Recent GFW Grantee Partners in Haiti

Fondation TOYA [TOYA Foundation], Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Fondation TOYA works to raise the standard of living throughout the slum area of Cité Soleil through the empowerment of young women in the community. Members promote women’s entrepreneurship through  a micro-finance structure that facilitates access to credit for women in the informal sector. By focusing  on vulnerable young women who are unemployed and/or are heads of households,  Toya is ensuring that more Haitian women will be financially independent, have access to healthcare and in control of their destinies.

Association Femmes Soleil D’Haiti [Sun Women’s Association of Haiti], Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

AFASDA was formed after the three-year coup in Haiti (1991-1994), because as the group states, “after the bloody coup…it was repression. No one could move. It was said that women couldn’t remain with their arms crossed. It was necessary to do something. We began with a little seed of reflection and that’s what became AFASDA.” AFASDA advances women’s rights by organizing campaigns for potable water and creating educational opportunities for street children and rural women.

Organisation Femmes Victimes de Solino [Organization of Women Victims of Solino] (OFVS), Solino

OFVS works with women of the Solino slum who have been victims of violence. Because of social unrest and the proliferation of armed gangs, many women are unable to earn a living.. The majority of the group’s members are single mothers, 90 percent of them affected by violence.. OFSV notes, “The majority of the women have lost all their business activities, and were forced to pay a ransom daily to the heads of gangs that took over the area so as not to be attacked again…the women have been victims of theft, burglary, and rape.”  OFVS provides counseling to violence survivors, financial aid to restart businesses, and legal aid to seek redress for the crimes committed against them.

Kodinasyon Solidarité Fanm Djanm Sid, KOSOFADS [Dynamic Women of the South Solidarity Network] (KOSOFADS) Les Cayes, Haiti

KOSOFADS promotes women's economic independence, access to health care, and the eradication of domestic violence. The association brings poor women together in workshops, during which participants are encouraged to discuss women’s rights violations and devise strategies to resolve the abuse.  KOSOFADS also produces radio and television programs that focus on women’s rights issues.

Mouvman Peyizan Papay/Fanm MPP (Women of the Peasant Movement of Papay), Pètion Ville, Haiti

Emerging from the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP), Fanm MPP was created in 1980 to  "concentrate on understanding women's unique development needs, advancing women's rights and empowering women to participate in their own development." One of the groups current projects is  "Engaging Women in Holistic Health and Environmental Protection" project where women are taught to install family and community composting latrines, family cisterns so families for clean water for household use as well as plant fruits and vegetables for their families.