Tag Archives: Haiti REACH

Heifer Haiti Trains Animal Workers

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Yesterday morning, Heifer Haiti began a second round of training for 23 new Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs, commonly called vet agents in Haiti) for the northern and Central Plateau regions. A total of 60 CAHWs will be trained by the end of June 2013 for Heifer’s Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti (REACH) program.

Heifer Haiti

Training candidates pose for a group photo. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

These 23 candidates will receive three weeks of intensive training in animal care and will return home to practice for a period of two-to-three months. Later they will return for the final phase of the training, which will last another two-to-three weeks. Upon successful completion of the training, they will receive an official certificate from the government of Haiti, through the Ministry of Agriculture, which will authorize them to work as vet agents anywhere in the country.

The remaining candidates will be trained in April and May of this year.

Read recent blog posts about Heifer’s REACH program here, and visitwww.heifer.org/reachout to give directly to this groundbreaking program.

Haiti REACH Begins Training Goat Breeders

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This week, Heifer Haiti and local partner organization, Tèt kole, held a three-day training for a group of goat breeding center owners in Montrouis in western Haiti. This group of owners are part of the first cohort of Heifer’s REACH program.

Haiti REACH training participants

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

A total of 22 participants, men and women, young and old, gathered from six of Haiti’s departments where REACH is implemented: Northeast, Northwest, Centre, Nippes, the West and the Grand’Anse. The owners met and networked with each other and learned more about Heifer International’s philosophy, history and methods.

Training topics included Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, the general context of livestock production in Haiti, importance of breeding centers, breeding center care and characteristics, animal production techniques, animal health and wellbeing, forage management, business management, marketing and others. Future plans include visiting successful commercial farms in the Dominican Republic.

Haiti REACH training participants.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Participants were pleased with the trainings, as they will be better prepared to manage the important work of breeding center ownership. Although many have backgrounds in agriculture and livestock, the introduction to new operating techniques and skills will set them up for success.

This diverse group of producers and goat breeding center owners became aligned around a common target during the training: the success of REACH on an individual scale, and ultimately improving the fates of their communities.

When asked about the importance of Heifer’s REACH program, participants said they think it is timely, because they were missing the tools for success. They are confident this program will benefit their respective communities and the entire country.

Haiti REACH training participants.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

This introductory training session will not only help breeding center owners modernize their farming practices, it also serves as the launching pad for the REACH program. Training participants before had a common passion for agriculture and livestock; as a result of the training, they have become a group of budding entrepreneurs with the yearning for success within the program.

The signing of contracts between Heifer Haiti and this new group of entrepreneurial goat breeders marks a decisive step in the implementation of REACH. The participants would like to thank Heifer from the bottom of their hearts for this program, and Heifer wishes them well.

Read recent blog posts about Heifer’s REACH program here, and visit www.heifer.org/reachout to give directly to this groundbreaking program.

Haiti Earthquake: Heifer’s Work Continues

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It’s not news: the world’s poor are the most vulnerable to natural disasters. The 2010 Haiti earthquake highlighted this truth to a shocking degree. There are many factors that contribute to the dire poverty that exists in places like Haiti. Heifer International’s work is to help farming families build resilient livelihoods, making them less vulnerable to natural disasters, economic changes (like rising commodity food prices) and political shocks.

What does a farm family with a sustainable and resilient livelihood look like? They:

Haiti earthquake survivor

Jean Pierre jumped out of a third-story apartment just before the building collapsed into rubble, one of many destroyed during the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. She is photographed here, sitting in a field in Cance, in rural western Haiti, a year and a half later. Photo by Geoff Oliver Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International.

  • Have stable and diverse sources of income
  • Own secure and productive land
  • Have savings and can access formal financing (banks, loans, etc.)
  • Can meet their food needs all year, both through their own production and by affording supplemental food from other sources
  • Have access to health, education, water, energy, transportation and communication services
  • Have a strong voice, especially the women, through cooperatives and associations

Heifer’s Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti Project (REACH) is making the above a reality for more than 100,000 Haitians. It’s our largest project in Haiti to date, and it will help participating families and communities far less vulnerable to events like the Haiti earthquake of 2010, because they will have the resiliency to bounce back with minimal assistance.

