Bootstraps: Rebuilding Haiti, Rebuilding LivesYes, I have been thinking of ways to get Haitians back to work, and independent. I have been researching how Micro loans work with helping small businesses re-start. Haiti's economy runs on thousands of tiny businesses that keep the family fed and the community provided with the things it needs.
A woman travels with her donkey up a mountain and returns with fresh produce to sell in the city. A shop owner buys a barrel of cooking oil and dispenses it in smaller portions. The same goes for sacks of sugar, rice, beans and cornmeal. Charcoal is put into large elongated sacks and sold to women who cook with it. Ladies sit under colorful umbrellas behind small piles of garlic, onions and spices. They bought in quantity and pray to sell these at a modest profit.
Before the earthquake, Port Au Prince was like a moving supermarket. People carried items like bars of soap, pots of water, pencils, and underwear. Haitians know how to buy and sell. Haitian women, especially are shrewd business people. They work hard and often are the primary income earners for their families.
When we interviewed the "People in the Middle", the one thing that most people asked for was a job. They do not want to live waiting for handouts. They want and deserve to have employment.
Ladies who used to sell in the nearby market told me that they just did not have the means to get going in their business. Loans were not available and they don't have the cash to start up. They need bootstraps to pull themselves up by.
We will continue to study how Micro loans work and will soon be doing a trial run with five or more families that we know, right now in Haiti. These will be some of the people that you have read about. Nemorin, the father of Catastrophe will be one of the first ones to be offered a loan to start a small business.
We are currently accepting cash donations to help start this program. The loans will be small and will incur only a small interest, enough to get the Haitian entrepreneur profitable and to help the program be sustainable.
Together we can make a long lasting difference in the lives of Haitian families. Let's do this.
A woman travels with her donkey up a mountain and returns with fresh produce to sell in the city. A shop owner buys a barrel of cooking oil and dispenses it in smaller portions. The same goes for sacks of sugar, rice, beans and cornmeal. Charcoal is put into large elongated sacks and sold to women who cook with it. Ladies sit under colorful umbrellas behind small piles of garlic, onions and spices. They bought in quantity and pray to sell these at a modest profit.
Before the earthquake, Port Au Prince was like a moving supermarket. People carried items like bars of soap, pots of water, pencils, and underwear. Haitians know how to buy and sell. Haitian women, especially are shrewd business people. They work hard and often are the primary income earners for their families.
When we interviewed the "People in the Middle", the one thing that most people asked for was a job. They do not want to live waiting for handouts. They want and deserve to have employment.
Ladies who used to sell in the nearby market told me that they just did not have the means to get going in their business. Loans were not available and they don't have the cash to start up. They need bootstraps to pull themselves up by.
We will continue to study how Micro loans work and will soon be doing a trial run with five or more families that we know, right now in Haiti. These will be some of the people that you have read about. Nemorin, the father of Catastrophe will be one of the first ones to be offered a loan to start a small business.
We are currently accepting cash donations to help start this program. The loans will be small and will incur only a small interest, enough to get the Haitian entrepreneur profitable and to help the program be sustainable.
Together we can make a long lasting difference in the lives of Haitian families. Let's do this.
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