Forgotten but Not Lost

Michael Jackson died today. Though there are many comments about what he may have done in his personal life, there’s no denying that he had a major impact on music around the world. Looking at the “can you remember the time” video, you can see him dusting his shoulder off. And folks thought Jay-Z brought that to the world. In the dance routine you see him and his dancers working the mid-section, and the world thought Beyonce was bringing it. MJ may be lost, but will not be forgotten. Haitian radio has been consistently playing tributes to him since the news was released.

On the other hand, today, I was forgotten but not lost. After returning from the field, I waited in the office of the director to ride back with my fellow Fonkoze folks. When the sun began setting, it dawned on me that they may have forgotten me. Sure enough, I walk into the main building and everyone was gone. Fortunately, I was able to call Leah and ensure that the driver would come back for me.
The poor in Haiti, unfortunately, find themselves feeling forgotten and lost. And it’s through the good work of MFIs like Fonkoze that someone is available to hold their hands to walk them back into the promised land. After completing the review of the application, testing the download and security firewall issues within one of the bank branch offices, we (the driver, Hugeul, Jeune, and myself) went to the beach of Jakmel for lunch. The ordering of the meal went something like this:

• “Alayne, do you like fish?”
• “Yes,” I responded and then a 3 minute conversation between Jeune, Hugeul and the waitress ensues.
• “OK. She said she will bring fish soon.”

The fish that you get is whatever was caught that day. So, it is incredibly fresh. There’s no need for discussion about how it will be prepared. It will be cooked on an open fire. It will be the entire fish. It will come with whatever they have on hand on the side. It will cost 200 HTG (about $5). Not bad / pa pi mal.

While waiting for the fish it was an ideal time to speak with the Social Impact Monitor (the only female one at Fonkoze) to learn her impressions on whether micro-loans are actually helping her clients. It was also the opportunity to chat about what else could be done to make things better. Ultimately, she has witnessed clients be well served by micro-credit. Most are using it to develop their businesses, make profits and send their kids to school along with improve their livelihoods. But she has realized, there are some people who come to the program to try to steal the money. There are others who join micro-credit but are forced to drop out because of a death, illness, or due to lack of education. Fonkoze is addressing some of those issues through their health and education programs. Furthermore, we spoke of those individuals who are so impoverished that they are not even ready for the “Ti Kredit” (Little Credit) program. These clients require additional education, business, and health training for 15 months just to learn how to operate, in a positive way (as opposed to stealing) in a market setting. Despite all of the challenges in Haiti, each of these individuals with whom I ate lunch, are passionate about not only discussing but doing their part to improve their country. They each said, in their own way, that they do not expect this to occur over night. But, they are each optimistic that a change can occur, if the people are willing to try. Thus, though they may feel lost and forgotten, there are people slowly working their way through the country to lift up a helping hand. I’m happy that I can be a small part of effectively measuring the impact of those positive changes.