Posted by: Katherine Oglietti and Mike Krell
Fonkoze’s literacy program in action
Interview with:
Myriam Narcisse, Director, Literacy and Education Program, Fonkoze
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are often faced with the need to adapt to conditions beyond their control. To ensure both their own survival and the wellbeing of their clients, MFIs must sometimes alter the services they provide in response to the unexpected. Perhaps nowhere was this more the case than in Haiti after the earthquake in January. We caught up with Myriam Narcisse of Fonkoze to talk about how her institution has adapted to the situation there. We also discussed the way Fonkoze has tailored its literacy program to meet the unique needs of its clients.
MIX: In what ways have the needs of your clients changed following the earthquake that devastated Haitians this January? Which of these needs can MFIs feasibly assist their clients in reaching?
Ms. Narcisse: The recent earthquake has changed the needs of our clients in significant ways. Microfinance institutions can assist with some of these needs but not all of them. One obvious way in which clients’ needs have changed results from an increased sense of vulnerability to weather-related dangers. Training clients in disaster risk reduction—how to identify and address a family’s or business’ vulnerability to weather—is one important way that MFIs can help. Another is through catastrophe insurance. Just as Fonkoze introduced micro life insurance when death proved a major de-capitalizing factor for our clients, a new insurance product will help mitigate the consequences of disasters on clients’ paths out of poverty.
Another way in which MFIs can help is by aiding clients in adjusting to the changed market conditions post-quake. They can also work to increase clients’ awareness of the importance of safe construction methods and regular maintenance. We also see right now as a crucial moment to increase youth entrepreneurship and believe it would be fruitful for MFIs to investigate how they can lend a hand in this matter. Finally, MFIs can help meet the need for increased health education.
Some needs, however, MFIs are not well-placed to meet. These include: an appropriate disaster warning system, increased access to schools, decentralized state structures, and increased access to basic services such as potable water, sanitation, and health.
MIX: In what ways have you altered the non financial services you offer in response to client needs that are specific to the aftermath of the earthquake?
Ms. Narcisse: We see increasing both disaster awareness and access to catastrophe insurance as the two most important components of Fonkoze’s response to the January earthquake. Our objectives are therefore twofold: (1) to raise clients’ awareness of natural disasters in order to reduce their vulnerability and (2) to increase our clients’ resilience by expanding their safety net through a new catastrophe fund. As part of our effort to meet these objectives, we have created a new educational module that addresses these needs for all of Fonkoze’s clients.
MIX: According to an independent evaluator, Fonkoze’s educational program is an educational model that utilizes techniques such as reflection circles and peer monitoring by fellow solidarity group members. The model integrates business skills, sexual and reproductive health, children’s rights, and environmental stewardship into the literacy program. Could you describe one of these models as well as the techniques Fonkoze has developed to incorporate life skills into its literacy program?
Ms. Narcisse: Over the years Fonkoze’s literacy program has developed to encompass both literacy and more general education. Currently non-readers can participate in the full range of our educational modules.
For example, our life skills modules are aimed at influencing public and private discourse regarding a number of different issues affecting the individual, family and community. We start with stories created on the basis of detailed interviews with Haitian men and women and intended to foster conversation. These stories are then woven into composite tales designed to reflect the reality that Fonkoze members face every day. Eventually these stories are put into books along with illustrations to allow full participation of non-readers. These books are then reviewed by Fonkoze’s founders to ensure that they are appropriate for clients of all religious affiliations and are used in training sessions. During these sessions groups engage in discussion and roleplaying to reflect on their own experiences and to communicate with each other in novel ways.
One interesting sidenote: although Haitian Creole is one of the two official languages of Haiti, our clients have almost no access to materials in Creole. This is because of (1) the small quantity of reading materials in Creole, (2) the lack of infrastructure, and (3) the prohibitive cost of what material does exist. As all of our books are in Creole, Fonkoze’s educational programs have increased clients’ access to such material.
MIX: We have your 2008 client retention rate from the 2008 MIX Social Performance Standards Report but nothing previous to that. When did the literacy program start? Has client retention increased since the program began? What was the dropout rate before and after that date, and what has been the trend? Finally, what are your thoughts on the connections between your non-financial and microfinance programs?
Ms. Narcisse: The literacy program started in 1998, evolving into a broader literacy and education program over the years as mentioned above. Unfortunately, we do not have data on client retention prior to 2008 either. The literacy and education program dropout rate has been consistently low since 2007 (less than 10%), which is very low when compared to other literacy programs in the world. Although we do not yet have the figures to show it, clients’ feedback indicates that interest in our educational services has been a significant reason for choosing to become a member of Fonkoze.
We feel that our literacy program has had a number of positive effects on Fonkoze’s microfinance program. It has empowered and motivated women to engage in economic development, as well as helped them gain the dignity, confidence, and hope necessary to lift themselves out of poverty. It has also provided women with the tools they need to acquire the skills necessary to run successful businesses. Furthermore, in our opinion this program has strengthened solidarity among members at each credit center (six to ten groups of five women each).
As previously mentioned, however, in the past few years certain areas of the country have been severely affected by natural disasters. The reality of clients’ daily lives has therefore become more complex. I think we’re going to have to wait for the social impact monitoring department’s 2009 report for hard data on the effects of our non-financial services in this changed landscape, but preliminary evidence about our disaster relief and livelihoods support program (see question two above) shows that existing clients with only a membership status are now returning to the microloan program as well.
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More information on Fonkoze can be found on their MIX Market profile.
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