Houses for Haitian Women - Kay Pou Fanm Ayisyen

It is believed that over three million people were affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti, leaving thousands of Haitian people without homes, many of them women who are single parents and heads of households. Kay Pou Fanm Ayisyen is a project of Haitian Connection, a Haitian NGO, in partnership with women’s groups in Jeremie and Fondwa. The Jeremie area had to accommodate 80,000 earthquake refugees, many of them women and children. Fondwa was 80% destroyed by the earthquake. Studies have shown that women, who own their own homes in Haiti are more able to maintain their own small businesses, and feed, clothe and educate their children.

Project Update:

We are delighted to report that the first house and latrine are finished and we are working on seven more. The house is located outside of the town of Jeremie and now belongs to Margarette Saintilus. Margarette is 39 years old, and she has two children: Emanuella who is 14 years old and Stevensia who is 12 years old. Every year in December Margarette would go to Port au Prince where she stayed with her sister. She would buy things to bring back to Jeremie to sell. Margarette was still in Port au Prince when the earthquake happened. Her sister’s house was flattened and her sister and her husband were killed. Margarette was not inside at the time of the quake, and survived. Her sister’s two children Imacula, 4 years old, and Onelson, 5 years old, also survived the earthquake, and are now living with Margarette.

It was the mothers’ group in the small community who chose Margarette as the first recipient of the house. When Margarette received the news, she was elated. She was living in a little hovel, where rain was leaking through the roof. Her father who died left her this rundown little house, so she has the legal title to the land where her new house is being built. The whole community has been helping Margarette with the construction, carrying cement, rocks and wood. In addition about 7 people found paid employment through this construction project.

The first house has been built through contributions from SS. Monica and Luke Church in Gary, Indiana and from the students and faculty at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. We have received additional contributions which will allow us to continue to build and would like to thank the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters and the Cynthia Gladys Blake Ebanks Foundation. A number of individuals have also contributed but they wish to remain anonymous. We are planning to build 10 additional houses in the Jeremie area and at least 5 in Fondwa; we are also looking to the area of Gros Morne. To all who contributed to this effort a huge Thank You!! You are truly making a difference!

All donations and funds go directly to the building of homes for women in Haiti.

For further information or to make a donation please contact Renate Schneider 312/493-3719 or Amy Jobin 217/714-6695.

Checks can be made out to our fiscal sponsor Partners in Progress, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. All donations are tax deductible. Please put Haitian Connection, Kay Fanm in the memo line. Donations can be sent to: Partners in Progress 329 N. Fairfield Street Ligonier, PA 15658