COMMUNITIES ORGANIZING FOR HAITIAN ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

KORE TIFI VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMIN RURAL HAITI, THE ACCEPTANCE OF AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE TOWARD GIRLS RESULTS IN CONSIDERABLE UNSPOKEN DISTRESS. THE OBJECTIVE OF OUR KORE TIFI/POWER TO GIRLS VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM IS TO ESTABLISH A SAFE AND EMPOWERING COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT FOR GIRLS, ENHANCE THEIR RESILIENCE, AND EQUIP THEM WITH THE NECESSARY TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO ADVOCATE FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY AND WELL-BEING. OUR VISION IS TO FOSTER SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES THAT ACTIVELY OPPOSE THE ABUSE OF GIRLS. WE ARE DEDICATED TO CREATING ENVIRONMENTS RICH IN KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND STRATEGIES AIMED AT TRANSFORMING SOCIAL NORMS THAT ARE DETRIMENTAL TO GIRLS. THIS APPROACH EMPOWERS GIRLS TO THRIVE IN SECURE SPACES, FREE FROM HARM.WE ARE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH COMMUNITIES BY IMPLEMENTING THE KORE TIFI/POWER TO GIRLS! METHODOLOGY FROM DEPASE FRONTY, A LOCAL ORGANIZATION ASSOCIATED WITH BEYOND BORDERS IN JACMEL, HAITI (HTTP://REPANSEPOUVWA.ORG/). OVER A THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP, THEIR TEAM WILL PROVIDE MENTORSHIP, TRAINING, AND COACHING TO SUPPORT GIRLS WITHIN OUR RURAL PARTNER COMMUNITIES.PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCHOUR CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH EFFORT IS CENTERED AROUND THREE MAIN THEMESCITIZENSHIP, STATE ENGAGEMENT, AND SECURITY. CO-RESEARCHERS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE MOSTLY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. OUR GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW HAITIANS DEFINE CITIZENSHIP AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF HOW THE STATE REGARDS THEM AS CITIZENS. THIS INVOLVES DELVING INTO BOTH PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HAITIAN, AS WELL AS HOW THAT IDENTITY CONNECTS WITH THEIR ROLE AS CITIZENS. WE SEEK TO COLLECT INSIGHTS ON HOW INDIVIDUALS FEEL ACKNOWLEDGEDOR OVERLOOKEDBY THE STATE, ALONG WITH THEIR VIEWS ON THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH CITIZENSHIP. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO: AMPLIFY VOICES: THE PROJECT GIVES A PLATFORM TO HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED RURAL CITIZENS, ENSURING THEY ARE REPRESENTED IN NATIONAL DISCUSSIONS. PRIORITIZE LOCAL SOLUTIONS: COMMUNITIES WILL DEVELOP AND PROPOSE THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS, FOSTERING OWNERSHIP OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS. FOSTER SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP: THE PROJECT BUILDS LOCAL CAPACITY BY TRAINING CO-RESEARCHERS, ENSURING ONGOING DIALOGUE AND EMPOWERMENT. CONTRIBUTE TO NATIONAL DIALOGUE: RESEARCH FINDINGS WILL BE SYNTHESIZED AND PRESENTED TO HAITIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND CIVIL SOCIETY, CONTRIBUTING TO MORE INCLUSIVE AND EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE SOLUTIONS.THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAPPING AND CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH INVOLVES CONDUCTING A BASELINE ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUENT ENGAGEMENT ACROSS THE COMMUNES OF CAMP-PERRIN AND MANICHE. THE PROJECT AIMS TO CREATE A DIRECTORY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, INCLUDING MAYORS, MEMBERS OF THE CONSEIL D'ADMINISTRATION DE LA SECTION COMMUNALE (CASEC), AND ASSEMBLE DES SECTIONS COMMUNALES (ASEC). IT WILL GATHER QUALITATIVE DATA THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS WITH BOTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES AND CITIZENS TO UNDERSTAND THE CAPACITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ENGAGE WITH CONSTITUENTS AND SUPPORT INCLUSIVE ELECTIONS. THIS WORK IS INTENDED TO INFORM FUTURE GOVERNANCE INTERVENTIONS AND CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS.COMMUNITY-LED SYSTEM CHANGE WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES AS THEY TAKE A WIDER LENS AT THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE ISSUES THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED AND PRIORITIZED DURING THEIR PARTICIPATORY APPRAISAL LAST YEAR. IT IS A MESSY AND EMERGENT PROCESS THAT REQUIRES COURAGEOUS DIALOGUES, BUT THEY ARE WILLING TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS. TWO COMMUNITIES HAVE INITIATED TANGIBLE STEPS TO IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE HIGH COST OF TUITION. FOR EXAMPLE, COMMUNITY MEMBERS PULLED THEIR FUNDS TOGETHER TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT AND THEN