We need help fulfilling our fundraising goals, and you can give directly to REACH today. What will your gift do? This:

  • Start family-run breeding centers that will improve the local economy by creating jobs and training participants to provide for improved livestock breeds– something that has never been done before in Haiti.
  • Improve Haiti’s soil so it will produce better crops, increasing crop production and quality, and ultimately growing enough food that farmers can use to sell for income and build businesses.
  • Train Haitian farmers in disaster preparedness and teaching them  how to protect their biggest assets–their livestock.
  • Protect the environment by placing animals where they are complementary to the crops, and train participants techniques such as zero-grazing, which protects ground cover and makes collecting manure for organic fertilizer easy. Our goal is to leave the environment better than we found it.
Post Haiti earthquake rebuilding.

A Haiti REACH goat breeding center. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

We cannot predict the next time a major natural disaster like the 2010 Haiti earthquake will strike. Through REACH, however, we can help ensure at least 100,000 Haitians will be less vulnerable.

Give to REACH now to become part of this important work.

Haiti: Three Years After the Earthquake

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Today is the third anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti.

Haiti earthquake

Photo by Bryan Clifton, courtesy of Heifer International.

Recovering from Haiti Earthquake.

Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

This week we have highlighted the work Heifer has been doing in Haiti both before and since the earthquake. Here’s a quick roundup:

Our current major effort in Haiti is our extensive project called Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti (REACH). The project aims to help 20,250 families with gifts of livestock and by strengthening communities through the construction and management of goat and swine breeding centers, many of which will be owned and operated by women.

You can learn more and donate to REACH by visiting heifer.org/reachout now.

Recovering from Haiti earthquake.

Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Of course, Heifer’s work alone is not nearly all the help Haiti needs as it continues to recover from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The good news is that we’re certainly not alone. Here’s a list of recent posts from other great organizations applying their work in what has long been the most impoverished and vulnerable country in the Western Hemisphere:

A New Beginning With Heifer in Milot, Haiti

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Editor’s note: As we approach the third anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the lives of so many Haitians, we are asking for your help in raising funds to continue the important work of rebuilding livelihoods in post-earthquake Haiti. Visit www.heifer.org/reachout to learn more and give.

Author’s note: In 2012, I traveled to Haiti to spend a couple of weeks visiting projects with Heifer Haiti staff. For previous posts on my trip, see my page.

Toussaint Christophe lives just off the road that takes travelers to nearby Milot, Haiti. There, he earns money by breaking limestone and selling it as construction material.

Toussaint Christophe

Toussaint Christophe and his goats in Milot, Haiti. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

But not too far from his house, Toussaint also cultivates yams, bananas and beans and takes care of four goats and a cow–all of which came from Heifer through the From the Ground Up project. The crops and livestock will supplement both his diet and income.

“Since I was a young man, I’ve seen people with cows,” Toussaint said. “This is the first time I’ve had one.”

Goats are a more familiar sight to Toussaint. His parents raised and bred goats, and he began helping the effort as soon as he was able. At age 14, he received his first goat. Shortly after, Toussaint’s family was robbed of all 15 of their goats, and he, his parents and six siblings had to rely solely upon selling bananas and yams to the market.

Compounding the situation, the family’s house burned down a few years later. The fire killed one of his brothers and left another paralyzed. Toussaint’s family never found out how the house burned down, but they suspect it was arson. Around the same time, four of his siblings became ill with asthma problems.

After the fire, Toussaint dropped out of school to help support his family.

“The first time I went to school, I was 17 because my parents were not supportive of that kind of thing,” he said. “When the house burned, we lost everything. (My parents) wanted me to work.”

Toussaint Christophe 2

Toussaint Christophe near his home in Milot, Haiti. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Toussaint’s children, however, are getting the opportunity he never had. Both of his sons, who are in their mid-20s, are in secondary school in Cap Haitien, about 12 miles away.

And Toussaint’s informal education has continued through Heifer trainings.

