Communities Organizing for Haitian Engagement and Development

Community Engagement catalyst training program the community Engagement catalyst training program is an important endeavor that brings a lot of motivation to the Communities as rural citizens engage collectively to bring about change in their Communities. The cofhed team in haiti cooperates with great dedication in training responsible citizens who themselves get to relay what they have learned to their Communities and where knowledge is co-constructed. From october 2019 to july 2023, we trained 61 Engagement catalysts and leaders for community and civic Engagement. During the period from october 2023 to april 2024, we provided specialized training to 10 community Engagement catalysts and leaders who had previously undergone training, improving their facilitation capabilities to a more advanced level. We taught many modules in our training program where we discussed different topics such as communication, principles of adult learning, teamwork, leadership, human rights, conflict resolution, respect, love of neighbor, vulnerability, fragility, equity, power, conscientization, ethics, culture-beliefs and values, awareness, climate change and the environment, violence prevention, health including mental health, decision-making, management, facilitation and much more. We co-constructed knowledge in our learning environment, and that helps us gain insights from trainees' lived experiences and understanding. All this training has really contributed to making the participants more effective in the services they offered in the community Engagement work. Many community Engagement catalysts and leaders remain attached to their Communities and keep people motivated either through many home visits that they do, or through community meetings that they coordinate.from july 2023 to june 2024, we counted a total of 387 community meetings that were held in 14 Communities. Community residents do not neglect the day and time to meet. In these meetings, the leaders or facilitators maintain proper dialogue concerning the topics to discuss. There is room for everyone without distinction to participate. Everyone has the right to speak. It is a space where people who did not have the opportunity to express themselves before felt encouraged to share their thoughts with the group or anyone else. and our trained catalysts and leaders discuss in their Communities many of the topics that they had discussed in class. It is a space for dialogue, brainstorming, and learning in mutual respect. It is also a space that allows people to smile and laugh when some respectful jokes are shared among them in their day-to-day living. It helps manage their stress. and many people don't want to miss their meetings because they believe that they lose a lot when they can't come. "i am motivated to come to the meetings because all of the discussions taking place are good for me. I've learned a lot and what i've learned helps me live better with my family. I must be very ill to miss one of those meetings. I used to have a problem with anger, and i did not have enough patience to support and understand people when there was a disagreement. Now i have observed a big change in me whereas even if someone wants to offend me or bother me, i get to control myself. I used to insult people that owe me money, i don't do that anymore. Other things, i see the community is not the same as before. for a long time, i have never had anyone, other than close neighbors, come to my house to visit with me. Now that the community leaders and volunteers come to visit me, talk to me, and to find out about our issues. In addition, there is a group of nurses who visit me as well. I was in great pain and my heart was beating fast. They consulted me and my husband also; they gave us medicine and we feel great relief. My husband and i send a big thank you to the cofhed team for the good work they are doing." Vesta, guillaume community it is undoubtedly beneficial to continue the community Engagement catalyst program at our headquarters in camp-perrin, given its positive impact on the Communities. Our experiences, along with the testimonials from community members and their eagerness to attend meetings, support this claim. While we do not provide snacks for participants, and many lack comfortable seating in their community spaces, they still show up and manage to find a place to stand or sit. Additionally, the community Engagement catalysts and facilitators are committed to their roles by:- visiting the sick in the community, which is greatly appreciated.- promoting cleanliness and good hygiene practices in homes where these are lacking.- visiting vulnerable families to listen to their thoughts and feedback.- nurturing trusted relationships with community members.- reaching out to individuals who have missed several meetings to understand their reasons for absence and offer encouragement.- advocating for environmental protection and encouraging business owners and community members to properly manage plastic waste and other refuse. As a result, some local businesses that previously discarded plastic waste have changed their practices.- Organizing special programs for mothers in celebration of mother's day.- promote economic activities through mutual support and solidarity.- acting as good samaritans within their Communities.- serving as active Development agents of change within the community.- facilitating successful implementation and Development of various community projects and programs.- contributing to the monitoring and evaluation processes of community initiatives and programs.community planning and evaluationthis summer we planned to support 7 Communities in implementing their own community assessment and evaluation. We trained 42 local leaders and equipped them with the skills necessary to carry out the work in their own community. The training focused on the following:1. Community history, maps, trends, seasonal calendar, wealth ranking2. Mapping and identifying community strengths, assets, and resources 3. Appreciative inquiry, problem analysis 4. Swot analysis and community action plan5. How to facilitate focus groups on: - environment and climate change - agriculture - violence and violence prevention- impact of social networks, drug and alcohol abuse on youths- conflict and resolution - peacebuilding/insecurity - internal migration- civic rights and responsibilities of citizens- livelihoods- health/mental health - education we hope that these skills gained will serve not only their Communities but more Communities in southern haiti and beyond. Agriculture and the environmentit has been almost 2 years since cofhed in camp-perrin has been working to exert a positive impact on agriculture and the environment in the Communities. In order to do this, we produced many seedlings in our plant nursery that we distributed to community farmers and residents to plant in their living and work environment. At the same time, cofhed planted many of these seedlings on our own premises. We faced many difficulties related to climate change that hit us very hard. However, we deployed a lot of energy and strategy to move forward on our goals and we ended up with a satisfactory result. Today, we begin to see the results of the plant seedlings that are growing along with some crops that were put into the ground. We found that the small trees that were planted make the environment more beautiful. This encourages us to continue planting. In february 2024 we planted 11 cans or 55 lbs of black beans (phaseolus vulgaris) and we harvested 52 cans or 260 lbs in may 2024. What we planted24 pomegranate plants101 moringa plants (moringa oleifera)44 trays of grapefruit (citrus grandis)34 lemon plants (citrus angustifolia)13 orange plants (citrus aurantium)72 coffee plants (coffea arabica)66 cacao plants (theoboma cacao)18 poplar plants (ingra vera)24 cedar plants (cedrela odorata)other plants such as spinach, squash (cucurbita moschata)1260 pieces of yam55lbs. Of black beans (phaseolus vulgaris)10lbs. Of corn (zea mays)2 lbs. Of congo beans (cajanus cajan)replant 440 malanga plants (xanthosoma sagittifolium)1050 pieces of sweet potato (ipomea batatas)760 bunches of cassava (manihot esculenta)188 banana plants (musa sp)several species of vegetables480 pineapple plants (ananas comosus) regarding our plant nursery activities, we had 348 grapefruit plants (citrus grandis), 61 lemon plants (citrus angustifolia), 134 oranges (citrus aurantium l), 62 pomegranates (passiflora edulis), 122 cherries (malpighia 3 punici), and 180 mahogany plants.