Working Out of Poverty in Haiti

Did you catch Nicholas Kristof’s recent column in The New York Times? He writes about visiting Haiti to talk with women involved in Fonkoze, a Haitian nonprofit foundation that provides microloans and banking services to the very poor.

Kristof and his family met Odecile Jean, a mother of five who, with her husband, previously struggled to feed and educate their family. After 13 months in one of Fonkoze’s programs, Kristof writes, “Ms. Jean beamed as she showed off her brand new cow, discussed her thriving lumber business and boasted that her children were all in school. Her husband, Lionel, hinted of ambitions for them to go to college.”

My colleague Laura and I saw the transformative effects of some of Fonkoze’s programs last October, when we traveled to Haiti for Bread for the World and met many women like Jean. Check out Laura’s photo essay, as well as our article and slideshow on a Fonkoze vitamin distribution clinic in Mirebalais, Haiti.