Fonkoze Blog

by Anne Hastings, Manager, Microfinance CEO Working Group.

The full versionof this blog post initially appeared on the Center for Financial Inclusion blog.

Here is an excerpt:

"It’s time we all learn and consider for our own work the implications of the “new” definition of full financial inclusion:

A state in which all people who can use them have access to a suite of quality financial services, provided at affordable prices, in a convenient manner, and with dignity for the clients. Financial services are delivered by a range of providers, most of them private, to financially capable clientele.

How many of us can say that we have achieved this goal, if only for our own target group in our own geographic region? What this means, for starters, is that credit is certainly not enough in today’s world – our clients need savings, insurance, remittances, payments, currency exchange, etc. And they need them at affordable prices in convenient places for them to reach and with respect....

Grameen Foundation President Alex Counts, who serves on the board of Fonkoze USA and co-chairs the Fonkoze Family Coordinating Committee, recently wrote about his takeaways from the Financial Inclusion 2020 Global Forum, hosted by the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion. The full version of this post originally appeared on their blog. An excerpt:

"Financial inclusion feels like more of a means than an end. For me, the end is the reduction of poverty and the empowerment of low-income women – so why not focus on those? If having a poor or even middle-class person simply open their first “no frills” bank account is considered a step towards financial inclusion, regardless of how useful or helpful that bank account is, is this banner a lackluster one to rally under? Further, it is not clear to me that the provision of quality financial services through informal financial institutions (however defined) is being properly valued in the financial inclusion agenda. Finally, does making “financial capability” something of a prerequisite for people accessing formal financial services effectively let financial institutions off the hook for meeting clients where they are and designing appropriate products for them?

While my apprehension about these concepts has not entirely dissipated, I emerged from the Global Forum feeling that this campaign for full financial inclusion, at least as defined by CFI, is evolving as a powerful rallying point for a diverse coalition of providers, regulators, technologists, researchers, and activists. The notion of full inclusion is essential. I now see financial capability as a concept that defines the end state when financial education (through whatever means) is done effectively. The Forum probably had a similar impact on many others – helping them travel from a place of confusion or even wariness towards strong alignment and shared purpose."

Where are you from?

Utah, basically born and raised with a quick stint in Alabama.

What’s your background?

I attended Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah and majored in Anthropology, Philosophy, and Peace and Justice Studies.

What motivated you to become a Fonkoze intern?

During a trip to Haiti in 2012 with a group of students from my university, we spent a day with Fonkoze. Chemen Lavi Miyo (CLM) Regional Directors Steven Werlin and Emile Mesidor took us to visit with CLM members at various stages in the program. We met with women who had just started the program and women who had recently graduated.

Seeing the physical, mental, and emotional differences between these women was amazing. The first two women that we met with avoided eye contact, were very shy, and seemed embarrassed to talk about their past. The next woman, who had just graduated, was confident, outspoken, and proud to tell the story of her life before and after CLM. I was hooked.

What surprised you most when you first arrived?

How easily the CLM team became my family. When I arrived in Haiti, I had no background in Kreyòl or French, and moved into the house with people I had never met before, aside from Steve. I immediately connected with CLM Director Gauthier Dieudonne on the drive to Mibalè. We both have very diverse backgrounds and he quickly became my Haitian Papa. I was immediately accepted by the entire CLM staff and soon after considered them my family.

What's your most memorable story from living in the CLM house?

One memorable night, Ismith and Roger were helping me with my Kreyòl. I had only been there for a couple of weeks and they would point to things and teach me the Kreyòl names. When we ran out of things in the yard, they moved on to other words. They were trying to get me to say avyon or airplane. It was so random and their explanation of “it moves forward but cannot move backwards” just wasn’t clicking for me. Roger finally got up and mimicked a plane taking off and flying, including sound effects, that’s when I got it! They were always so proud when I caught on, but this time they were basically jumping up and down. It was adorable and still makes me laugh when I think about it.

