Exclusive: An interview with our cofounders

We sat down with Madeleine and Nick Avignon to hear about their reflections on two decades of incredible transformation in rural southern Haiti, and about their vision for the future. Enjoy this exclusive interview!

How does it feel to look back at 20 years of COFHED?
Nick: To be honest, it’s pretty surreal. When we were called to this work, our daughters were young … Madeleine, we were young. [Laughs]. I think both of us get such a deep sense of fulfillment from the work that we do with COFHED, but nothing compares to seeing entire communities that have permanently shed the shackles of poverty, that are thriving and growing and investing in themselves and the next generation of young leaders. To me, that legacy is the most incredible part of reflecting on the years of COFHED’s work.

What are some of your favorite memories from your time in the field?
Madeleine: There are so many, it’s honestly hard to choose. For one thing, I’d say the graduations from the local community schools are memories that I’ll always cherish. Like Nick just said, one of the benchmarks for a community’s development is the degree to which it invests and grows its young folks. When we first engaged with our partner communities, the nearest schools were hours away by foot, and many kids weren’t educated. But seeing these beautiful children - and young adults - at decked out in their graduation gowns, looking so proud of themselves - I think that’s such a powerful sign that change is happening. That they’re been equipped to lead that change in their communities. It’s wonderful.

Nick: I love to witness community meetings, and those make up some of my favorite memories in COFHED’s work. The process of coming together to discuss, debate, collaborate - that’s something that every successful community needs to do. For many of the villages we work with, though, the peoples’ voices had been suppressed for many, many years. Sometimes their whole lives, in fact. So we always saw it as a huge milestone when those voices could finally be heard, and the community could come together and begin plotting out their shared hopes and dreams.

What’s in store for COFHED in the next 20 years?
Madeleine: I think Train The Trainer will continue to be at the cornerstone of what we do, because it’s the most effective way to scale our work and the impact of what we do across a wider area. There are countless communities in the broader southern Haiti region that have heard of COFHED and want to work with us; well, Train The Trainer is how we’re going to reach them. We believe that the demand for partnership will only grow over time … kind of like the snowball effect. Beyond that, we’re excited to seek out next-level organizational, foundational and private donors who share our world view and believe in the power of indigenous, locally-led sustainable change. COFHED is at an extremely exciting crossroads, and we believe that having the resources to take those next steps is just around the corner.