Recovery

Haitian recovery demands immediate advocacy, long term planning
Up to 3 million people are likely to be affected by the 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti this Tuesday.

The communities in this area have seen their infrastructure devastated. Roads are impassable; phone lines are down; electricity is available only erratically. Governments and corporate and nonprofit organizations are already responding to provide emergency aid. Immediately following a disaster, this sort of aid is desperately needed.

Life Before the Quake

Kira Kay and Jason Maloney report on what is being hailed as a moment of hope for Haiti, as a confluence of security, brought by a large and aggressive United Nations presence, and relative political stability, under the tenure of President Rene Preval, has kept the country calm for a long-enough period that investors are tentatively starting to return to the Caribbean nation.

But as we move forward from this disaster, it is crucial to heed the lessons learned along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. Governments, corporate and nonprofit organizations, and foundations must remember the need for long-term recovery, and ensure that disenfranchised, vulnerable populations are heard by decision makers early on in the recovery process.

Pathway to a Better Life
Stepping out of Poverty

Remember the Katrina mantra, “Build it Better;” build for the long term. Leave behind a stronger infrastructure, one that is better able to withstand disaster when it occurs, and better able to recover from its devastating effects.
Read more:

The Lambi fund of Haiti

The effects of such poverty are devastating to families like Marie’s, a single mother of four, who could barely eke out a living for her family.
Marie’s fortunes changed, however, when her community organization launched a goat breeding program with the Lambi Fund’s support.

The Lambi Fund provided funds for Marie’s community group to purchase 132 goats, materials for the goat enclosures, and veterinary medicine for treating the goats. Organization members built the pens, and now are managing the project of raising and selling the goats.

With goats to raise for sale, Marie is now able to make a living and provide food, health care, and education for her family.

At Lambi Fund, we don’t give food aid, we partner with community organizations like Marie’s to build their capacity with tools, seeds, livestock and knowhow.

We work together to build lasting solutions to poverty and hunger, with dignity and respect
Read more: See brochure

The Women

Poto Mitan:
Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy”

In Haiti, women are known in Haitian Creole as poto mitan , or central “pillars” of the economy and of family and social life. Many are single heads of households, and others are often responsible for bringing in income when their male partners become unemployed, are recruited to fight or must migrate for work.
Haitian women have long paid for the country’s debts, which they didn’t accrue, with their own time, labor and personal sacrifices. Today, they are not only supporting themselves and their families but building infrastructure and a culture of economic participation that has long evaded many of Haiti’s people.
Read more:

Cameroon Women

WFAC Buea is the first Affiliate Group of The Women for a Change International Foundation.

The group is based at the University of Buea, and was launched on 28th November, 2009 with a Safe World workshop:

“Say No to Violence Against Women”

Extracts from the workshop:

The facilitator noted the fact that most women advocates are elderly (above 35 years) but amazingly WFAC Buea are young women below 30 years old.
The workshop included a talk entitled ‘Be the Change’ by Elvis Wepngong from the Organisation for Gender, Civic Engagement and Youth Development (OGCEYOD)
Mr Wepngong encouraged women to become empowered rather than waiting on the government and other support.
He cited examples of some successful women like: a woman in a city of Mutengene who started a pepper farming project and producing liquid pepper out of it.
At the start of her project, the husband was very uncooperative and complained of not liking the scent of the pepper.
This woman’s husband will usually left his house and came back only late at night leaving the wife psychologically tortured/violated but she insisting on achieving her dream…
Now, she is economically stable and has earned respect from her husband who is also encouraging her of which he never did at first.
This said woman has moved out of violence and has made a change.
After citing these successful women to encourage women carry on with their dreams, this speaker enchanted a song thus;
“We shall overcome…We shall overcome…We shall overcome someday”
He ended his talk by encouraging women to take a bold step and say no to violence inflicted on them.
This wonderful motivational talk was showered with a musical performance from a young girl of Global Initiative for Development.

Proposals:

FGM education awareness in schools & colleges.

To connect with Local chiefs, so that during cultural events, festivals and traditional exhibition, they could give WFAC Buea members the chance to sensitize and educate the people about other forms of violence, mostly the Female Genital Mutilation.
Acknowledging the fact that there are conflicting views between the modern society and the traditional society with respect to violence perpetuated on women, we are going to start by sensitizing local Chiefs.

Finally

Everybody took a promise to say “No to Violence on Women “and never be a part of Violence against women nor condole with perpetrators.