I was concerned that we would have a hard time finding people to give micro-loans to. I thought that we had pretty much tapped our list of people that we consider friends and I remember thinking, "God, if you want this program to grow then you have a problem to solve." We have been back to Haiti for a little over three weeks and we already have 3 people that qualify for a micro-loan and 3 more that are working on putting together their business plan.
Once a week I go to the local market to purchase produce for my family. I try to buy the bulk of my items from the same four women, it's all about relationships. About three weeks before we returned to the states, one of the ladies I buy from stopped showing up at the market. I was surprised because her items were always beautiful, many people liked to buy from her, and she had a growing business. I asked about her, but no one knew why she stopped coming.
Fast forward 6 weeks and she still hadn't returned. I asked Daphne to do some research and see if she could find out where the woman was. Daphne did some detective work and found out that the woman had been robbed on the last day of the week on her way home from the market. She had sold almost all of her items and when she was robbed, lost all of her money. This is the money she needed to live and to purchase more items the next week to sell.
In Haiti, there is no insurance available for a small micro-business. There is no way for this woman to get her money back. It is gone. Along with it, is her hope to start up again. The injustice of this makes me furious. This woman wants to work, and did, yet was dragged down into hopelessness through no fault of her own.
Daphne asked the market ladies which town she lived in and found out it was the exact same village that Daphne's aunt and uncles live in, actually it was the same place Daphne was born. She was very excited and called her aunt to have her knock on this woman's door to get her phone number. Her aunt was able to get her phone number and Daphne called her to ask her if she would be willing to come and visit us. After some discussion, Daphne, "Do you remember me?" Her, "No", Daphne, "I shopped with a white woman", Her, "Yes, ok I will come". She came to our house, 30 minutes away, with no idea why we had invited her. But she came with the hope that something was going to change for her.
Angeline, Daphne and I sat down together and talked about her business and what happened. We discussed how much she lost and how much she needs to start her business up again. She lost $500 American dollars. We discussed if she has children to which she replied, yes she has a daughter who is in her 20's and she has many family members that have relied on her income to support them. She is the provider.
So, Angeline is our next person in line for a micro-loan. She has already proven that she wants to and will work. She is a neighbor to Daphne's family so there is accountability and we know where her house is, and I have always liked her. She is one of the most friendly merchants and always has a smile. This is not the norm in Haiti as often times the merchants act like they are doing you a favor by being there...not terribly great customer service.
The next lady is one you will remember from a previous blog. She came to me with a great business plan to make ice and sell it. I had thought about it for about 5 months and decided in January that we would help her begin. Then when we connected in January, she told me that she needed surgery because she had a very large fibroid which was causing constant pain. A donation paid for her surgery and now, 5 months later she is ready to begin again. Her business idea to sell ice is no longer a viable option as Haiti has not given her area power for over 4 months. However, she does have a home near a busy foot traffic area and she would now like to open a business selling soda. This can be a booming business in Titanyen. She is second in line.
The next lady is a woman who wants a micro-loan to sell clothes. She used to sell them outside of her house daily, but this year, she needed the money to send her children to school. She needs $120 to start.
The next lady sells coffee with bread. She has already had this business but needed the money for an emergency. To start up again she needs $50. These last two stories will get longer as I get to know them personally.
If any of these stories touch you and you want to give, please go to imslands-in-haiti.com and click the Donate button.
