From July 27-29, Caribbean

Central American Action’s

Executive Director, Sally Year-

wood, traveled to Haiti with

the Clinton Foundation, on a

visit led by the Vice Chair of

the Foundation, Chelsea Clin-

ton, and the Foundation’s

President and Chief Executive

Officer, Dr. Donna Shalala.

The two intensive days took

representatives from diverse

backgrounds to see some of

the projects that the Founda-

tion has been working on over

the past years. The visit put

some emphasis on how the

Foundation supports women’s

participation in the workplace

and some of the challenges

that women and girls still face

(see page 2 for more infor-

mation on how the Founda-

tion is promoting women’s

issues around the globe). A

roundtable discussion on

Women’s Economic Empow-

erment brought the delega-

tion together with represent-

atives from Haiti and the

international NGO commu-

nity.

Site Visits:

Over the two days, the dele-

gation visited the following

sites:

Caribbean Craft:

Founded in 1990 by Joel and

Magalie Dresse, Caribbean

Craft works to design and cre-

ate artisanal products from

recycled materials, and ex-

ports uniquely Haitian crafts

around the world. The Clinton

Foundation’s support to Car-

ibbean Crafts has been in their

programmatic area where they

work to connect Haitian busi-

nesses with international buy-

ers and partners.

GHESKIO Cholera Treatment

Center:

The Cholera Treatment Center

CCAA accompanies a Clinton Foundation Delegation to Haiti, July 27-29, 2015

An update on the activities and programs of

CARIBBEAN CENTRAL AMERICAN ACTION

Special Edition / August 2015

trades, they make sustainable

furniture to support the clinic’s

programs. The furniture is

beautiful and of the highest

quality. I would encourage

readers to take a look at this

link to learn more about it.)

Papillon Enterprise:

Created in 2008, Papillon En-

terprise is a socially and

ecologically conscious busi-

ness that provides employ-

ment opportunities and

skills training for artisans in

Port-au-Prince.

With the Clinton Founda-

tion partnership, Papillon

Enterprise has been able to

bring in new equipment and

materials, install solar pow-

er, hire new staff and do capac-

ity building programs, and

provide employees with train-

ing in adult and financial liter-

acy classes.

(Continued on page 2…)

Inside this issue:

More from the trip Pg 2

Trip agenda Pg 3

A note to our readers... Pg 3

CCAA news Pg 4

is part of the GHESKIO

Centers. Since 1982

GESKIO, which was

launched by Dr. Bill Pape

as a center dedicated to

the fight against HIV/

AIDS, has been providing

free, world-class health

care to Haitians. The Cen-

ter’s services now include

maternal and child health

and nutrition, provision of

clean water and sanitation, pri-

mary education, and micro-

finance programs. The Clinton

Foundation partnered with

GHESKIO and MASS Design

Group to develop the Cholera

Treatment Center, and today

the innovative building serves a

catchment area of 60,000 local

residents.

(Editor’s note: GHESKIO has

also established a vocational

training center that employs

former female sex workers.

Training them in carpentry and

metalwork and other related

Delegation Site Visit Locations 1—Port-au-Prince; 2—Mirebalais

2

1

Roundtable discussion—Marriott Hotel

At the GHESKIO Clinic

No Ceilings:

No Ceilings: The Full Partici-

pation Project is a Clinton

Foundation initiative to in-

spire and advance the full par-

ticipation of girls and women

around the world. Even today,

persistent stereotypes and

barriers keep women from

equal access, representation,

and compensation in our com-

munities and around the world.

No Ceilings is convening global

partners to build a data-driven

evaluation of the progress girls

and women have made and

the challenges that remain

to help chart the path for-

ward to full participation

in the 21st century.

As a part of the No Ceilings

project, a No Ceilings Con-

versations series was

launched as a means to

raise awareness and en-

courage global dialogue.

Since its launch, the series

has engaged over 50,000 par-

ticipants over three continents.

* * *

Timberland does not cur-

rently produce goods in Haiti.

