When Sarah Hackett, founder and president of Haiti Projects, Inc., retired as a nurse in the 1990s and was asked to be the interim director of St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs (Valley of the Whites), a small area in south central Haiti, she saw that its residents had many need that were not being met. As a result, she founded Haiti Projects, Inc., a private, non-profit organization that provides a framework for the development of grass-roots, self-help projects in Fond des Blancs. She proceeded to set up projects in collaboration with the local residents to enable them to become self-sufficient with the goal to eventually turn over the management of these projects to local, qualified individuals.

The first such project, Rassamblement Travailleurs Paysan (RATRAP) was created in 1994. This men’s cooperative began as a small micro-lending program to buy agricultural tools and livestock. It has since become a vital educational resource for farmers to learn how to care for the land and livestock. It teaches farmers how to rejuvenate depleted soil and address soil erosion. It has been managed locally since 2001. Another project, the Family Health Clinic, opened in 1995. The clinic aims to educate people in methods of pregnancy prevention. With the highest fertility rates in the region, Fond des Blancs’ clinic serves about 300 women and carries out more than 1,200 family planning consultations per year. The clinic also educates clients about protection from sexually transmitted diseases. Patients are required to pay a small amount for these services. By having people contribute what they can, Hackett believes their dignity and pride are preserved. It’s open twice a
week.

The Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed  him for a lifetime,” comes to mind when one thinks of The Cooperative d’Artisanat, another project. The sewing cooperative was created in 1996 with the goal of helping women help themselves toward self-sufficiency. Local women earn a living by making fine, embroidered linens and lingerie. Fifty local women with excellent sewing, embroidery and knitting skills gather together to create high quality, exquisite products. These include embroidered, cotton nightgowns and pillowcases; embroidered,
hemstitched napkins made of 100% fine European linen; linen fringe napkins and table runners in five dazzling Caribbean colors; linen tablecloth and napkin sets in a variety of beautiful colors and embroidered with
Christmas or peasant motifs. In addition, layettes, pullovers, hats and gloves knitted by hand of yarn of 100% wool as well as wool
and acrylic mixture are made by these women. Proceeds from the sales of these items go directly to the women, many
of whom raise their children on their own.
The use their earnings to buy food, clothing
and send their children to school. They’re paid individually for each item they create. Once the items pass strict quality inspections, they are sold in various ways:

through the Artisanat’s workroom in Fond
des Blancs as well as through stores in Portau-Prince, Petion-Ville and Jacmel. Here in the United States, 18 stores ranging from boutiques in Albuquerque to shops in Cambridge, Cape Cod and the North Shore carry these products. The best venues, however, are Event Sales, sales that are held in people’s homes. Haiti Projects also has
an education program to help poor kids with the costs of school, which isn’t free in Haiti. Most parents often can’t afford the tuition, uniforms and school supplies. Recently the organization began collaborating with the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation located in Randolph,Massachusetts, to support 370 youngsters in 9 different schools ranging from elementary to secondary. The
local director monitors student progress as well as the curriculum and teaching quality of the schools in the program. Parents are asked to contribute a small portion of their children’s educational costs. The Community Library, the first in the region, opened in 2001 with two small rooms but now has a growing collection of over 3000 volumes and 850 card-carrying members. It’s open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and patrons are asked to pay a small amount for their library card. The demand for the library was such that lines of youngsters lined up to get into the small rooms to borrow a book. However, this past March, it was moved to a bigger and better location that is more centrally located and closer to
including a separate children’s room. The library has also become a community center for everyone in the area. Individuals in the United States and locally donate books, videos and other materials that are then shipped to Fond des Blancs. The organization hopes to raise funds to build a real library on land it purchased for that purpose.  With all these success stories, one might think that everything runs smoothly all the time. One of the challenges the organization faces is transporting things to and from Haiti. Since this can be very costly, the staff relies on friends and supporters traveling to and from Haiti to carry items.

Last year, over $4,000 worth of linen were stolen from a warehouse
in Miami. Another challenge is maintaining communication between the projects’ staff in Haiti and foot traffic. This new venue also provides more space those here in the United States. Luckily, Haiti’s staff has access to email service, although some have to go to an internet cafe. One person who’s helping to correct this problem is Kenson Calixte, a Senior Network Engineer at IBM, who met Hackett and Anne Anninger, Manager for Haiti Projects for the United States, a couple of years ago.
Calixte says, “I was so impressed by these
dedicated ladies that I decided to help.”
His employer has a community service program that gives non-profits either a piece of equipment or a grant when employees volunteer with them for a certain number of hours. Therefore, Calixte was able to get a laptop for Haiti Projects’ staff to do administrative work. He hopes to get them a
second one in the near future. Anninger lives in Cambridge with her husband and three sons, one of whom is Haitian. She has been active in a number of Haitian organizations over the last two decades. Since she retired from her position as Curator of Printing & Graphic Arts
at Harvard six years ago, she is constantly on the move for Haiti Projects.  Anninger looks for donations of books and other materials for the community library. She also looks for stores and specialty shops that may be interested in selling the products made by the sewing cooperative. While Anninger also sells these
goods at bazaars, churches, local festivals and civic organizations, she recruits individuals willing to host sales at these venues.  Anninger is always happy to assist in the planning and preparation of personalized invitations and flyers. She also provides the host a step-by-step guide on how to prepare for and hold the event, and if it is held locally, she helps on the day of the sale.
According to Anninger, people love it because it’s like a party with friends, with beautiful things to look at and purchase. Another part of her position is the organization’s fundraising effort to support the various programs. Anninger says, “I invite people to participate and help the organization in any way that suits them best.” In the future, Haiti Projects would like to develop into a much larger organization. However, it wants to
do so slowly and in an orderly fashion. To contribute to the organization, please make checks payable to: Haiti Projects, Inc., and mail to: 31 Leonard Street, Gloucester, MA 01930. You can contact Anne Anninger at 617-492-7349 or email her at: anne@anninger.us, if you are interested in learning more about the organization, would like to host a sale, or make a donation of books (in French and Creole). More information about Haiti Projects as well as a catalog of its products and an order form may be found on its web page. The address is: www.haitiprojects.org.