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HTCF's Economic Development Programs

Unfortunately, the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 eliminated all the progress that the Angels For Haiti have been able to accomplish through much sacrifice, over the past two decades.

 

Nevertheless, Haiti, and especially our beloved La Vallée de Jacmel, must rise from the debris, blood, and lost lives. We shall prevail, in time.

Positive Steps After the 2010 Earthquake

We listened to the people of La Vallée de Jacmel who suffered tremendously from the earthquake who felt that agricultural education as well as the opportunity to learn how to grow food effectively and later on use it as a way to be able to grow healthy food, raise live stock and sell the surplus at the open market was a way to rebuild their lives.

With the help of the Association Solidarité Fribourg Haïti in Switzerland, other angels, and CODEHA - Corde Enfant Haitien, we started our first Ecole de Jardins - Community school garden and plan to replicate it as funds permits in the other 18 villages.

     

Economic development is one of the sure ways to reduce the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as well as truancy and crime that are occurring in Haiti and other countries of the world.

This gives young children economic opportunity and they will not have the need to live their sheltered environment in the villages to try to make a living in the slums of big cities. In their villages where their parents are struggling to give them an education, they live a sheltered life.

But because of a lack of training in trades that insure them a way to make a living as well as the lack of infrastructure, they have no other choice than to live in their protected surroundings and to try to make it elsewhere. With this lack of skills, young adult find themselves resulting to truancy and many times to prostitution in order to survive.

Training the Children
The philosophy of Health Through Communications Foundation is that the overall health of a village consists of much more than medical care.

We believe that education will foster a healthier lifestyle among these under-served youth and subsequently keep them from leaving the villages to go to the slums of inner cities. It will also prevent them from getting sick.

Without this training, they are more susceptible to HIV/AIDS. They are not even using the already stretched medical facilities to their full potential.

Offering enrichment programs and providing vocational training for the underprivileged and vulnerable youth is vitally important. Our goal is to give the children opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and receive the everlasting gift of education.

We Strive to Provide Training in These Areas:
Home Economics
Sewing
Farming and Agriculture
Animal Husbandry
Internet and Computer Technology Education
Carpentry
Iron Works
Masonry
Plumbing

Training the Adults
The adult population, mostly unemployed and barely surviving needs financial and educational services as well. These people are needing support to simply learn and develop the skills to support themselves.
Our goal is to help them to lift themselves out of poverty and empower themselves and their communities

The goal of HTCF is to develop skills in these areas:

- Literacy and business skills training programs
- Conservation and use of rainwater collected from roofs for household use &  irrigation.
- Encourage growing of fruits and vegetable around the house using rainwater.
- Infrastructure Building
- Creation of farming cooperatives to replace the small family plots.
- Organization of the transport of the crops to town by a community created transport      cooperative.
- Use of techniques in crop storage and conservation.
- Better crop selection and rotation
- Technical assistance and guidance
- Transformation of local products as a source of jobs.
- Introduction of more modern farming tools
- Micro-lending

Micro Lending

We live in a world where three billion people live on less than $2 a day. They cannot find work where they live since few jobs are available. To survive, many create their own small businesses by becoming street vendors, and work long hours each and every day. To start the business, they either have to borrow from deceptive loan sharks or they are forced to pay higher prices to buy goods on personal credit.

Thos who are unable to open a business end up migrating to the slums of the inner cities where they are succeptable to an increased risk of violence, disease - including HIV and AIDS. “Micro" loans, literacy, and business skills training programs are excellent ways to enable poor women and men to start their own businesses. This is one of the greatest tools needed to work their way out of a life of poverty.

By helping people work their own way up the economic ladder, with dignity and pride, they can earn enough to afford basics like running water, better food and schooling for their children.

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Communications Foundation
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