“I have had many trainings… (including) techniques for dividing yam roots and goat production,” he said. “I can now treat some of the kinds of diseases that goats have. In the past, I (would have) to pay a veterinarian for everything the goats needed. Now, I can give a first examination or first aid to the goats.”

The project with Heifer marks the first time Toussaint has owned goats since his teenage years, and this is not something he takes lightly.

“I take care of (the goats) as well as I would a person,” he said. “I like to see them right.”

Toussaint Christophe 3

Toussaint Christophe smiles near his home in Milot, Haiti. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

Heifer Haiti’s REACH Project Builds a Foundation for Development

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Last fall, Americas Area Vice President Oscar Castañeda shared his thoughts on Heifer Haiti’s Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti (REACH) project. REACH is a five-year project that will assist 20,250 rural households in Haiti through not only the distribution of livestock but also through improved market linkages and the construction and management of goat and swine breeding centers. Learn more about REACH here: www.heifer.org/reachout.

Gladys Vilport

Gladys Vilport with one of her goats in Maniche, Haiti. Photo by Jason Woods, courtesy of Heifer International.

The project officially started in the second half of 2012, and the past several months staff members in Haiti have begun constructing the project.

“REACH is just like we’re building Haiti,” said Hervil Cherubin, Heifer Haiti director. “So you have to spend a lot of time to build a strong foundation, a strong base. Once you have that base, you can go ahead. That’s what we’ve been doing the first semester, building that base.”

REACH will be implemented in six of Haiti’s ten departments. So far, Heifer Haiti has selected 36 municipalities in four departments for REACH. About half of the communities where Heifer will work through the project have been identified as well.

To date, 100 project participants have received training. Sixty goats and 240 rabbits have also been distributed. Additionally, a fish hatchery was built for 15,000 fingerlings on Lake Peligre.

Goat and pig breeding centers are an important part of REACH. Heifer will build 97 goat and 50 swine breeding centers that will provide quality livestock for Haitians. Project participants will own the centers. Twenty-five breeding center owners have been selected already, and 19 breeding centers are under construction.

From December 4-6, Heifer Haiti hosted the Community Animal Health Worker (CAHW) Orientation Workshop in Les Cayes. The goal of the workshop was to develop a community-based animal health care system in Haiti through a “training of trainers” methodology, where workshop participants learned basic health care applicable for all animal species so that they can use that knowledge to train animal health workers in the field. During the workshop, participants and facilitators designed a three-week basic course to use for the participants’ training sessions in the field. In the next month, workshop participants will train 60 CAHWs to assist in the REACH project.

Partnerships for the project are also in the works with Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture and several non-governmental organizations.

“Now we’re ready to start building on (our) base,” Cherubin said. “Structurally, (REACH) has been praised. Many people think, for the first time, there is a model that takes on the structural aspects of animal production in Haiti.”

REACH out to Haiti through a gift to Heifer today.

Clinton Global Initiative: Designing for Impact

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It has been a whirlwind of events lately. First, I had an amazing three-week visit to Asia (India, Nepal, and Cambodia), then I traveled to California to be a part of Heifer International’s first “Beyond Hunger: A Place at the Table” event, and last week I was honored to attend the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York.

Young girls in Haiti participating in a Heifer International project

Project participants of Heifer International's goat value chain program proudly display their work. Photo courtesy of Heifer International

CGI is an extraordinary event that brings together an amazing group of individuals working in different fields to “turn ideas into action.” Heifer has had a presence at CGI since its inception in 2005. Last year was my first time to attend, and Heifer was privileged to present our Commitment to REACH: Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti.

Heifer International breeding center in Haiti

Heifer International's Tet Kole breeding center breaks ground near Port-au-Prince as part of its commitment to develop livestock micro-enterprises in Haiti. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

With our CGI Commitment, Heifer is working to strengthen social capital, support community building and develop rural enterprises in Haiti. REACH will improve the economic opportunities of 20,250 rural households over a period of five years in Haiti through Heifer’s proven approach of sustainable development. We are working with farmers to train them to develop their own livestock micro-enterprises.