What has been the most challenging part of your experience?

The emotional challenges that I encountered. A good example was my experience with primary interviews, which are the first meetings with women during the selection process. It was very difficult to see the living conditions and hear the stories of these women and their families. Up until this point I had only seen the progression, empowerment, and transformation of our women. After speaking with Gauthier and Hebert, I realized that this was the power of the program. We are able to help these women change their lives and the lives of their children. There were days that were draining and stressful, but every day in CLM is life-altering for the women that we help, and the emotional stress is nothing in the scheme of things.

What has been your favorite part of the experience?

First, for the graduation in Boukan Kare, Solita, Josiane, Sandra and I fixed hair and make-up for the 98 women who were graduating. These women had worked so hard to get to this point and were already strong, courageous, and beautiful. We just helped give them a little something extra as they celebrated their accomplishments and journey out of poverty.

Second would have to be working in the field as a case manager. There were a few weeks that Hebert and I took over for some of our case managers. One day were working in Martiniere’s zone when Hebert said something about me taking over, which I took as a joke. The next day I began working as a case manager with Hebert’s help and loved it. After a couple of visits, Hebert felt confident enough to leave me to work on my own. It was great to get to know the women better and to feel like I was a real part of their journey with CLM.

If you could sum up the CLM program in one sentence, what would it be?

CLM speaks for itself: Chemen Lavi Miyò, path to a better life.

What’s next for you after this?

A short break and then I’m off to grad school. I will be working towards a Masters in Development Practice at Trinity College and University College Dublin in September.

How will this experience impact you moving forward?

by Veronique Taluy, Communications Intern

Walking through the doors of the Lenbe live-in branch, I was immediately greeted by friendly and welcoming staff. I had traveled from Port au Prince with Dr. Florence Jean-Louis and Dr. Wesly Elize, members of our Human Development department, for a health training for our center chiefs. When we arrived, we saw a group of women assembled at the branch to repay their loans. If I could, in one word, describe my overall impression of the women at the Lenbe branch, I would have to say—dignified.

Generally, the poor are portrayed as miserable, begging, crying, and pleading, an understandable consequence of their extreme desperation. But they have been robbed of their dignity and are dehumanized, which only serves to strengthen an inferiority complex. They seldom receive the opportunity to tap into their personal capabilities as individuals to help themselves.

After spending the weekend at the Fonkoze Lenbe branch, I was able to see firsthand that forming groups of self-sustaining businesswomen creates a more respectful and honorable approach to the helping the poor.

I was proud to see my fellow Haitian women come together to better their lives. These women were regional center chiefs, each responsible for leading 20-plus Fonkoze women. As center chiefs, they are responsible for teaching their fellow clients all that they learned in the health training. They learned the uses and benefits of certain health products. They also learned the proper way to take certain medication and preventative measures for health safety.

Giving these women, who display leadership qualities, a leadership position in their community, augments their social and economic power. They now become the master of their own fate. I’ve noticed firsthand that Fonkoze’s impact on the community does not cripple these Haitian women. There is no giver-recipient relationship. Fonkoze has clients whom they aim to serve. This business relationship is based on trust. Fonkoze gives these Haitian women a boost without disempowering or humiliating them, creating producers, not beggars.

See this post on Month of Microfinance's Autobiographies of Microfinance!

Jean Jules Laguerre did not set out to work in microfinance—it found him. While still in high school, he met Fonkoze founder Father Joseph Philippe and agreed to help him with a literacy workshop. After the weekend-long event, Father Joseph invited Jules to his house, where he told him about Fonkoze, the bank for the organized poor that he had founded three years prior. He asked Jules if he would be interested in getting involved.

Jules said yes, and hasn’t looked back since. He started off working in the primary Port-au-Prince office, but soon began venturing out to the provinces to interview potential clients. He then moved to Saint Martin, where he began working as a credit agent.