This makes it all the more

remarkable that the company,

as a part of their commitment

to global sustainability, has

partnered with the Haiti

Smallholder Farmers Alliance

(SFA) to address the country’s

critical deficit in tree cover

and agricultural production.

In a US$1 million, five-year

program, Timberland and the

SFA developed a sustainable

agroforestry business model

that included a network of

nurseries which produce one

million tress, per year, tended

for by the farmers who, in

return, received training, crop

seeds, trees and tools. The

Clinton Giustra Enterprise

Partnership as a supply chain

enterprise which seeks to im-

prove peanut yield and quali-

ty. Acceso purchases peanuts

from farmers at a favorable

price, and then sorts and tests

the peanuts (including the

ability to isolate batches which

contain Aflatoxins) and then

resells to large buyers and the

general market. Acceso works

with the farmers to build their

(...continued from page 1)

CETPA Farming Cooperative

and Kreyol Essence:

Kreyol Essence brings ingredi-

ents grown sustainably by

Haitian smallholder farmers

and creates premium beauty

and home products for the

global market. With invest-

ment from the Clinton Foun-

dation, CETPA and Kreyol

Essence were able to semi-

mechanize the production

process, which, accompanied

by quality control mechanisms

and processes, will significant-

ly increase production capaci-

ty and provide a healthier

working environment.

Acceso Peanut Enterprise and

Chakipi Program:

Acceso was created by the

capacity so that yields and

returns can continue to grow.

The Acceso Chakipi program,

which is a replica of a Clinton

Foundation program that was

started in Peru, works with

women’s associations, local

groups, and NGO’s, to recruit

entrepreneurs (with a focus on

women). They are given basic

training in product familiari-

zation, sales techniques, cus-

tomer service, inventory man-

agement, and basic financial

administration. Chakipi entre-

preneurs generally double

their income over a few years.

Mirebalais Hospital:

The Mirebalais Hospital

(Hopital Universitaire de

Mirebalais), is a 205,000

square foot, Partners in

Health facility, providing pri-

Supporting women in Haiti and beyond:

CCAA Accompanies Clinton Foundation to Haiti (cont.)

Page 2 CCAA Currents

impact of this partnership has

been an increase in yield of up

to 50% for 3,200 farmers, 5 mil-

lion trees planted, and the relat-

ed impact on increased access to

education and healthcare.

In October, 2015, a documen-

tary KOMBIT: The Cooperative,

will be released, chronicling the

evolution of this partnership

since 2010.

mary care services to resi-

dents of Mirebalais and the

surrounding area, as well as

secondary and tertiary care to

the patients from further

afield. The ambulatory care

clinics see up to 700 patients

per day. The hospital has re-

ceived several commitments

from the Clinton Global Initi-

ative. The programs include a

digital patient system, cancer

treatment equipment (a result

of a CGI commitment from

the Avon Cancer Treatment

Center), and a larger materni-

ty ward. Mire-

balais University Hospi-

tal also provides high-quality

education for the next genera-

tion of Haitian nurses, medi-

cal students, and resident

physicians.

* * *

Delegation Spotlight: Timberland

At Kreyol Essence and CETPA.

A No Ceilings Conversation at Caribbe-

an Craft in Port-au-Prince with Chelsea

Clinton, Magalie Dresse of Caribbean

Craft, and Carine Roenen of Fonkoze.

The Clinton Foundation has

been actively engaged in Haiti

since 2009, focusing on eco-

nomic diversification, private

sector investment, and job cre-

ation in order to create long-

term, sustainable economic

development. The Founda-

tion’s involvement in Haiti

spans a range of projects. Are-

as of focus include energy,

tourism, agriculture, and arti-

sans/manufacturing. They

work to develop new markets

for Haitian products; to engage

international companies and

investors; and to strengthen

local organizations, entrepre-

neurs, and businesses.

July 27:

Arrival in Port-au-Prince;

informal delegation dinner.

July 28:

Visit to Caribbean Craft, in-

cluding a conversation on the

“No Ceilings” initiative.

Visit to GHESKIO, including

the GHESKIO Cholera Treat-

ment Center

Visit to Papillon Enterprises.

