Kominote
Hello WORK Family,
I hope you are doing well. This is Benoit, WORK's Engagement Manager in Haiti. I’m excited to share my monthly photoblog with you. ‘Kominote’ translates to ‘community,’ and I hope that you’ll enjoy photos and stories from our kominote.
My community visits constantly remind me how much our families have built trust in each other and us. I saw this first hand while shadowing Nurse Nicole, our Health Program Coordinator, in one of the health workshops with our family members from Truitier. Since the workshops have been held consistently, families have become comfortable speaking to other families, and Nicole about what has happened to them. In these workshops, they feel heard and understood.
One moment that has stuck with me was when two family members came together to solve a problem during the health workshop. When one of the family members saw that her child had been injured while playing, she knew it wasn't too bad but wouldn't be able to take care of it herself because she had run out of band-aids in her kit. When her neighbor, also a health workshop participant, saw this, she gave her a bandaid and helped hold the child still while applying the bandage. Both parents learned the proper way to heal a wound through this process and that they can rely on each other. This would not be possible if they did not attend the health workshops to understand health best practices and support each other.
After visiting the Health workshop, I joined Armelie Pierre, our Workforce Development Program Coordinator as she visited participants of our workforce development program. These photos show Armelie visiting participants and family members Anne Milouse and Altidor who are business owners who have both completed the program. We're looking forward to checking in with them regularly to keep track of their progress and mentor them to success.
Finally, I visited Office Hours to check in on our students and saw Carlo who was taking a break from studying to jump rope with other students. Many students who were struggling with their homework, in the beginning, have shown new determination with their studies. This additional focus is definitely a sign of new interest and motivation to progress.
I hope you enjoyed this month’s highlights. If you’d like to accompany our families on their path to financial independence, we welcome you to support them with a monthly donation.
For our families…,
Benoit