Guest post by: Melissa Lumpkin, ACCION International
Melissa Lumpkin is a member of ACCION’s Africa & Haiti Global Programs team. Based in Washington DC, she is the project manager and board representative for ACCION’s partner in Haiti, Sogesol. She can be reached at mlumpkin@accion.org.
Anyone who has experience living, traveling or working in Haiti will tell you that life for most Haitians is tough – and this on a good day. The impact of last week’s earthquake has been catastrophic and the country will face immense challenges in rebuilding.
For the past decade, ACCION has worked with Sogesol, the microfinance arm of Haiti’s largest bank, to bring microfinance services and hope for a better future to Haiti’s self-employed poor. Over the past week, we’ve remained in close communication with the President and Directeur Général of Sogesol. The DG confirmed that she, along with several staff and ACCION’s resident advisor, were at the Sogesol headquarters in Petion-Ville when the earthquake hit. Fortunately, they were able to get out of the building and safely home. Yet, a disaster of this magnitude leaves no one untouched – all have lost many close friends and witnessed widespread destruction. Our own resident advisor wrote, “Melissa, the conditions here in Haiti are unimaginable. Please… whatever ACCION can do to help. It is worse than a war zone.”
It is hard to find words to express the relief I felt upon learning that our resident advisor, Cassandre DuPont, was able to be evacuated and arrived home earlier this week. But I realize that for so many, they will not have the same happy ending. Sogesol has six branches and approximately 50-60 employees in the areas severely affected by the quake. The fate of all staff and clients in the Port-au-Prince area is not yet known, but Sogesol’s management is actively assessing the situation. Important emergency relief has begun to secure appropriate food, water and medical care for the many in need. Yet, once the initial crisis has passed, the earthquake’s destruction of local Haitian businesses will be sorely felt by the families, neighbors and communities that depend on them for basic goods and services. The poor Haitians that Sogesol serves will desperately need support to help rebuild their livelihoods.
This is not the first time Haiti and Sogesol have experienced natural disasters – less than two years ago devastating hurricanes struck the country which left 800 dead and literally wiped out thousands of homes and businesses. Sogesol quickly assessed the damage, accounted for staff and clients, and began working with affected clients to help get their businesses up and running again. Each client was handled on a case-by-case basis, and Sogesol worked to find the appropriate solutions and financial services needed to restore their clients’ livelihoods.
Haitians are resilient and I am confident they will be able to overcome this crisis. The President of Sogesol put it best, “However severe may this crisis be, we’ll overcome it as we did for the previous ones, except for irreparable loss of lives. We do have to face a difficult transition time though.”
We encourage you to support Sogesol’s rebuilding efforts and help their clients regain their livelihoods by clicking here to make a secure, tax-deductible donation to ACCION’s Support Haiti Fund.
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