Spring 2008 Newsletter — Contents
Haitians Raise Food Locally … p. 1Organization profile … p. 2
New Board Members p. 3
Member Profile … p. 4
Organization Profile:
Community, Water and Trees
The Organization for the Development of Rivye Blanch (ODEPERIB) was founded in October 2000. Today, it has 897 members and enjoys a strong reputation in the Artibonite Valley. The goals of the organization are to improve the economic situation of ODEPERIB members, provide assistance to members engaged in agricultural production and improve the health conditions of the population of Rivye Blanch. ODEPERIB members were extremely concerned about their community's access to water, because they had become increasingly dependent on untreated drinking water from the nearby river. Water from the river placed all villagers, particularly its children, at risk. Polluted water can cause diseases such as diarrhea, which can be fatal in Haiti if left untreated. The organization decided to partner with the Lambi Fund on the construction of the 10 cisterns.
The project was launched with a day long meeting between Lambi Fund staff and ODEPERIB's general membership. This meeting offered all involved the opportunity to review the plans and revise the strategies needed to coordinate construction of the cisterns and the reforestation efforts for the community. It was agreed that there would be two phases to the project, with 5 cisterns built in the first phase and five more during the second phase.
Management Committee
A project management committee was appointed. This committee's role is to manage all phases of the project including the preparation of reports, fiscal management, procurement of construction materials and the coordination of volunteer activities.
Members of the management committee were invited to participate in a 3-day training workshop on fiscal management, project reporting, and construction management provided by the Lambi Fund. Once the training was completed, ODEPERIB's leadership met jointly with Lambi Fund's staff to discuss the project.
Training Seminars
Quote from Roseme, a member of the organization:
"There are no words to describe how thankful we are for the cisterns, the tree nurseries and the women's seminar we attended. We have to say 'Thank you Lambi Fund, Thank You!' The benefits of the cisterns are priceless. They give us access to clean water, and we are no longer forced to get our drinking water straight from the river. The women from ODEPERIB have also benefited a lot. We attended Lambi Fund's women seminar and learned a lot about our need to be heard and to be leaders in our organization. Some of the men felt threatened by the progress we made, but we are not going back to the way things were. We are proud to be women leaders of ODEPERIB!"
In addition to the management workshop, ODEPERIB members also participated in other training. Women members attended Lambi Fund's regional women's leadership seminar, where they met with women from other community groups to discuss gender specific issues. The women returned from these workshops with a greater sense of empowerment. They have become more organized and have successfully challenged their male counterparts for the organization's leadership. Currently more than half of the elected members ODEPERIB's Executive Committee are women.
ODEPERIB members also participated in the environmental seminars, where they acquired much needed information about nursery construction, seedling production, organic farming and agroforestry.
Cistern Construction
The Lambi Fund disbursed funds to the Management Committee which in turn was responsible for the acquisition of construction materials, such a steel rods, gravel, cement etc. Additionally, the Management Committee organized multiple konbits (cooperative peasant work teams) to collect local building materials and to dig holes at designated sites. Many ODEPERIB members as well as residents volunteered with the work teams at different phases of construction. It took approximately six months to complete the first phase of the project. The second phase has now commenced.
Reforestation Project
The Lambi Fund of Haiti supports all partner organizations' efforts to become more engaged in reforestation initiatives. The Lambi Fund offered training and resources needed to build nurseries, distribute seedlings and coordinate tree planting activities.
ODEPERIB members surveyed mountainous areas in Rivye Blanche to identify those in need of reforestation. They engaged their members in multiple work groups to plant seedlings in selected areas. Seedlings were also distributed to members and non-members who also planted them in their fields.
Project Impact
The project has had multiple impacts on the organization and on the community by:
- Building the organization's capacity to manage construction projects
- Building members' skills to prepare project reports, including narrative and financial reports and record keeping
- Engaging more women in leadership roles and activities
- Providing community access to potable drinking water
- Involving the community in reforestation efforts
- Building a stronger community organization which enjoys support from members and nonmembers alike
- Creating local leadership seeking greater political representation and platforms for their community building agenda
Conclusion and Recommendation
The water cistern project is considered a total success on many levels. In addition to bringing safe drinking water to the community, it has given the community a great sense of project ownership. The reforestation project also provides members with the resources and the knowledge they needed to transform their community and address the area's state of environmental degradation.
