Published Thu, Jun 18, 20.
Written by Rebecca Honorat.
When we celebrated Mother's Day together we were able to sponsor 10 new students and deliver the exciting news to their mothers on Mother's Day (along with a large bag of rice!).
Father's Day is coming up on Sunday and we want to do something to celebrate once again!
We believe that one of the most effective ways to empower a family is to help them build a small business so that they are able to stay together, and work towards financial sustainability. While we don't want to minimize the effectiveness of mothers having a small business (many organizations that give small business loans only give loans to women because it is so effective!), we want to highlight the often missed opportunity of helping a struggling father. A father who is feeling inadequate to provide for his family often makes a series of bad decisions, that can have a spiralling effect on his family.
Alongside Families in Haiti Society is fortunate to have strong male leadership from Renel, Luckner, and Garry, and their presence in Haiti allows us to connect with men in a effective way. They are well respected and their reputations lead to relationships that are real, and have built-in accountability.
For Fathers Day we'd like to encourage you to help us give a small business loan to a father in Haiti that is struggling to find his place in his family. Our goal is to raise $1500 CDN in the next few days so we can tell Jean Bernard the news on Sunday, for Father's Day.
Jelani's first driving lesson with his buddy "Rad Mare"
Jean Bernard grew up with his mom in Grand Goave. He knows his dad but his dad wasn’t active in his life, as he was married and had a large family with his wife (Jean Bernard’s step mother). Jean Bernard was very close to his mom and fondly tells stories of how she taught him to cook & wash clothes… not something most boys learn to do in Haiti. When he was in grade 9 his mom passed away and he immediately dropped out of school and moved in with his neighbor. He was always a hard worker but after that he became determined to take care of himself and to make his mom proud.
He started riding a motorcycle 10 years ago and his habit of driving fast earned him the nickname “Rad Mare” (Kreyol for tidal wave) among his peers. Over the years he has driven for many motorcycle owners but has struggled to grow a business of his own because most of the profit went to the motorcycle owner.
Jean Bernard has one daughter, and while he is not currently living with her & her mom, he does try to financially support them both. He also makes an effort to see his daughter daily and is working on building a better relationship with her mom.
Jean Bernard’s dream is to have a motorcycle business with several motorcycles so that he can rent older bikes to new drivers, giving them the experience they need to start their own business. Renel & Rebecca loaned Jean Bernard money to purchase his first motorcycle in 2018 and he paid back his loan within 12 months. He would now like to purchase a second motorcycle so that he can build his business.
Renel & Rebecca have seen a tremendous difference in Jean Bernard over the past few years and their son, Jelani, has gained a special friend. Jean Bernard has recognized the spiral he was in and is making a significant effort to make amends, and invest in his relationship with his daughter. Growing his business would be a huge step in his journey of empowerment.
While we have your attention...
...we want to give you a quick update about another business!
A few weeks ago we gave a women a loan to restock her supplies in bulk so she didn't have to make the trip into Port-au-Prince as often due to COVID-19. She gave us an update this morning that made us smile.
Before she went to restock in Port-au-Prince she made a list of what her regular clients bought, and estimated what they would need for the next few weeks. She purchased an abundance of those items and then made personalized bundles and delivered them to her client's homes. They were thrilled not to have to go out during the pandemic, and she even made some extra money in tips!
Not only were we happy to hear about her creativity and commitment to providing a unique service to her clients, but we were encouraged to know that our efforts were making a difference, not only in the lives of our loan recipients but in the communities that they live as well.
