Lambi Fund of Haiti

While on the Haiti theme I decided to post the information from the Lambi Fund of Haiti which the Board of World Fellowship supports.  I was wondering if Christ Church did anything in Haiti like we do for Nicaragua.  We have not sent a mission there, humm this is a suggestion, but we do support programs in Haiti through our general support for UCC and the Lambi Fund.  Bre Reiber the former wife of Rev Tom Martinez used to be the US representative to Haiti for the Lambi Fund.  She is the one who brought this group to our attention, I beleive.
Here is the information about the Credit Program in Haiti.

Bonjou Jeannette, Here at the Lambi Fund of Haiti we are incredibly proud of the 27 current projects we are working on in partnership with grassroots organizations throughout Haiti. Each of these projects has key elements that we believe help foster self-sufficiency and communities empowered to envision and implement changes that will improve their futures. Community credit funds play a critical role in many of Lambi Fund’s projects. So, what exactly is a community credit fund and how do they make an impact in Haitians’ lives? A community credit fund is a pool of money that community organizations use to issue low interest loans (1-5%) to its members. Why are they important? Access to affordable credit in Haiti is incredibly difficult. Traditional banks in Haiti charge high interest rates and will not issue the small loans that impoverished Haitians want and need. Hard-working Haitians use these loans to make investments in agriculture – to buy more seeds, fertilizers and tools needed to increase crop outputs and women merchants buy supplies needed to grow their small businesses. How do they work? In partnership with a local organization, Lambi Fund provides the initial funding needed to launch a community credit fund. Lambi Fund then trains members on credit fund management, bookkeeping, the issuing of loans and repayment scheduling. The community organization forms management and oversight committees which are responsible for overseeing the fund and issuing loans. Once the training is complete, the organization then issues affordable loans to members so that they can make investments that will grow their incomes Why is a community credit fund unique? As opposed to the popularized method of microcredit loans, community credit funds inject capital into the local economy and it stays in the community. The community organization is responsible for managing and maintaining the fund. When members repay the loan, it is repaid to the community credit fund – not Lambi Fund or a bank. The interest made on these loans contributes to growing the fund, so that even more affordable loans can be made to members in the future. Take the Youth Association of Sel (AJS) for instance, they issued 50 small loans this spring and all of the scheduled payments have been paid on time. The fund is growing so well, that AJS plans to issue 19 more loans to farmers this fall for the planting season. At Lambi Fund, we believe wholeheartedly that providing communities with the credit they need along with the tools and capacity to manage it wisely is a significant step in working to eradicate poverty and improving livelihoods in communities throughout Haiti. To cultivating a better tomorrow, The Lambi Fund of Haiti team   .

Jeannette Brown

UCC Representative