He didn’t make much money (about 50 cents for each client he enrolled and $6 for each credit group), but as he says, “It wasn’t the salary that motivated me.” Like his colleagues, he believed in the power of microfinance to improve the lives of his fellow Haitians.

Jules has seen that power in action over the course of his career at Fonkoze. His most striking memory is of a group of five clients who could not afford the inscription fee to become Fonkoze borrowers. Jules and a few other credit agents decided to pay the $30 fee for them, allowing the women to join Fonkoze’s Solidarity lending program, which starts out with microfinance loans of $75.

Today, the same five women have become Madam Saras—distributors who travel to the United States, Panama, and China to buy goods for other ti machann to sell. He remembers with pride when they first asked him for help getting passports. “They told me, ‘It’s you who is our father, who guides us,’ ” Jules recalls. “Of all the clients I’ve worked with, it’s one example that really struck me.”

Jules, too, has progressed through the levels of Fonkoze’s microfinance lending. He now works as an SME credit agent, which distributes loans starting at $10,000.

His favorite part of his job is simply working with the clients. “They are sincere people,” he says. He loves hearing client testimonies, when the women explain how microfinance has helped not only themselves, but also their families and the other people in their areas.

Jules’ work has provided him with more than a career—it has been the foundation for his relationships. “Fonkoze has allowed me to meet really great people,” he says. Jules met his wife at Fonkoze in 1997, shortly after he started as a credit agent. Jules and Arlene, who worked in the Human Resources department, enjoyed seven years of marriage and fifteen years together in total. She died last year from complications due to lupus. It was a painful loss for the entire Fonkoze family. “She was truly a beautiful person,” Jules says.

Jules continues to devote himself to his work at Fonkoze, helping the institution to innovate on behalf of its clients. “True microfinance isn’t just about giving money and having it paid back,” he says. “It’s not only an economic impact; it has a social impact too.”

He explains the importance of listening to microfinance clients and taking their input into account. Fonkoze, for example, uses a call-in line called Rele Anmwe (Call on Me) to allow clients to ask questions and offer feedback whenever they have issues that can’t be solved at the branch level.

by Mackenzie Keller, External Communications Specialist

In Haiti, women are often referred to as poto mitan. Literally, it means “middle pole”—the pillar of the house. Women act as the pillars of their families and, by extension, the backbone of society. They provide the economic and social stability needed to sustain their families and communities.

Often, however, Haitian women simply do not have the resources to support themselves or their families. Due to a variety of circumstances that have trapped them in poverty, many women in rural Haiti lack the means to act as poto mitan.

Fonkoze seeks to empower these women in a variety of ways: through lending programs that enable them to strengthen and expand their small businesses, through the provision of health and insurance services to allow them to recover quickly from unforeseen circumstances, and through an innovative program for the ultra-poor—Chemen Lavi Miyo (“the Road to a Better Life”).

The women who enter our Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM) program are the most vulnerable in Haitian society. They live in sub-standard shelter in rural societies, have multiple children, none of whom attend school, and struggle to feed their families. They have no productive assets, no skills, and perhaps worst of all—no self-esteem.

The CLM women are not yet ready for microloans. Instead, Fonkoze and our partner, KANPE, seeks to reinforce their capacity through an intensive 18-month program. It includes asset provision, health services provided by Partners in Health, business training, and one-on-one case manager guidance. In the process, participants are transformed, regaining their ability to act as poto mitan.

Women almost ready to graduate from the CLM program undergo a 3-day Confidence Building Training in order to ensure that they have the foundation to succeed in the long-term. The workshop reinforces the women’s self-confidence by helping them recognize and analyze their past successes.

International Women’s Day presents an opportunity for us to do this on a global scale—to recognize the incredible progress that women around the world have made since this day first came into creation over a hundred years ago. At the same time, much room for progress remains.

