Women's Vocational Programs
With virtually no employment opportunities in Petit trou de Nippes, a young woman's chances to become self-supporting are non-existent - unless she has vocational training and a chance for start-up support. The Women's Resource and Education Center was the first building to go up at St. Paul's Mission, the result of Father Kesner Gracia's determination to create a path to self-sufficiency with dignity for the young women of Petit trou de Nippes. When he first arrived at the mission, Father Kesner became haunted by the specter of young women who would simply disappear from the town. With no employment prospects, young women would leave for larger towns or Port-au-Prince in search of a means of survival. With no job skills, their chances for a meaningful survival were very poor, and often they disappeared entirely.
Two-year certificate programs: The Women's Vocational Programs were founded in 2006 with a start-up grant from Trinity Church Foundation of New York. The foundation courses of Professional Tailoring (Couture) and Professional Cooking/Catering (Cuisine) were chosen because they were most likely to give students marketable skills. The two courses began with 60 students and one instructor, and in the second year another instructor was added. Both courses are two-year programs leading to a government-issued certificate, and the first group is scheduled to graduate in June 2008. All students pay a minimum fee, reflecting Father Kesner's philosophy that even small tuition payments increase a student's dedication to the coursework
Micro-credit: Graduates will have an immediate opportunity to apply for a micro-loan from Fonkoze, Haiti's largest microcredit and banking for the poor agency. CHP and Father Kesner were able to recruit a new satellite office of Fonkoze to locate at the St. Paul's Mission, now located within the Women's Center. The CHP Board decided early on against beginning its own microcredit efforts for the women of Petit trou, in favor of devoting our efforts to attracting a satellite office of Fonkoze. Bringing micro-loans for women and micro-banking to Petit trou through the Fonkoze office has the potential to raise the entire local economy to a new level.
How You Can Help: We seek private donations now to stabilize the funding of the Women's Programs before we expand the faculty and course offerings. Our goal for 2008 is to raise $13,000 in current funding and pledges for an equal amount for 2009, while we seek grant funding for program expansion.
Contact Colorado Haiti Project