empower women
Empowering Women.
TRANSFORMING LIVES.
Women on the margins of rural Haiti, living extreme poverty, now have the chance to lift their families out of ultra-poverty and find hope for the future. Your support enables HTF’s partnership with the Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM) program to empower women-led families. They gain the skills to build stable environments and achieve goals they couldn’t even dream of. Their strength and determination not only transform their families but also inspire confidence and optimism in their communities.
When women enter the CLM program, they typically live on less than $1 a day. They have multiple children, no assets, no healthcare, and no reliable access to food. Survival alone is an endless battle. But once in the 18-month program, the women learn essential life skills, build homes, and create sustainable commerce so they can grow and thrive.
Through this journey, their lives are transformed. These women earn respect for their hard work and determination. Once overlooked and ignored, they become confident, independent leaders and pillars of their communities. With each step forward, they lift their families and communities toward a brighter, more hopeful future.
Over 90% of CLM members graduate from the program
Achieving a new life of independence
The 18th-month program provides:
Partnership with a case manager, who makes weekly visits to provide coaching, encouragement, and life skills training
Assets to start two income-generating activities
Materials to construct a sturdy one-room home and a private latrine
A water filter providing clean water for the family
Weekly cash stipend while their small business grows
Access to healthcare
Manise’s Story:
Contagious courage
For Manise and her partner Mackenson, it took just 22 sheets of roofing from the CLM program to create a positive shift in hope. This transformational gift gave her the materials and confidence needed to set a goal to build a home for her family.
Manise’s courage, in turn, gave Mackenson determination to help her achieve her goal of safe shelter for their children. It motivated him to work harder at his daily job, so they could save money and eventually buy a plot of land to cultivate their own food. Manise also has a plan to start a snack stand in front of their new home to generate further income—a plan she would not have had the ability to even dream of had it not been for the encouragement and support of the CLM program!
Guerta’s Story:
Weaving a New Future
Guerta lives with her husband, Talus, and five children in a borrowed home. They long for a home of their own someday. After Talus badly broke his arm, Guerta became the primary earner. She weaves sleeping mats and saddles for donkeys and motorcycles. The saddles are in high demand, as they’re essential for carrying water, but they take days to make and sell for only a few dollars.
Thanks to CLM investors, Guerta was able to buy a nanny goat with two female kids. With luck and attention, all three goats could produce babies in a few months. She plans to use the income from the goats to cover regular expenses like school fees, as well as to purchase home building materials. She is also saving for a small commerce, with hopes of starting one once they have a stable home.
Alicil’s Story:
Fortitude Fuels Hope
Alicil has overcome great odds with a goal for the future! She, her husband Ebert, three children and two grandchildren live in one room of a home they don’t own. Before CLM, Alicil worked in neighbors' fields for minimal pay, and her husband, Ebert, made charcoal, but had to stop due declining health.
Through donor support of the CLM program, Alicil was able to buy a sack of charcoal and when she sold it, bought another. She saved part of her profit and soon was buying four sacks at a time. She then purchased a tree, and had it turned into charcoal she could sell. She also bought a goat for financial stability in case her charcoal business faces challenges. Alicil works hard to save money in her CLM savings and loan group and has a goal of buying a donkey by the end of the year. This will help her further support her family!
