Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM)

About Our Members

Incoming CLM members live on the very margins of rural society in some of the most extreme poverty in Haiti. They live on less than $1 per day, have multiple children, no assets, no healthcare, and suffer from persistent hunger, with no reliable access to food.

Fonkoze recognizes that women in such extreme poverty need intensive support and guidance to begin climbing Fonkoze’s Staircase Out of Poverty.

How CLM Works

Using the graduation model first developed by BRAC, Fonkoze’s CLM program employs specially trained case managers to work with CLM members throughout an intensive 18-month process to help them build sustainable livelihoods and the  confidence and skills necessary to further grow them and create a better life for themselves and their families.

To begin, CLM provides each member with the productive assets – such as livestock or a commerce inventory – needed to start two income generating activities.  All CLM members also receive  the materials to construct a nine square meter home with a sturdy roof, a stable floor, and a latrine; and a water filter.

Each member also receives a small cash stipend while her fledgling business grows and free healthcare in partnership with Zanmi Lasante, Partners in Health’s Haitian sister organization.

But the CLM case managers remain at the heart of the program. Case managers make weekly visits to every member, which often require overnight stays and hours-long hikes to reach women in Haiti’s most remote locations.

During their visits, CLM case managers provide each member with confidence-building, enterprise management, and life skills training. They also help each woman to successfully navigate the unique challenges she encounters throughout the process and to build a plan for her future as she moves forward. In turn, the women provide the hard work, determination and resilience to succeed.