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Education Programs
In Haiti, 52% – more than half! – of the population is illiterate. The majority of those who are illiterate are based in the rural areas where Fonkoze works. Basic literacy is a cornerstone to democracy, self-esteem, sound business management and human development.An important part of Fonkoze’s philosophy is that people who are poor need not only microcredit, but other financial and educational services in order to make their way out of poverty. So Fonkoze accompanies them in their journey by providing our pioneering literacy and life-skills educational program that combines basic literacy training with practical education in subjects such as: business skills, sexual and reproductive health, children’s rights, and environmental stewardship.
Many people are startled to learn that more than 60 percent of Fonkoze’s clients do not know how to read and write when they join the program. When women join together to form solidarity groups and apply for a loan, all members of the group take a simple test to determine if they can read and write. Illiteracy does not prohibit a woman from receiving an initial loan or even a second loan, but by the time a woman receives her third loan, she must be enrolled in one of Fonkoze’s literacy centers. At any given time, Fonkoze is usually operating about 250 literacy centers, sometimes in the most rural sections of Haiti.
Fonkoze’s current program consists of 6 modules of training: two in the technique of reading and writing, one focusing on business skills, one focusing on sexual and reproductive health issues, one on human rights and one on environmental stewardship.