The theme of this year’s CGI meeting was “Designing for Impact.” The charge is that we all need to be more efficient, more effective, and making the best uses of our resources. Heifer is already moving in this direction and has defined priorities that will help us increase our impact to help more families than ever before. In addition to reaffirming Heifer’s Commitment to REACH, I also looked this year to connect with potential partners for our some of our largest projects that would support our efforts in turning small farmers into business people on a scale large enough to transform entire communities and industries. We currently have successful partnerships, including Green Mountain Coffee, DANONE, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

An additional topic at CGI was gender equity. If you have read any of my previous blog posts, you know that women’s empowerment is an important and recurring theme for Heifer. Our approach, impact and success demonstrate that when we work in partnership with women, families benefit, communities advance and positive change occurs exponentially.

On a final note, I’d like to congratulate President Clinton on an amazing event. The energy was captivating, and I can’t wait to build on the relationships that have been formed.

Help Megan Help Haiti

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In a recent blog post, Megan Bean, age 11, of the Big Moo Canoe fundraising family, shared with us her plans for climbing 14,000-footers Mount Grays and Mount Torreys in Colorado this year to raise money for Heifer’s Haiti REACH program.

“I had heard a lot about Haiti’s disaster, and I hope my project will help small towns there where aid is less often sent get back to maybe a little better than normal,” she said. ”I’ve wanted to do a 14-er for awhile. I really love camping and hiking, and I had heard lots of stories from my parents climbing mountains and wanted to make my own project.”

She just announced on her Big Moo Canoe Facebook page that she will be making the trek this weekend, on Saturday, Sept. 15! So please join us in wishing her well and propelling her up those mountains with lots of donations for those in need in Haiti. Please go to her home page today to donate.

Shamshad Akhtar is Right: We Need to End Poverty Faster

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Recently, the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) appointed Shamshad Akhtar as Assistant Secretary – General for Economic Development.

DESA News interviewed Akhtar, where she shared her thoughts on her new position, the current global situation, and work that still needs to be done. She said, “we need to eradicate poverty at a faster pace.” I couldn’t agree more. There is so much work that needs to be done, and it has been more than once that I’ve mentioned that we can all DO MORE.

We recognize this at Heifer and it’s why we are working (and making progress) at increasing the impact we have in the countries where we work. Why just help 100 families at a time, if, using the same successful model on a larger scale, we can help 1,000 families – or more? Haiti’s REACH project will ultimately help 100,000 people achieve a sustainable livelihood.

Pierre Ferrari participates in a Passing on the gift ceremony in Haiti.

Photograph by Dave Anderson, Courtesy of Heifer International

Akhtar also mentioned potential for new financing and green growth. These are very critical elements that Heifer is paying close attention to and taking action to implement in our project work. At the end of last year, Dr. Mahendra Lohani, Vice President of Asia/South Pacific Program; Dr. Shubh Mahato, Heifer Nepal Country Director; and Neena Joshi, Heifer Nepal Senior Program Manager; met with the CEO and the Chief of the Microfinance Service Department of Rural Microfinance Development Center (RMDC) to discuss how the two organizations can collaborate to speed up the economic development process among the poor and deprived communities in Nepal.

Here in Little Rock, Heifer has installed a 25-kilowatt solar panel array that provides supplemental electric power to Heifer’s headquarters building and the Murphy Keller Education Building (Heifer Village).

Solar Panels installed at Heifer International's headquarters

Photograph Courtesy of Heifer International

The solar panels reduce Heifer’s reliance on fossil fuels and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to caring for the Earth. The array consists of 100 panels, making it one of the largest such systems in Little Rock.

These are steps in the right direction, and there are definitely more to come. But as you’ve heard me say before, we can’t do it alone. I am confident that working with Shamshad Akhtar, the UN, and other like-minded organizations, we will see great reductions in hunger and poverty.

I’m very excited to see and share, Heifer’s progress and the postive movements from around the world. Akhatar said it best:

I think it is a very exciting period for all of us who are engaged in the development business. Our task is to focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability with the objective of reducing poverty, alleviating stress on the basic services and making sure people are fed properly. We cannot achieve these goals unless we equip countries to manage and implement development programs at high governance standards and ensuring programs that benefit people.

To read more of Akhatar’s thoughts on her new role, access the DESA News.