With the right tools, however, we believe that women can kanpe—stand up—and overcome their challenges. A group of 340 CLM members recently underwent Confidence Building Training in preparation for their graduation day. Fittingly, they are graduating on March 8. On this day of solidarity for women around the world, they are celebrating their ability to overcome adversity—both in the past, and in the future.

As CLM graduate Rose-Marie Assenne said, “The person that I was yesterday, I am not the same person any longer.” She explained how CLM taught her to engage in commerce, allowing her to leverage the two goats and a pig she received at the program’s start into four goats and a horse.

The full version of this post originally appeared on Steve Werlin's blog on December 29, 2012.

Elimène lives in Fond Pierre Jacques, a hilly neighborhood just southeast of the town of Bay Tourib. The region has nothing but houses, trees, and farmland. Residents of Fond Pierre Jacques plant fields both there and in the unpopulated region further to the east.

In her interview to determine if she was a good candidate for the CLM program, Elimène revealed that she was making a small profit now and again, but she couldn't sustain it. Whenever it came time for heavy agricultural work, the commerce would collapse. She wouldn't have time to buy or sell. She'd drain it of capital to buy food for her family until harvest. And even then, they never had enough. They were always hungry until their crops came in. Even in good years, they might have stretches of several weeks when they had little to eat. In bad years, things could be much worse.

So we invited her to join CLM. She chose goats and a pig as her assets, and got right to work.

Goat rearing didn't start very well. We gave her two goats, but they were small ones. One of them quickly became sick.

Elimène, however, was determined. “I struggled and struggled with it. It finally pulled through.”

The other was healthier, but they both were small when she received them. They have finally produced offspring, but it took much longer than it should have.

Pig rearing was more successful. It is risky business—mortality among pigs is relatively high. But it can be quite profitable when it works. Elimène's pig managed to raise four piglets. She sold three of them, and is now raising the mother and a younger female. She chose to sell them very young. It is less profitable, but a lot less risky and a lot less work. Pigs require a lot of care. She figured she’d have an easier time if she wasn’t managing too many of them.

She took the money she got from selling two of the pigs and bought beans at harvest, when their price was low. She's now storing them until planting season, when she'll be able to sell them profitably.

Her biggest success, however, has been with small, regular commerce.

“They didn't give me commerce, but Titon [her case manager] said I should try to start one if I could.” She talked to him about the tobacco business she once ran, and they agreed that she would try again. “You have to sell something that other people don't sell. I'm the only tobacco seller in Bay Tourib."

So she took some of the money that she had saved up from her weekly food stipend, added the money from the third piglet, and went to Hinche to buy. There, she discovered a new product.

“I always sold local, Haitian tobacco. But people were asking for the darker imported tobacco that they like to use for snuff. Now I sell both.”

She found that she could get a cup of prepared snuff in Hinche for 200 gourds, or about $5. But she could buy the unprocessed foreign tobacco it's made from for half that much. She makes the snuff by drying the tobacco in the sun, and pounding it into a fine powder. She then discovered that she could cut her costs even further buy blending the darker tobacco with the less expensive local product.

Her tobacco business is now more profitable than it ever was and, just as importantly, she has come to see its fundamental importance. “I won't ever let the business collapse again. Even if I can only sell on Saturdays and Sundays, I'll keep it up because it means we always have food in the house.”

Elimène's ambition is now larger than food on the table. She wants to start buying more land. As committed as she is to commerce, she really sees herself as a farmer. “Whatever you think I look like, I know how to work with a hoe and a sickle.” She wants more farmland so she can make more from her crops.

Her plan is simple: “I'll keep taking good care of my animals, and put away money whenever I can. If you can sell a couple of goats or pigs, and can add some money from a harvest, you'll already have enough to buy a small plot.” In a couple of months, she’ll buy a horse so she can get larger crops and the fruit from the trees in her yard to market, too. That will add a lot to her income.

