The summer of 2011 proved to be a crucial season for KANPE, as it intensified its presence on the ground. Speaking from Baille Tourible, Fritz Louis, the coordinator of the program, provided an update on KANPE’s operations during this period.

Having identified the families in need at the beginning of last summer, there are now more than 300 families benefitting from KANPE’s comprehensive program. How did the program take off?

On August 12 we organized a grand opening ceremony with about 1000 people on hand to launch the program. Everyone who would be affected by our efforts, directly or indirectly, was there: our partners, the participants, their children, community leaders, local officials, and members of the town committees which support the participants. This was important to us, since the program will impact the entire community.

The summer of 2011 proved to be a crucial season for KANPE, as it intensified its presence on the ground. Speaking from Baille Tourible, Fritz Louis, the coordinator of the program, provided an update on KANPE’s operations during this period.

Having identified the families in need at the beginning of last summer, there are now more than 300 families benefitting from KANPE’s comprehensive program. How did the program take off?

On August 12 we organized a grand opening ceremony with about 1000 people on hand to launch the program. Everyone who would be affected by our efforts, directly or indirectly, was there: our partners, the participants, their children, community leaders, local officials, and members of the town committees which support the participants. This was important to us, since the program will impact the entire community.

In concrete terms, how does the accompaniment work? What do the counselors, who help the families, do exactly?

The accompaniment is carried out by seven men and women who are specially trained, given how crucial this role is to the program. Each counsellor is responsible for about fifty families. At each visit, s/he distributes a financial allocation which can feed a family for six months, until participants can generate incomes of their own. The counsellor also provides guidance about farming and animal husbandry and checks on the health of each member of the family. S/he can refer anyone needing medical care to the health clinic established by KANPE and Zanmi Lasanté. Furthermore, s/he informs the participants about health risks and prevention: good hygiene practices, the importance of clean drinking water and family planning. The counsellor also supervises the construction of the new shelter and latrine that KANPE provides

We’ve heard a lot about the cholera epidemic in Haiti. Was the community of Baille Tourible affected by the outbreak? What care is available to the people there?

Cholera touched Haitians everywhere and Baille Tourible was not spared. A treatment centre was set up on July 26th. Since then, fewer and fewer people have died of the disease, thanks to the care of the health care workers at Zanmi Lasanté. In July, there were 30 hospitalizations a day. A month later, that number had dropped to fewer than ten hospitalizations a day. The medical personnel feel that the improvement is thanks to prevention measures that have been put in place in the community.