In this blog series, I am reflecting on the concept of inclusion as it relates to the work of Opportunity International Canada.
Our vision is a world in which all people have the opportunity to achieve a life free from poverty, with dignity and purpose. The gap between this vision and the reality for hundreds of millions around the world fuels our passion for this work.
Our slightly beat-up SUV turned off the highway onto a dirt and gravel road, heading into the hills of rural Haiti. The further we traveled, the rougher the road became, eventually no more than a dirt path.
We crossed through the waters of a rapidly flowing creek and bounced our way over small boulders and mud until we could go no further. Accompanied by Dieumanuel, a Case Manager, we covered the remaining kilometre or so uphill on foot. By this point, I marveled that Dieumanuel and other Case Managers made trips like this every day of the week by motorcycle — their commitment to serve their clients inspires me to this day.
We eventually came to the home of Estimemé. It was a very simple rustic structure but with a recently installed tin roof that kept the rain out. A mother of seven, with five still at home and a couple of grandkids, she was supporting a large family.
They had been struggling on the very thin edge of survival when she was invited to join the Pathway to a Better Life program. I met her in August 2020, at which point she had been a client of the program for eight months.
After receiving the initial program training and weekly sessions with Dieumanuel, she was now engaged in several enterprising initiatives. She had two goats, some chickens and ducks (a third goat was killed when kicked by a buck), and she bought and sold rice, wheat and oil in the market.
As the animals gave birth, she kept a few to grow her asset base, while selling others to pay for school tuition, uniforms and books. And she was part of a Village Savings & Loan Association (I’ll talk more about VSLAs later in this series) where she managed to save 50 Haitian Gourds each week. She was saving to buy a pack animal to help transport goods to market.
I saw a quiet confidence and pride in the eyes of this tenacious grandmother. But she was most proud — and what she delighted in showing us — was that she had learned how to sign her name.
We bid her farewell and walked back to the SUV. Embarking back along the bumpy terrain, a tire inevitably gave out. We waited in the shade of a tree at the bottom of a hill for another vehicle to come and help repair the tire. We watched a steady stream of people carrying large sacks of avocados on their heads, or on donkeys and horses, or loaded onto motorcycles in a way that defied physics.
Waiting gave us time to reflect and we were each wrestling with immensely powerful emotions, inspired by the tenacity of this amazing woman. I was struck that this is what financial inclusion looks like on the ground. Without this intervention, this family may not have survived.
But with some training and a small investment of starting assets, Estimemé took full advantage of the opportunity and now she and her family are thriving in a way they could only have dreamed.
She is building a life free from extreme poverty, sustainably, with dignity and purpose. And I had this powerful sense that we really could realize our vision and accomplish our mission, one client and one family at a time.
Given the abundance all around us on this beautiful planet, we simply must find innovative ways to include those trapped in extreme poverty. The Pathway to a Better Life program in Haiti is one of those ways.
Dan Murray, CEO