The full version of this post originally appeared on Steve Werlin's blog on December 29, 2012 as a follow-up to his first post on Lucienne, Still Hungry.

Lucienne lost most of her assets during her first few months in the CLM program. She invested her funds for commerce to plant beans that returned a very poor harvest, and she lost two of the three goats that we gave her. She was left with just one adult female goat and savings from her six months of food stipends.

CLM is 18 months of hard work and invention. As Gauthier, our program director, says, “There’s always a way.” So Lucienne and her case manager made a plan.

She would sell a young billy goat, the survivor from her nanny’s first litter. She would then take the proceeds from that sale, add most of her savings, and buy a small horse. The horse would make it possible for her to start a small commerce. A good plan.

The problem is, she didn’t follow it. Her son, Lorès, sold the goat for her, but they decided to invest the money in another crop of beans. She figured that a decent harvest would allow her to buy a bigger horse and leave her plenty of additional money to invest in the commerce itself. But this second bean crop failed badly, too. She did not harvest even enough to plant another crop. And her savings alone were too little by themselves to allow her to buy the horse.

So she was moving backwards. She still needed to dramatically increase her asset base. She wouldn’t be able to graduate with just the one goat and her savings. More importantly, she’d have very little chance of sustainable success unless she could establish a stronger foundation.

But all that remained were the one goat and her savings. We encouraged her to use the savings to buy a couple of smaller animals, and she wisely chose to invest diversely. She split almost all of her money equally between two purchases: a large nanny goat and a 40% share in a neutered pig that Lorès bought. That left 500 gourds, or roughly $12.50, that she used to buy a big male turkey.

Now things are looking up. Though she lost two crops of beans that she and Lorès planted for sale, she’s had good returns on her millet this year, so there’s plenty of food in the house. She also had a good harvest of pigeon peas. They don’t bring in as much money as the black and red beans that she planted, but they are giving her something to work with.

originally from a Facebook post by CLM Regional Director Steve Werlin

Lusane Jean Jacques, affectionately known as Magre, recently made her dream come true: she bought her own horse. It’s been a long road for Magre, who lives in Bay Tourib, a rural area of Haiti’s Central Plateau. In August 2011, she joined Fonkoze’s program for the ultra poor, Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM), and was making fairly good progress. "I used to sleep in the rain,” she said. “I would put my kids under the bed or the table to keep them dry. Now I have a nice house with a good tin roof. The rain isn’t a problem." Then Hurricane Sandy swept through. She lost some livestock and, even worse, her entire crop of black beans. She had planned to use her crop along with the sale of a goat to buy her first horse, but feared the hurricane would make that impossible. Fortunately, Fonkoze USA, with the help of Artists for Haiti, was able to raise the money necessary to replace our members’ lost assets. Magre took her payment, and went to the market in Regalis with her case manager, Christian Louizia, to make her purchase. Afterwards, she couldn’t hide her excitement. "I never thought I’d be able to buy a horse. I’m going to name it CLM.” Note: In rural Haiti, animals and crops are like savings accounts for women like Magre. Not only will this horse be a safety net for Magre and her family, it will help her move goods to market or take family members to receive emergency health care. Thank you,

