Carnet de Voyage ~ Haiti

Carnet de Voyage ~Haiti

In a recently published essay entitled, "What is Haiti to me," Amy Biney referred to the island nation as Africa's heartbeat cloned to the Caribbean. Years of mingling and mixing has left Haiti with a language and a flavour that is distinctly her own. Yet throughout my monthlong sojourn here, I find myself constantly ideating on the evident and sometimes mysterious parallels between modern day Haiti and Africa. The driving inspiration for leaving my base in Burkina Faso and coming to the land of mountains was sparked by the desire to witness the reported successes of the self help group (SHG) movement here, one that is beginning to replace outmoded and inefficient development models.  AMURT/EL Haiti, along with the Local Capacity Alliance (LOCAL), have been training community facilitators and animators that are now working alongside SHGs in three different regions. Throughout the past month, I have been traveling throughout these regions, living and learning the SHG approach with those actively participating in it. This trip also marks the first time representation from both the Burkina Faso and Haiti branches of AMURT/EL have come together to hold dialogue about how we can increase cooperation between people of the two nations. After witnessing the dynamism and strength of this nascent movement in Haiti, I don't rule out the auspicious probability that those persons involved will in some way contribute to the birth of the same movement in the land from whence their ancestors came.

The first actual SHG group I visited was near the northern village of Source Ceaud, a place humbled by barren, red mountains, hot water springs, subsistence gardens and ocean views. As the 20 women assembled under a large thatch awning attached to a concrete cottage, I immediately sensed in them an air of confidence and purpose; something unlike any gathering I have experienced in all my years living and working in Africa. Even before the meeting started, I was convinced that each woman knew exactly what she was doing and why. After a moment of silence and a song, the women collectively began to chant the root causes of disempowerment and poverty - denial of choices/rights/opportunities, discrimination, disparity, domination, displacement, dehumanisation, etc. By the end of this acknowledgment exercise, these seemingly insurmountable realities no longer held power over these determined women. Then in perfect unison, the group recited their core principles to further reinforce what brings them together each week. They continued by listing points of discussion that follow the annual financial transaction period. Taking out their individual cash and ledgers, each member made their weekly contribution to both the general fund and the social fund, an extra one they created for the purpose of helping families in dire need. Once deciding who would receive that week's micro loan, they returned to the points of discussion. Solutions were talked over and time-bound resolutions made, complete with a signed list of delegated responsibilities for each point. I sat in awe, witnessing the most tangible and real grassroots, democratic community building structure I have experienced to date; taking place in the last place I would expect to find one.

What followed that initial meeting was example after example of how this approach is working! I was surprised to learn that most of these groups were just 18 months old. Women in the groups invited me into their homes and told me of their challenges andexperiences participating in the groups. Community facilitators explained, in great detail, the ins and outs of their roles, responsibilities and visions for the future. I am still touched by the team feeling I felt amongst the LOCAL and AMURT/EL staff here, and the profound sense of purpose members of the SHGs have developed. These groups have become a home away from home for so many women. On the eve of my departure onward to Burkina Faso, I find my optimism rising to a new level. I have always maintained that Africa will be developed by African people, both at home and throughout the diaspora. Plans are now in place for future exchanges between Haitian and Burkinabe SHG facilitators and educators. These transatlantic exchanges hold the potential to strengthen our respective capacities to build the SHG movement in a way that affirms our common root. Looking ever forward...

~ Dinakar AMURT Burkina Faso