Help Haitian Families Rise From Poverty to Dignity

Thank You for Your Generous Support

Thank you so much for your generous support for Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program. We are grateful!

You are changing the trajectory of life for some of the most vulnerable families in rural Haiti. 

Today, they have a path to a much brighter future, one that is filled with dignity, hope, opportunity, and self-reliance -- thanks to you and your generosity!

"I am starting to realize my dreams because of this program!"

Darcie* graduated from the Family Graduation Program in the Fall of 2018. We asked her to share with us what life was like for her and her family before she joined the program, and what life is like now. Here’s what she told us:

“When I started in this program, I didn’t have a home. When the rain would fall, I would have to find a place to sleep with all my children. Every morning I put our clothes in the sun to dry. Nevertheless, I was never discouraged, this is how life is, I thought.

“When I go to sleep now, I always pray and say thanks to God for being able to participate in this program - I am starting to realize my dreams because of it!  I’m not living in misery now. I always had a dream to have a house. Now I have a house. I have food and water now. I have papaya trees, and a vegetable garden.

“During the Child Rights Training** I learned about the dangers that children who are sent away to live with others face. I sent for my kids. I had a son who was 14-years-old and he was living elsewhere. I sent for both of my kids. I always tell people to not send their kids away to live with others. Keep them close to you.

“I can provide for my kids now. I have goats, I had a pig and a donkey that I sold for 18,000 gourdes [$110 US]. I have goats and I sell the offspring but I don’t sell the mother goat so that I can send my children to school and buy food for them. For my family, our lives have completely changed.”

*We’ve changed her name to protect her privacy.

**Participants in the Family Graduation Program also take part in our Child Rights Training.

Here’s Some What You’ve Made Possible for Families this Quarter

Thanks to the generosity of people like you, the Family Graduation Program is equipping families with the skills they need to earn a dignified living and helping them to get all their children enrolled in school. With your support we’re also ensuring that families have clean drinking water and enough food to eat. We’re training them to form community savings and loans and start a small savings account, and we’re helping them to repair or rebuild their home.

Here’s a look at some of what you’ve made possible this quarter:

• 976 family visits conducted by caseworkers with 110 Cohort 3 families
• 26 donkeys distributed to families
• All 110 families have received the necessary materials for house repair/construction with the distribution of house construction materials to an additional 70 families
• Contracts with construction workers have also been signed
• Project Nurse hired to support participating families experiencing health/medical challenges
• 277 participants and/or family members were treated in mobile clinics and/or by project nurse

A Project Nurse Keeps Families Healthy Thanks to You

As we mentioned above, one of the many wonderful things that supporters like you are making possible for families is the work of Rebecca, a project nurse with the Family Graduation Program.

Ensuring that families can stay healthy -- so that parents can continue to work and earn a living and children can continue to go to school -- is a key component of the program.

Rebecca conducts weekly visits with families to educate them about health and hygiene, and she organizes regular mobile clinics in communities, as a way to make care more accessible.

As of today, 277 family members have been treated by either Rebecca or one of the health care providers who work with her to staff the mobile clinics.

If someone needs more extensive care than Rebecca can provide, she helps get them to the only hospital on Lagonav Island, in the port city of Ansagale.

Even in the short time that Rebecca has been at work, my colleagues in Haiti are already reporting improvements in the health of families in the program -- especially in the area of preventative care. 

Your generous support makes Rebecca's work possible.

Thank you for helping to keep families healthy and for all that your generous support is making possible for them!

Thank You Again

Your solidarity with families means more than we can say. And your generosity means that they'll have the skills and the means to provide for themselves long after they graduate from the 18-month program. We are grateful for your generosity, your care, and your concern.

If you have any questions about what you read in this report, please feel free to contact Brian Stevens, Beyond Borders’ Donor Engagement Director, at b.stevens@beyondborders.net or at (305) 450-2561.

Links:

• See how families can begin to earn a living by raising animals.
• Follow us on Instagram for regular updates from Haiti.
• We've earned a Gold-level Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.