This post originally appeared on the World Economic Forum blog as part of Fonkoze Financial Services CEO Anne Hastings' contribution to the discussion in Davos, Switzerland. The theme for 2013: "Resilient Dynamism." by Anne Hastings Imagine a world in which the most vulnerable, through their mobile phones, were able to receive government payments, buy food, receive a transfer from their family member living abroad, pay their children’s tuition and even receive information on the price fish is selling at in a distant city. Would financial transactions be more secure in that world? Would they help to ensure that funds reach the vulnerable at less cost? Would it lead to less corruption in our assistance programs? Could it even open up new markets for the fisherman in a distant rural village? Would it bring dignity to the 2.5 billion unbanked in the world? So agreed the panelists in this morning’s “Better than Cash” breakfast at the World Economic Forum. They included Peru’s Prime Minister, the Colombian Minister of Finance, the Budget Secretary of the Philippines, the CEO of Mercy Corps and the Chairman of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). These leaders of government, the private sector and development organizations were in agreement that the possibilities are there . . . and realizable. But what of the challenges? As the CEO of Haiti’s largest microfinance institution—Fonkoze Financial Services—I can elaborate on a number of them in my country. First, is the challenge of democratizing cell phone usage so that everyone has a cell phone and indeed knows how to use it. Digicel has achieved that in Haiti. Then comes the problem of ensuring the phone is charged in a country where electricity is nonexistent in many areas. From there, the person we want to receive a payment must understand the concept that the cash exists on their phone and they can access it – certainly not an easy concept for even the educated. Then comes the decision of whether the system will be telecom-led or led by the banks. That problem has been solved in Haiti with a system in which the telecoms and the banks have formed alliances. And then there’s the regulatory framework designed by the Central Bank. It has the potential to be the biggest obstacle in the system or, on the other hand, the biggest facilitator. But what about the fees? All the panelists agreed that lowering the transaction costs are essential if the poorest are to benefit from the system. “If the government wants to make a conditional cash transfer, it is the government that must pay the fee,” proclaimed one panelist. Moreover, government cannot impose burdensome taxes on the transactions. Finally, the government has to see the advantages of building its social safety nets through a system like this. Fortunately, in Haiti, the Prime Minister envisions a world in which the elderly, students, the handicapped, mothers living in poverty who send their kids to school, and victims of natural disasters could all receive financial assistance through their mobile phones. Does this mean for the benefits of mobile payments to be realized, we need ALL these stakeholders to come together: the government, the regulatory system, banks, telecoms, NGOs, merchants in both the formal and informal markets, and the most vulnerable? Indeed, that is the case. Is Haiti poised to make all this finally come together in the interests of economic growth and financial inclusion? It’s close, but the ecosystems to support mobile cash are waiting to be built and will require everyone’s participation.

_Jésula belongs to Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM), or the Path to a Better Life. CLM reaches out to ultra-poor families in rural Haiti. It provides assets, a small cash stipend, education and the support of a case manager over the course of 18 months to develop members' capacity and confidence._

 This week, Fonkoze CEO Anne Hastings had the pleasure of participating in the [Haiti: Lessons for the Future commitment workshop](http://new.livestream.com/accounts/376536/events/1545582/videos/4054775), held by the Haiti Action Network as part of the [Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting](http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/ourmeetings/2012). Other participants included Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Digicel Founder and Chairman Denis O'Brien, and Cheryl Mills, chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Members of CGI, founded in 2005 by President Clinton to "convene global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems," make Commitments to Action. Each commitment is a specific action to make the world a better place; the commitment can be big or small, tackle a local, regional, national or international problem. Other CGI members can then contribute funds directly to the organization or individual who has made the commitment. Over the past five years, CGI members have made more than 1,700 commitments, valued at $57 billion, which have improved the lives of 220 million people around the world. Fonkoze currently has three partially funded commitments. You can help us to fulfill any one of them by [making a donation and specifying the commitment](https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=581&code=fonkoze-haiti).

Insuring Haiti's Most Vulnerable Against Cholera Risk, 2011

**Commitment by** Fonkoze Mercy Corps Swiss Reinsurance Company **Partner** Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO) **Summary** In 2011, Fonkoze, Swiss Re, Mercy Corps, and MiCRO committed to pilot the design and implementation of a Cholera Microinsurance Policy through the Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organization (MiCRO), the goal of which is to provide products that help the poorest, most vulnerable female micro-entrepreneurs and their families manage the potentially catastrophic risks of cholera. Swiss Re will design the product, and Fonkoze and Mercy Corps will work together in Haiti to pilot the distribution and education. If successful, MiCRO will recruit other Haitian partners into this program, as well as reach out to potential donors and governments to expand the product globally and potentially add other infectious diseases. [More details...](http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/commitments/commitments_search.asp?id=732879)

