Community of Lougou
Then and Now
Through a systematic approach to grassroots community engagement and development, the Lougou villagers have made notable progress toward changing the statistics that have defined their realities. They have identified their priorities and resources, established short and long term goals, and been moving consistently towards those goals and objectives.
Specific Programming
Women of Lougou
In 2004, a group of women in Lougou started MOFADEL—Microcredit Organization of Active Women for the Development of Lougou. They started to loan each other an average of $16-$30 USD. Today, MOFADEL has a staff of three, including two young women from Lougou who received support from COFHED to study banking services. Lougou residents built their own clinic and started a community health program. Both have been staffed by two local nurses and a physician, who are all women from Lougou. All were supported by COFHED while pursuing their education. COFHED also supported a woman from Lougou to study agricultural-veterinary science, and now she is working with community residents supporting them to successfully manage a livestock program that includes cows, goats and sheep. She is also assisting and supervising community farming efforts that produce yams, black beans and other crops for local consumption and trade. Two women associations in Lougou are involved in cocoa, coffee and peanut businesses.
MOFADEL - Community Income Generation
MOFADEL—Microcredit Organization of Active Women for the Development of Lougou is an organization led by Lougou women who started out with a dream of being entrepreneurs. Their mission is to improve living conditions of women and families by financing economic activities for underserved women in Lougou and rural southern Haiti. MOFADEL has now 229 members and 105 active loans. MOFADEL celebrated its 10 years of existence in 2019 and also inaugurated its new office building. It was a time of rejoicing and pride for the Lougou women and community. MOFADEL’s staff now receives clients with ease and also starts a training twice a week for new clients waiting for loans. Moreover the program continues to grow not only in number of loans but also with more skills and experience in technical and management capacity. MOFADEL also loans out money to business residents of surrounding villages.
“We are no longer dreaming! MOFADEL has its own office space. When we put our heads together we can accomplish a lot of beautiful things. The result of our coming together is right in front of us. A beautiful building that makes us proud.”
- Adèle, Mofadel’s staff member
Education
In 2004, there were 300 eligible school age students in Lougou, but only 15 percent of them could attend school. There was not a school in Lougou. Children whose families could afford the cost of providing an education had to walk as far as two hours to and from school. Now through the planning efforts of community members and thanks to your support , the Lougou community has built its own school and made great strides in education.
New Pre-school and Kindergarten
The Lougou community is currently working hard to finish a school building for more preschoolers and kindergarteners of La Petite Académie de Lougou. The various crises in Haiti 5 have profoundly impacted the construction work, but the community is pushing ahead to get it completed for use by October 2020.
Community Accomplishments in Education:
Lougou now has its own school, La Petite Académie de Lougou with 370 students from pre-k to 6th grade.
For staff, the school has fifteen teachers for preschool to 6th grade, a principal, a curriculum advisor, two housekeepers and one ground keeper.
There are 28 Lougou students attending high school elsewhere
Mothers of the community have been volunteering to buy food for lunch and cooking the meals for the students for more than 10 years now.
There is also support offered to young people from Lougou for post-secondary training and higher education, most of whom have returned to their village to serve with degrees in medicine, nursing, primary education, engineering, management and bank support services, agro and veterinarian techniques, masonry and electricity, and home economics.
Health
Lougou residents built their own clinic which is staffed by Lougou resident health professionals. Supported by COFHED while pursuing their education, they returned to Lougou to care for children in the school, their own community and surrounding villages.
Above: Lougou Clinic
Safe Drinking Water & Sanitation
Like in most rural areas in Haiti, Lougou residents have suffered from lack of access to safe drinking water. Access to potable water was one of the top identified concerns of the Lougou community. Now the majority of families in Lougou have a Sawyer filter to make their drinking water safe. Community members also have access to several water fountain stations throughout the village. This water is captured from an existing system running along the highway linking the southern cities of Jérémie and Les Cayes.
Community Farming
Farming by community groups in Lougou, Raymond and Marc to produce yams, black beans and other crops. Activities supported and supervised by a Lougou woman as an agro technician.
Distribution of seeds to community members, especially after devastations caused by natural disasters, the latest being hurricane Matthew back in October 2016.
Latrines
A latrine for each household is a voted community priority. When COFHED first engaged with the Lougou village in 2004, there were only 4 latrines in the community. To solve the village’s sanitation problems, the community has built 40 latrines so far (as of July 2020) and plans to build 100 additional durable latrines as a response to their needs for sanitation facilities.
Agroforestry and Environmental Restoration
Engaging families in agroforestry is one of the ways communities are dealing with the issue of environmental degradation and deforestation. Using mixed farming systems that also protect the soil from erosion, they plan to plant trees alongside fruit trees and plants such as avocados, mangos, bananas and also add tubers like yams, sweet potatoes and yuca.
Livestock Programs
A goat and sheep program designed for providing education funds for children in primary school and supported by a Lougou veterinarian.
A cow program designed to support the educational needs of Lougou adolescents in secondary school with support from a Lougou veterinarian.
“How can we bring about change and look into solutions for so many problems and barriers in our community and country? It can start with me. I can start by serving others, helping them to see life differently, encouraging them not to stay indifferent, and believing that life is not over for them yet; there is still hope.
- Guy, teacher and community leader