Greetings!

Many of us still recall vividly the horrific images of children, women, men and the elderly trapped under the rubbles of the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010 that killed more than 300,000; left more than 1 million homeless, hungry, and sick; and left the impoverished country completely in ruin.

We can also remember the sign of hope on the faces of the mothers holding their children tight telling them in the most caring way, “…things will get better.”

Indeed, we can make things better for the Haitian women and mothers who are standing tall today, against all odds, to challenge the greatest task they will ever face, providing food, medical care and shelter for their children in a country that is economically destroyed.

Honor the courageous Haitian mothers by supporting the Batey Relief Alliance’s new Women’s Empowerment Program designed to provide leadership training, micro-finance education, and micro-credit loans to 300 women to stat new businesses in order rebuild their lives and those of their children and families.

This is your unique opportunity to tell a Haitian mother “Happy Mother’s Day! I care.”

Please make a contribution online by clicking HERE. You may also mail in your tax-deductible check payable to Batey Relief Alliance, P.O. Box 300565, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230.

Thank you for supporting BRA.

Sincerely,

Ulrick Gaillard, CEO

ANSE-A-PITRES, Haiti. – As part of a new Development Grant Program (DGP) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Republic of Haiti, the Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) received more than $400,000 to develop a Women’s Empowerment Program in the South-East Department, Capital of Jacmel, and District of Belle Anse, covering the communes of Grand Gosier, Thiotte and Anse-a-Pitres.

Launched in January 2010, the three-year program is designed to increase capacity of women’s community organizations to address issues of gender equity, skills training for durable employment and/or support for asset formation among women, and improve credit access to women to support economic growth of women-owned businesses. “The goal is to create an environment where women have the skills, assets and social capital to advance their own interests,” said Ulrick Gaillard, BRA’s CEO.

Thousands of women in Haiti’s Southeast Department struggle disproportionately with a combination of economic, health and domestic issues. These challenges translate into an environment where women lack the power to take actions to improve their own quality of life. “Taking into account its remote geographic location and the lack of available government resources, the solutions to the socio-economic challenges faced by women in Haiti’s border region will have to be generated within their own communities,” added Gaillard.

At the end of the program, it is expected that at least 30 women’s organizations formally established, 60 women trained as organizational leaders, 600 women trained through vocational skills development programs, 150 women trained as Community Health Promoters, 300 women eligible for credit, one district wide Network of Women’s Organizations established, improved financial stability for 600 women headed households (including 2400 indirect beneficiaries), reduced vulnerability to HIV among participating women, and 300 microloans distributed to women entrepreneurs through sustainable lending program.

The DGP grant also provides for technical assistance to BRA, through the Capable Partners Program, designed to increase the organization’s capacity to respond timely and effectively to the requirements and objectives of the program. BRA’s local program partners include microcredit-based FONKOZE, Partners In Health and Catholic Medical Mission Board.

BRA’s DGP program activities directly contribute to accomplishing goals established under USAID Haiti’s ‘Investing in People’, by directing technical assistance and resources to vulnerable women in the underserved border region of Haiti. “BRA’s activities invest in women and equip them to participate in community decision making, strengthen household incomes, and engage in preventive health maintenance,” concluded Gaillard.