Breaking the Cycle of Disease and Poverty in Haiti, 2009

**Commitment by** Fonkoze **Partners** Partners in Health Zanmi Lasante BRAC Consultative Group to Assist the Poor CHF International BRAC USA Linked Foundation **Summary** In 2009, Fonkoze, BRAC, BRAC USA, Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante, CGAP, CHF Partners in Rural Development, and Linked Foundation committed to implement a proven, replicable, and cost-effective approach to measurably reduce extreme poverty and improve health outcomes in Central Haiti over the next two years. This two-year initiative brings together BRAC, the largest NGO in the Global South, and two leading Haitian NGOs with decades of experience in the target area, Fonkoze and Zanmi Lasante. The partners will work together to 1). implement a scaled model of poverty alleviation ranging from case management for the extreme rural poor to microfinance services for those already engaged in small enterprises, 2). improve health and reduce mortality from malnutrition through comprehensive health services, nutrition education, and agricultural training, and 3). increase access to high-quality training and educational opportunities for rural youth and develop rural youth leadership committed to remaining in rural areas to develop a better future for their communities. [More details...](http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/commitments/commitments_search.asp?id=344501)

It's About Jobs: Building a Haitian SME Investment Fund, 2011

_Aaron Baum is a doctoral student in the Program in Sustainable Development at Columbia University and a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He also collaborates with the Institute for [Human and Community Development](http://www.ihcd.org/), [City Health Works!](http://www.cityhealthworks.com/), and the [Millennium Villages Project](http://www.millenniumvillages.org/)._ _Having been a Fonkoze intern 2009-2010, he is thrilled to continue to work with the institution to support its health initiatives._ **FKZ**: Can you explain the basics of Fonkoze’s micronutrient powder program? What are the advantages of piloting this program within a community-based structure? **AIB**: The way I think about it is: Given some amount of funding, what is the most effective way to deliver high impact interventions to communities where the need is highest? What is the best way to deliver essential health products across rural Haiti, for example? What’s required to do so? For a start, you'd need the product (importing it to Port-au-Prince or producing it in-country), distribution chain (transportation from Port-au-Prince to rural cities, and from rural cities to low-income villages), trained staff (to manage, implement, and monitor the program and to make sure products are not only going to where they should but are being used correctly), and, at the end of all of that, household demand. The last factor is critical and not addressed by most models. It's not really fair to ask people living on daily sales earnings to take a day off work to walk hours to a distribution point for a product that may or may not be there when they arrive. Convenience impacts demand. And so do other incentives, particularly when supplying preventive health products like vitamins which have few if any immediately visible benefits, despite being cost-effective and highly beneficial long term. In the developed world, we benefit from not needing to make the choice to take vitamins -- our salt is iodized and our foods come enriched. Still, sometimes active choice is required and when it is, it's hard for us to follow through -- for example, we don't exercise as much as we should and we don't eat logically. It's not different in rural Haiti, except there active choice is required for almost all preventive health decisions. Which means we need to change people’s behaviors. To do that, we need communities themselves to lead, and so identification of community leaders is just as key as setting up the expensive supply chain infrastructure to achieve scalable distribution in hard to reach, rural regions. Fonkoze has already built a community-based distribution platform across 2,000 villages in the country, with all village centers linked to one of 46 rural branches. Village centers of 25-50 women already meet twice monthly in the same place, with transport linkages in place -- a Fonkoze employee motorcycles twice a month to the meeting. Further, each village center elects a representative client as their “center chief”, a volunteer leader for all center meetings who represents her center in Fonkoze's national assembly. In these ways, Fonkoze’s community-based structure is anchored to the communities it serves, and is a ready platform for the distribution of health products and for effective, community-led education and promotion.