We believe transformational change that sticks must come from Haitians themselves.
Our Mission at COFHED
Mission
COFHED’s mission is to partner with marginalized communities in the mountains of southern Haiti to discover, create and realize their own vision of socioeconomic development for lasting transformation.
Vision
We envision a Haiti where every person is recognized and valued as a contributing citizen in their community, and where all marginalized community members see themselves as powerful agents of change.
Your Impact, Haiti’s Sustainability
Communities Organizing for Haitian Engagement and Development (COFHED) was established in 2001 as a 501(c)3 in Minnesota to promote community engagement and development in rural Haiti. In November 2018, Fondation COFHED Haïti was officially recognized by the Haitian government. Fondation COFHED Haïti serves to strengthen Haitian leadership to carry their engagement process in partner communities and beyond.
Our goal is to strengthen Fondation COFHED Haïti and to ensure that the organization has the capacity to carry out its mission sustainably and improve its impact and effectiveness. We believe that transformational change must be initiated and led by Haitians for their communities. Together we can support rural Haitian communities as they create the change they want to see!
Core Beliefs and Values
At COFHED We Believe…
Every human being has immeasurable worth and dignity and can contribute to their community.
In partnering with communities and in cultivating their inner capacity to lead their own development rather than attempting to do so on their behalf.
Our partner communities can and must set their own priorities, timelines and strategies for the development process.
Since 2003, COFHED has been partnering with marginalized mountain communities in southern Haiti in a process that:
Recognizes that they are the experts of their own experience
Emphasizes equitably respecting and engaging women and girls in community development activities and governance
Builds multi-directional relationships of trust
Values every community member and their capacity to act
Engages all community members in collective, reflective consciousness-raising
Assesses and builds on existing community strengths, resources and skills
Equips community members to lead and drive the changes they have identified
Mobilizes community members to realize the transformation they envision
What We Do.
COFHED engages with Haiti’s rural poor to imagine new possibilities for their communities. Then we provide the technical and financial support and connections to make it happen. As residents identify, plan, and implement ALL activities to transform their communities, COFHED provides:
Training, technical support, and mentorship
Limited financial support for targeted community projects that catalyze community change and generate greater communal assets
Linkages and connections to outside entities and resources so communities can leverage their own efforts, gain greater independence from COFHED, as well as sustain and scale support for their work.
Every aspect of COFHED’s effective approach—and remarkable results—involves building relationships of trust. We trust our partner communities and know the community transformation they seek requires them to acknowledge the issues they face within and between themselves. Because we consistently do what we say and keep our promises, our partnering communities come to trust us to support and champion them in discovering, creating, and realizing their own vision for socioeconomic development. As members of our partner communities gain awareness of their own capacity to act, lead, and make decisions that benefit their community, they learn to trust, include, and rely on each other. Ultimately, members of our partner communities make the shift to trusting themselves—firmly believing in their individual capacity to act together as a collective to improve and transform their community.
History
COFHED was founded 2001 out of the deep desire of Nicaise Avignon and Madeleine Maceno-Avignon to return to their homeland Haiti to begin to engage rural Haitian communities. Supported and encouraged by several close friends in Minnesota, the Avignons moved to Camp-Perrin in southern Haiti in September 2002 and began to explore villages affected by extreme poverty. In 2003, the village of Lougou requested a partnership, and COFHED began engaging Lougou residents in community-led initiatives to address the spiritual, economic, social and environmental factors affecting their lives. In 2012 and 2013, COFHED was invited into partnership with Raymond/Nazaire, Marc and surrounding communities. From there, Fondation COFHED Haïti was officially recognized by the Haitian government in 2018, and the Train the Trainer program was launched in 2019.
