MORE ABOUT HAITI

Fonkoze

In Creole, Fonkoze is short for Fondasyon Kole Zepol -- which translates to "Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation.” It is a micro-lending bank in Haiti that lends to the poor (and also has literacy programs). For more details about Fonkoze, please visit http://www.fonkoze.org/.

One of our dreams for Pendus was to help with economic development in the area. Anne Hastings, the Executive Director for Fonkoze in Haiti visited Lafayette to speak at the 2^nd Annual Haiti Gathering in October 2004. When asked what it would take to get a branch started in Gros Morne (the biggest and closest city to Pendus), she replied "$25,000.” She explained the cost was so high because a building would need to be rented and made suitable for a bank, computers would be needed to run the branch and a couple motorcycles would be needed (as Fonkoze does not have money couriers as in the USA and Fonkoze often goes out to where the people are located as part of their business). We were not sure this sum would ever make it onto our five-year plan of projects to do in Pendus (especially with all we hoped to accomplish).

The Journal & Courier did a story on Anne Hastings and Fonkoze in the next day's newspaper. It talked about how Fonkoze mainly lends to the poor and that most loans are to women who work in the many local markets. They have virtually no other organized lending available to them. That night, we got a call from a local business woman that said she had always wanted to support an effort such as this and was interested in helping us in Haiti. When asked how much she wanted to donate, she responded "$25,000." Needless to say, we were overwhelmed as she did not know how it cost to start a branch in Gros Morne. God truly had a hand in this!

We took her check with us on our December 2004 trip to Pendus and presented it to Anne Hastings in Port-au-Prince. Within 60 days, Fonkoze was up and running in Gros Morne. Because he could speak Creole, Kyle Newell (a student at Purdue University) went to Gros Morne as the representative of St. Mary Cathedral (and our anonymous local donor) for the official dedication of the latest Fonkoze branch in March 2005.