COLLABORATED TO CONVERT AN UNUSED PLOT OF LAND INTO A PRODUCTIVE VEGETABLE AND YELLOW YAMS GARDEN. AS THESE INITIATIVES PROGRESS, THEY PROVIDE INSPIRATIONAL MODELS FOR OTHER COMMUNITIES SEEKING TO MAKE THEIR OWN IMPACT.AGROFORESTRY PROGRAMFOR THE YEAR 2024, WE CONDUCTED NEW EXPERIMENTS AND BEGAN TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENTS WE CONDUCTED OVER THE PAST YEARS IN COFHED'S AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES. ALL THE PLANTS WE PLANTED HAVE SUCCESSFULLY GROWN, WITH SOME ALREADY REACHING HEIGHTS OVER THREE METERS. THE MORINGA TREES HAVE FLOWERED, AND OUR COCOA TREES ARE ALSO FLOWERING AND BEGINNING TO BEAR FRUIT. WE HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL HARVESTS FROM OUR CROPS. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, WE PLANTED OTHER CROPS SUCH AS SWEET POTATOES AND CASSAVA, WHICH WE HARVESTED AT THE END OF THE YEAR.THE AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ENABLES US TO CONDUCT PERIODIC HARVESTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. OUR CULTIVATED FIELDS YIELD VARIOUS CROPS, INCLUDING PAPAYA, BANANAS, CUCUMBERS, PEPPERS, SQUASH, BEANS SWEET POTATOES, CASSAVA, AND YAMS. WE HAVE OBSERVED AN INCREASE IN BEE ACTIVITY WITHIN OUR AGROFORESTRY AREA, ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELLIFEROUS PLANTS SUCH AS CASHEW AND MORINGA THAT BLOOM THERE. RECOGNIZING THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT TREES PLAY IN THE ENVIRONMENT, COFHED IS COMMITTED TO DISTRIBUTING SEEDLINGS WITHIN COMMUNITIES TO PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT WHENEVER FEASIBLE.IN SEPTEMBER 2024, WE SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED 493 SEEDLINGS TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF GAETAN, DIVEZEN, AND MARC. THE PLANTS DISTRIBUTED INCLUDED: - 84 POMELOS - 31 SOUR ORANGES - 49 CHERRIES - 234 STARFRUITS - 95 CASHEWS FURTHERMORE, COFHED STRATEGICALLY PLANTED NUMEROUS GLIRICIDIA AND MORINGA TREES IN ITS FIELDS TO ENHANCE THE PRESENCE OF BEE-FRIENDLY PLANTS. ACTIVITIES CONTINUE AT THE COFHED FOUNDATION WITH THE GOAL OF PROMOTING A BETTER ENVIRONMENT AND PRODUCING PLANTS THAT CAN BENEFIT PEOPLE.COMMUNITY-LED EDUCATION IMPACTTHE YEAR 2024 PRESENTED A GREATER NUMBER OF CHALLENGES COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ENCOUNTERED SUBSTANTIAL DIFFICULTIES IN OBTAINING BOOKS FROM THE CAPITAL DUE TO INCREASING INSECURITY AND AN ECONOMIC CRISIS IN HAITI. NONETHELESS, ALL SCHOOLS IN OUR REGION WERE ABLE TO COMMENCE THEIR ACADEMIC YEAR IN OCTOBER. THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM, WHICH HAS SIGNIFICANTLY BENEFITED SEVERAL COFHED PARTNER COMMUNITIES, ENABLES MORE CHILDREN TO ATTEND SCHOOL WITHOUT BARRIERS.EDUCATION PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS THE ACADEMIC SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM REMAINS A CORNERSTONE OF OUR WORK, SUPPORTING A GROWING NUMBER OF STUDENTS AT VARIOUS EDUCATIONAL LEVELS. IN TOTAL, 56 SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS HAD THEIR SCHOOL FEES COVERED, WHILE 8 COLLEGE STUDENTS CONTINUED THEIR STUDIES IN DISCIPLINES SUCH AS NURSING, ACCOUNTING, ADMINISTRATION, AND AGRICULTURE. ADDITIONALLY, FIVE STUDENTS RECEIVED VOCATIONAL TRAINING, WITH TWO COMPLETING PROGRAMS IN TAILORING AND MASONRY. SEVERAL ELEMENTARY STUDENTS ADVANCED TO NEW GRADES, AND THREE COMPLETED HIGH SCHOOL.DESPITE LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES, ESPECIALLY DIFFICULTY IN OBTAINING TEXTBOOKS DUE TO INSECURITY IN PORT-AU-PRINCE, SCHOOLS IN ALL COFHED PARTNER COMMUNITIES SUCCESSFULLY OPENED THEIR DOORS IN OCTOBER 2024. TEACHERS' SALARIES WERE CONSISTENTLY PAID, WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO GREATER MORALE AND COMMITMENT AMONG EDUCATORS.HOT LUNCHES A TOTAL OF 631 STUDENTS RECEIVED HOT MEALS ON SCHOOL DAYS AT LA PETITE ACADMIE DE LOUGOU AND LE JARDIN DES ROSSIGNOLS. THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BUREAU DE NUTRITION ET DVELOPPEMENT (BND) AND FUNDING FROM THE PROGRAMME ALIMENTAIRE MONDIAL (PAM), LA PETITE ACADMIE WAS ABLE TO SERVE MEALS FIVE DAYS A WEEK. MEANWHILE, LE JARDIN DES ROSSIGNOLS, OPERATING WITHOUT PAM SUPPORT, PROVIDED MEALS FOR FOUR DAYS A WEEK. IN LOUGOU AND RAYMOND, 66,112 HOT MEALS WERE DISTRIBUTED IN TOTAL DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR AND SUMMER PROGRAMS, INCLUDING MEALS SERVED DURING ACADEMIC REMEDIATION AND YOUTH SUMMER CLUBS. HEALTH CHILDREN ATTENDING LA PETITE ACADMIE DE LOUGOU RECEIVE CARE AT THE LOCAL CLINIC. CHILDREN FROM RAYMOND ARE MONITORED BY COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSES AND ARE TAKEN TO MEDICAL OR DENTAL PROVIDERS WHEN NECESSARY. MANY CHILDREN HAVE DENTAL ISSUES. A TOTAL OF 11 CHILDREN HAVE SEEN THE DENTIST, AND THE NURSES WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW UP WITH OTHER CHILDREN.