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7 Questions – Sarah Leavitt (Lambi Fund of Haiti)

This week, let’s meet … Sarah Leavitt, Digital Outreach Manager of the Lambi Fund of Haiti! Based on the premise that Haitians themselves understand how development is best achieved in their own communities, Lambi Fund supports small-scale economic development projects that are conceived, implemented, and evaluated by community-based organizations.

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

The Lambi Fund of Haiti just launched an exciting new partnership with a coffee cooperative in Northwestern Haiti. I find this to be an incredibly promising program because we are working with 51 coffee farming groups (with 805 members in all), who are working together to increase coffee production and sales in their region. For the duration of this project, Lambi Fund will work with these coffee producers to modernize their processing plant and to increase outputs during harvests.

In the first phase, Lambi Fund will fund the purchase of a coffee pulper and help the co-op build a glasi (drying surface) which will help improve the efficiency and quality of the co-op’s coffee processing methods. In the second phase, Lambi Fund will fund the purchase of 20,000 lbs. of coffee. Coffee purchased from growers will be processed and placed in a storage facility (to be built) and then sent to sell in international markets. Lambi Fund will also provide 25,000 coffee seedlings and 6,000 shade trees along with the funding and supplies needed to build a tree nursery. This will significantly increase the amount of coffee being grown by farmers in the region.

Throughout the entire duration of this project, we will also be providing training on technical and managerial aspects to co-op members that will ensure program success. Training on modernized coffee processing methods along with project management, and tree nursery care and maintenance will be provided. Its programs like these that really excite me — we are working hand-in-hand with communities to improve their means for agricultural production, increasing the value of goods and strengthening economic opportunities for entire regions in Haiti.

2. What else are you up to?

The one and a half year mark since the earthquake in Haiti is fast approaching (it’s July 12, 2010). So, Lambi Fund is fully immersed in rebuilding projects throughout the country. Several new grain mills are being built, microcredit funds for agricultural investments are being launched, pig and goat breeding projects are beginning and efforts to build latrines throughout rural Haiti are underway. These are just a few of the many projects that Lambi Fund is working on with rural partners throughout Haiti as a means towards strengthening communities and improving livelihoods.

3. Is there a moment, person, or event that inspired you to do this particular work?

Like many Americans, I had grown up seeing pictures of starving children and hearing about the plight of living in immense poverty, yet it had never really made much of an impact on my daily life. I was more concerned about making it to soccer practice and getting an A on my next test. When I was 19 though, I traveled to the Dominican Republic and worked with Haitian refugees and impoverished Domincans as part of a volunteer program for college students. For a little over a month, I helped build homes, taught English and lent a hand wherever I could in the women’s fair trade shop. My eyes were opened to a completely different part of our world: the world of poverty is tough, unforgiving and heartbreaking — but more than anything it is unjust. Seeing this injustice, I have set out to try and help right some of these wrongs. Given today’s vast resources and unimaginable luxuries, we as a global community should not rest until every individual is afforded basic life necessities like clean water, food, and shelter.

4. Who is your hero in the nonprofit/philanthropy world?

I am a huge fan of people and organizations in international development that work in partnership with grassroots organizations. People like Paul Farmer and Wangari Matthai who have used the strength, knowledge and will of the people to create change in communities is truly inspiring.

5. What is the single greatest (and non-financial) challenge to the work that you do every day?

Keeping the will of the Haitian people at the forefront! So many large agencies and governments have millions of dollars invested in rebuilding Haiti and many of the policies and plans they are developing do not consider the needs of the people. It seems like such a simple concept, but stopping to ask individuals what their wants, needsm and priorities are in this rebuilding process is all too often an afterthought.

6. What advice do you have for other people who want to work in your field?

First and foremost, travel and volunteer! Get out there and visit the countries and communities that interest you. Learn about different cultures, try new things and make friends with the people that live there. Volunteering (whether it’s in this country or abroad) is an invaluable opportunity to broaden your perspective, learn about the world and increase your skillset — all things that help set your resume apart from the rest.

7. What’s next?

At the end of the summer I will be traveling to Haiti to train our program staff on technology and computing skills. Ensuring that everyone is knowledgeable and competent on the latest developments in technology will help improve our organization’s overall productivity and opportunities for the future.

Hopefully, this capacity building will someday include Lambi Fund’s rural partners. The unbounding supply of information available on the internet coupled with improved communication opportunities (think Skype, Twitter, email, etc.) provides an incredibly empowering medium for those living in poverty. The internet played a revolutionary role in Egypt and it can in Haiti as well.

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