As part of the remembrance, we interviewed two beneficiaries who are active community leaders in Leogane: Jean Fichet and Jean Louis Mevoir. This is the best way we can share with you the impact of our work and how we face the memory of this disaster in Haiti.
Like their 10 million Haitian neighbors, the memories of the earthquake that rocked their country five years ago are still vivid and fresh in Jean and Jean Louis’s minds. While they mourn all of the loss that this tragedy has brought, they also celebrate the success that they’ve seen as they and their countrymen have worked to rebuild their lives.
Fichet and Mevoir are both from Leogane, an area near the epicenter of the earthquake and the center of World Renew’s four-year, $19 million response. Both Fichet and Mevoir had the opportunity to be part of World Renew’s response from the very beginning.
Mevoir lives in the mountain regions of Leogane, in Fondebouden, while Fichet lives in the lowland area known as Tamaren. As we reminisced, they recalled that World Renew came to their communities to talk to the people and determine how they could best respond. Fichet and Mevoir were among those who helped World Renew understand the realities and needs in their communities and how to adjust the projects as the programs were being carried out.
Like their 10 million Haitian neighbors, the memories of the earthquake that rocked their country five years ago are still vivid and fresh in Jean and Jean Louis’s minds. While they mourn all of the loss that this tragedy has brought, they also celebrate the success that they’ve seen as they and their countrymen have worked to rebuild their lives.
“World Renew came to offer a relief program after the disaster, but in the end it was durable development work they did. They took us through a journey that will not end: they planted something that has deep roots, and the harvest will be extended over a long period of time,” said Jean Fichet.
World Renew finished its Haiti earthquake response in 2014, but the impact of the program continues to be experienced throughout Leogane.
Fichet and Mevoir, for example, were selected by their communities to learn basic veterinary skills in a World Renew goat distribution program. When a disease recently spread throughout the livestock in the region and threatened to wipe out the entire goat population, Fichet and Mevoir told us that their World Renew training enabled them to protect and treat the animals in their community to prevent the epidemic from spreading.
Their work as veterinary technicians has also provided both men with an ongoing source of income.
“I have been able to pay for my children’s school tuition and feed my family of four thanks to my work as a local veterinary technician,” said Mevoir.
Similarly, the seedbanks that World Renew set up run on an ongoing basis, enabling families to store seed safely for use for the next crop cycle. And the goats that World Renew distributed are bearing offspring and helping more families receive a goat. When the first generation of goats are distributed, the recipients agree to pass along the first kid to help other families in need.
In addition, World Renew set up farmers’ associations and encouraged local men and women to meet together for training in improved agricul- tural techniques. These local associations meet on a regular basis and continue to pool some of their savings to address community needs.
“Recently the farmers association in Tamaren was selected to receive funding from the Spanish Red Cross to set up a small veterinary pharmacy,” Fichet said. “The farmers association is a legally-recognized entity and this enabled the Red Cross to route their funds there to start the pharmacy. The association is providing the building, and the Red Cross is providing the first supplies of medication.”
“The intervention of World Renew in Leogane profoundly changeed our life,” Fichet and Mevoir told World Renew.
Please pray for Haiti and for our partners.
Lunise Cerin-Jules
Country Consultant
World Renew Haiti
