saved. Her cosmetic and hair products commerce, like Marili's, was washed away completely. Ginette has one plastic chair that she saved, and carries with her. She insisted that I sit while we spoke. A very graceful and proud woman, Ginette told me that she always, without exception, pay her Fonkoze loan each month. Most of the time, she pays before the due date.
Ginette has been a Fonkoze clients since 1999. With her loans, she was also able to purchase 8 gots, a heard that grew to 25. They are now all washed away in the floods. Ginette has 2 children (ages 13 and 19) who regularly attended school before the hurricanes. Now, Ginette, and her family are left living from day-to-day. She told me that Fonkoze is her only hope right now. "If I am able to get a loan again, I would start working and I want to work so much. Before Fonkoze, I did not know that I could have a bank account. I did not think people like me were able to borrow money. I can't tell you what Fonkoze has done for me. Now, I need another chance."