WUNRN
Women News Network
February 1, 2010
HAITI
- WOMEN'S MICRO-LENDING BANK BRINGS BIG CASH TO RESCUE
Able
to quickly reach a well-developed network of women throughout the country, an
alternative banking system performs while the Haitian economy is in shambles
Peggy Simpson – Women News Network – WNN
in partnership with the WMC – Women’s Media Center
A micro-credit program and banking system
for more than 200,000 women in
At a time when Haitian commercial banks
remain closed, Fonkoze, the Haitian branch of the Grameen Bank of
Between 2 a.m. and 2 p.m., last Saturday,
January 23, Fonkoze brought in two million dollars in cash from their U.S. bank
and distributed it by helicopters to regional offices in the most remote parts
of the country.
That got money flowing again. The cash came
from Haitians working abroad who had sent funds — called remittances — to their
relatives.
Also known as
The operation read like a cloak-and-dagger
saga. Anne Hastings, the CEO of Fonkoze Financial Services, was point person on
shaping the unorthodox solution. It involved many conference calls to
By Friday, January 22, the plan was ready.
Remittances from U.S.-based Haitians deposited in Fonkoze’s accounts at City
National Bank of New Jersey were sent to JP Morgan Chase in Miami, converted
into cash — and packed in office supply boxes. An armored vehicle then
transferred the boxes to Homestead Air Force Base.
A C-17 plane, diverted from Langley Air
Force Base, landed at
Wall banner sign for
Once there, Hastings and two other Fonkoze
executives inspected the cash cargo — and called the Pentagon to say so far, so
good. Under a military escort, the Fonkoze vehicle loaded with the boxes of
cash awaited the two helicopters that could fly the money to 10 designated
drop-off locations.
Fonkoze’s Jean-Guy Noel rode with the helicopters
as they began deliveries before dawn. Seven hours later, all the cash had been
delivered and the helicopters were back in
Jennifer Harris, a member of the policy
staff of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a memo to Pentagon officials
released by Fonkoze, spelled out the implications of the combined State-Defense
operation.
“Fonkoze has by far the deepest reach into
the country’s rural poor, a remittance network that would take years to
recreate from scratch. As people continue to migrate from
In essence, she said, the unconventional
operation “may well have stabilized the banking system for the country’s most
vulnerable population.”
Fonkoze has been operating in
In addition to micro-lending programs,
Fonkoze sponsors major literacy, health care and micro-insurance programs. Its
remittances and savings accounts serve more than 200,000 people, making it a
significant part of the country’s financial system. Relatives of Fonkoze
members working abroad use its conduits to send back money — “that taxi driver
in
Woman entrepreneur re-sets up her food
business against odds after the earthquake devestates
It also serves as a vendor for three other
remittance services that still operate after the earthquake: MoneyGram,
Fonkoze’s micro-lending program has four
different levels. The first step is for the poorest of the poor and may involve
home repairs and health care, as well as building the confidence of the women
as they plan to start a micro-enterprise. Next the women may qualify for small
loans — perhaps only $25 — with a short repayment period, while they enroll in
literacy classes. In
The third level is the core: a “solidarity”
group in which friends take out loans together, then morph into credit centers
of 30 to 40 women. These women can start out borrowing $75, but if they prosper
they can borrow up to $1,300 for six months.
The fourth level focuses on business
development. Some women in this group borrow up to $25,000 and are being
nurtured to become part of the formal economy, creating jobs in rural areas
where there are few employment opportunities.
It isn’t the first time that a
micro-lending network of mostly women has taken a lead role in helping rebuild
a country’s economy after a natural disaster. In
Leigh Carter, who broke several vertebrae
in her back getting out of the Fonkoze headquarters building during the
earthquake and was airlifted out days later, is back at work in
“People are coming to us saying ‘you need
to expand your capacity,’” she said.
But first things first: the immediate
priority had to be getting cash to its members, throughout Haiti, from their
friends and relatives abroad, which in itself expands members ability to
survive and rebuild.
See Website Link for Video: http://womennewsnetwork.net/2010/02/01/haiti-microbank-890/
Fonkoze has had strong
success working with microfinance programs to improve lives of suffering women
and their families. This program, Chemen Lavi Miyo, which means “Pathway to a
Better Life” in Haitian creole, is testing a new approach to helping those
living in extreme poverty to transition into a sustainable way of life. This
highly structured and intensive program combines livelihoods and basic support
with training and financial management so that at the end of just 18 months,
participants will be equipped with the skills and a business plan to move
themselves out of poverty. “What we want to demonstrate,” says Anne Hastings,
director of the program, is that there is a “proven, replicable, methodology
for accompanying people as they struggle to make their way out of these
conditions into a …decent standard of living.” Fonkoze is now leading
microfinance programs that empower women and will help rebuild Port-au-Prince
since the devastating 10 January, 2010 earthquake that hit the capital and
outlying areas.
___________________________________________________
For more information on
this topic:
§
“A graduation pathway for Haiti’s poorest – Lessons learnt
from Fonkoze,” Karishma Huda and Anton Simanowitz – The Mastercard Foundation, 29
September, 2009
§
“The Haiti Earthquake: How microfinance is helping,” – CGAP – Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, World
Bank Publications, 27 January, 2010
§
“Reimagining Microfinance,” Alex Counts, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Stanford
Graduate School of Business, 13 May, 2008
§
“Gender and Microlending – Diveristy of Experience,” – Critical Half / Annual Journal 2004, Women for Women
International
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