Roundtable discussion with

local groups on women’s eco-

nomic Empowerment.

July 29:

Early departure to Mire-

balais.

Visit to CETPA Farming Co-

operative and Kreyòl Es-

sence.

Visit to Acceso Peanut Enter-

prise and Chakipi Program.

Visit to Mirebalais Hospital.*

Return to Port-au-Prince.

*Note: CCAA was unable to

visit this last site, but the pro-

ject is reported on for the

and the under-served. Women

in Haiti’s rural interior were

increasing their income poten-

tial, and in doing so, were

building a base for their future,

for their children’s future, and

for Haiti’s future.

But with all of the great pro-

jects and the work that is being

done by groups such as the

Clinton Foundation and its

partners, a nagging question

planted itself in my head and

stayed with me for much of the

trip. The question was: what is

the government doing to sup-

port the growth of opportuni-

ty?

This is not to say that the gov-

ernment is doing nothing to

support job creation and eco-

nomic empowerment...I am

sure that in some ways they

are. What seemed clear, how-

ever, was that they certainly

are not making it easy.

For those of you who, like

me, keep a restless eye on Haiti,

and whose day-to-day

knowledge of what is going on

generally comes to us through

news reports and word-of-

mouth, the ability to jump in

and see things firsthand can be

interesting.

Three years after I first partici-

pated with a Clinton Founda-

tion delegation to Haiti, this

recent Haiti trip provided a wel-

come refresher course in the

positive aspects of the “art of

the possible”–a term that

seemed particularly apropos

given some of the sites we visit-

ed. From the Marriott Hotel, to

the crafts exporters, to the hos-

pitals, to the people using local-

ly-sourced products to make

everything from body lotions, to

beads, to health drinks, there

were people creating jobs and

opportunity, introducing new

ways of doing business, and

providing havens for the sick

This is a problem because Hai-

ti needs to make it easy to do

business. People who are try-

ing to start businesses or in-

crease exports, or just keep

people working, should be

nurtured. At the very least,

they should be encouraged.

But I was left with the impres-

sion that successful entrepre-

neurship in Haiti is a triumph

of will over circumstance—and

will can be eroded by time.

Looking at the future, Haiti

has to consider the TPP, the

normalization of U.S. relations

with Cuba, and countless other

global dynamics that will make

it harder, not easier, to attract

investment and create sustain-

able jobs. Haiti needs to get its

foundation in place quickly,

and give its people the tools

that they need to contribute to

building a strong economy.

I do want to end on a positive

note however, and emphasize

that the most important mes-

sage that I came away with is

that the ability to effect

The Clinton Foundation in Haiti...

A note to our readers…

Page 3 CCAA Currents

change can be found every-

where. It was such a pleasure

to have traveled with and met

with people who have all en-

gaged with Haiti in big ways

and small, people who have

brought creative ideas to a

difficult development process,

people who have invested time

and money to helping thou-

sands of people believe in the

future.

The “art of the possible” may

suggest a less-than-perfect

compromise, but in the hands

of people determined to bring

about change, artful solutions

can make you believe that

nothing is impossible.

Sally Yearwood

syearwood@c-caa.org

Trip Agenda: In addition to the work done by

the Clinton Foundation, projects

are also being carried out under

the mantles of some of the or-

ganizations’ other initiatives.

These include the Clinton

Giustra Enterprise Partnership,

the Clinton Health Access Initia-

tive, the Clinton Global Initia-

tive, and No Ceilings: The Full

Participation Project.

Note of thanks:

A special note of thanks to the

excellent staff of the Clinton

Foundation. To a person, they

were efficient, friendly, and ac-

commodating to us all. Thank

you.

-Sally

1625 K Street, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20006

Phone: 202 464-2031 E-mail: info@c-caa.org

Follow CCAA on:

Caribbean Central American Action

www.c-caa.org

Staff:

Sally Yearwood—Executive Director

Gwendolyn Siegel—Deputy Executive Director

Nathan Tuebner—Senior Program Director

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