I first volunteered in Haiti in 2002 for a medical mission. I returned in 2005 and worked full-time for a year with Fonkoze, Haiti's largest institution offering financial services to rural-based poor. After my experience with Fonkoze, I returned to the US and continued traveling periodically to Haiti on volunteer projects while completing my MBA.

I’m especially attached and committed to the communities of Tovar and Dondon, in northern Haiti. There, I’ve learned firsthand about micro-lending. Women describe with pride what it means to be a butcher, or buy and re-sell books, umbrellas and other consumer goods.

I once heard a member of a micro-credit team ask, “Are any of you women afraid of taking a loan?” – a natural question for women living without running water, electricity, healthcare or access to education. “No, we’re not afraid,” they responded. A loan as small as $100 is motivating – a tool to help ensure businesses are sustainable and children go to school. The Haitian human spirit consistently amazes me.

The project I initiated as a Guiding Coalition member of Mothering Across Continents (MAC) is “High Hopes Haiti Girls Empowerment Center.” My passion for it developed from a fact-finding trip after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. MAC asked me to keep my eyes and ears open for a project, focused on young girls, that could be established, become a model, and make a difference to Haiti long-term.

In Tovar once again, I saw an opportunity to collaborate with and extend the impact of the Robert Ford Haitian Orphanage and School. The primary school has 355 students, and the secondary school has 210 students of which 135 are girls. The Foundation that runs the complex has long-lasting and positive bonds with the community, and local leaders are involved in decision-making about structures, services, programs and projects. What’s missing is the possibility and a process for preparing high school girls to attend university, develop meaningful vocational skills and aspire to non-traditional careers that offer potential income.

In Haiti, land and buildings are at a premium, and the Foundation is making both available for High Hopes Haiti Girls Empowerment Center. My role and that of volunteers working with me through MAC is to design and develop an ongoing program of activities, including training in locally relevant job and business skills (permaculture and sustainable farming, for example) and “whole life” empowerment for young women.

Throughout 2010, we’re raising funds for the Center and an annual “DREAM Expo” to be launched in Spring 2011. The Expo will feature empowerment and vocational training, presentations, job booths, and mentoring from Haitian businesswomen for girls graduating from the secondary school and alumni returning for the event. The budget for the week-long Expo is $31,000.

In Haiti, communities embrace good ideas and actively volunteer their time to make projects sustainable at low cost over long periods of time. We’re collaborating with local trusted providers to shape the learning programs. And I’ve committed myself to development efforts in Tovar for years to come. Please join me. 

Sincerely,

Lauren James