The Joint Leadership Youth Initiative (JOLYI) is a collaborative effort among FOKAL’s Youth Initiative Program, Basketball to Uplift the Youth (BAL), and the National Human Rights Organization, providing educational, civic, and leadership opportunities for young people. Operating in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, Cité-Soleil, Croix-des-Bouquets, and Cap-Haïtien, the initiative focuses on youth in violent neighborhoods, schools, and juvenile detention centers.

JOLYI engages young people through human rights training, juvenile prison monitoring, tutoring, mentorship, basketball-based leadership development, and debate training and tournaments. These activities foster critical thinking, civic awareness, and personal growth, empowering youth to become agents of positive change in their communities.

FOKAL’s key component of the initiative is the Youth Initiative Program, which promotes debate as a tool for civic engagement. Through structured discussions, participants develop their analytical skills, practice public speaking, and explore complex social issues related to democracy, justice, and the rule of law. In 2024, with the JOLYI project, the program initiated its collaboration with BAL’s youth networks, enabling more young people to benefit from structured debate training and civic education.

In December 2024, an annual debate tournament was held in Martissant (Port-au- Prince), bringing together six teams from Fontamara and Carrefour. Given Martissant’s high levels of violence, this event provided a rare and crucial opportunity for young people to engage in meaningful dialogue. The theme of the 2024 debates—Haitian migration—enabled participants to explore the root causes, consequences, and potential solutions to this pressing issue, presenting well- reasoned arguments in a structured setting.

Across the country, 14 debate clubs meet regularly, with each group engaging around 20 young participants in preparing for tournaments, analyzing current affairs, and discussing social issues. Young debaters are also leveraging technology—such as blogs and text messaging—to expand their conversations beyond physical meetings, ensuring their voices contribute to broader public dialogue.

By combining education, mentorship, and civic engagement, JOLYI is equipping young people with the skills and confidence needed to build a better future. The initiative fosters collaboration among organizations and creates safe spaces where young people can develop their intellect, leadership skills, and commitment to social change.

The Haiti Development Institute, the Foundation for Knowledge and Liberty (FOKAL), the Network of Engaged International Donors, and Ayiti Demen are pleased to invite nonprofit organizations, development partners, family and private foundations supporting initiatives in Haiti to the 6th Haiti Funders Conference, taking place June 4-6, 2025, in Boston, Massachusetts.

This year’s theme, “Fertile Ground: Collaborating for Impact”  highlights the need for strategic investments and collective action to drive meaningful change in Haiti. Amid escalating insecurity, economic challenges, and evolving U.S. foreign assistance policies, this conference will bring together donors, investors, foundations, and development partners to explore effective funding strategies for Haiti’s long-term progress.

Why Attend?

Building on insights from last year’s conference—which gathered representatives from 123 funding institutions—this event offers:

• Access to a powerful network of experienced funders with decades of engagement in Haiti.
• Expert discussions on key issues shaping Haiti’s future.
• Opportunities for collaboration to maximize impact.
• Inspiration and pathways for collective action through strategic, coordinated investments.

Event Details

• Location: Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor
• Event website: https://www.haitidevelopmentforum.org/6hfc
• Dates: June 4-6, 2025
• Opening Reception & Dinner: June 4
• Conference Sessions: June 5-6
• Accommodation: A special group rate of $299 per night is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

This invitation-only event brings together major donors committed to Haiti’s development. Early bird registration is available for $650 until April 15; the regular rate of $750 applies thereafter. If you are a funder and did not receive your invitation, please contact the event organizers coordinator.at.haitidevelopmentforum.org

Register now using your invite code to secure your spot! A booking link for accommodations will be provided upon confirmation of your registration. We look forward to welcoming you to Boston for this important convening!

Read about the previous convening here: https://ademen.org/ayiti-demen-and-fokal-at- the-5th-haiti-funders-conference-in-washington-dc/

Haitians call the Citadelle Laferrière (Citadelle Henry), commissioned in 1805 and completed in 1820, their 8th Wonder of the World because it stands as a testament to their victory over slavery. This landmark, constructed in the early 19th century following Haiti’s independence from France, is both a National Historic Site and a UNESCO World Heritage site, symbolizing freedom for all Haitians.

The Cap-Haitien Citadelle Archive Project is working to safeguard a diverse collection of analog materials related to this historical landmark, but they need our support to acquire up-to-date scanning equipment and continue digitizing tens of thousands of historical archives. Unfortunately, libraries, archives, and museums in Haiti are being targeted by gangs who destroy everything in their path. There is an urgent need to digitize these invaluable collections.

In collaboration with Le Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince, Ayiti Demen is asking for your generosity to support the Cap-Haitien Citadelle Archive Project, which also partners with the Institute for the Safeguarding of National Heritage (Institut de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine National, ISPAN).

The project focuses on digitizing a vast collection of analog materials from the 1970s–1990s restoration project of the Citadelle Henry and the Sans Souci Palace. This includes 8,500 slides, 1,300 prints, 14,000 negatives, 865 architectural drawings, and more than 400 documents and reports. The project also aims to digitize, store, and make available all other materials related to ISPAN’s efforts to protect Haiti’s built heritage.

Preserving this irreplaceable archive, along with the documentation collected by ISPAN’s inventory programs of Haiti’s built heritage, will be invaluable for future generations of Haitians. The goal is to digitize these materials to protect them from the ravages of time and ensure they are accessible to the public. Digitization will not only preserve these documents but also allow them to be easily shared with researchers, students, and history enthusiasts worldwide.

You can explore some of the work on the UCLA Library website and the dLOC website (Digital Library of the Caribbean). However, your financial support is needed to continue this vital preservation work.

Donate online today to support the Citadelle Archive Project.

If you can only donate by check:

• In Haiti, send a check to Le Centre d’art at 58 rue Roy, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Memo: ARCIT) or email info@ademen.org for additional information.
• In the United States, send a check to Ayiti Demen, 28 Bethune Street, New York, NY 10014 (Memo: ARCIT)
• Worldwide: Donate online today.

On March 1, 2024, armed gangs and other individuals looted the National Association of Fruit Processors (ANATRAF) offices and warehouse in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. ANATRAF is a non-profit organization that helps hundreds of smallholder farmers grow fruit and process it in local workshops. On March 1, the unthinkable happened: armed gangs stole or destroyed all the finished products they had already processed (such as jams, chocolates, cassava, mamba, alcoholic beverages, etc.), all the raw materials (cocoa, alcohol, sugar, etc.), and all the materials and inputs contained in the store (mills, mattresses, refrigerators, control equipment, bottles, jars, training materials, etc.), including a stock of 7 tons of cocoa. This is a massive loss for a small non-profit organization like ANATRAF. It took them years to reach that level of organization and autonomy.

The proceeds of this campaign will temporarily help ANATRAF relocate its operations to the south of Haiti, sustaining 70 fruit producers. They can no longer work in their warehouse in Croix-des-Bouquets, which is overrun by gangs. The project will address the following key areas: Supply Chain Reconstruction in the South, Infrastructure Rehabilitation, Product Diversification and Value Addition, Community Engagement and Capacity Building, and Risk Management. 

Your donation will enable ANATRAF to mobilize its network of small fruit growers to supply two centers in southern and northern Haiti and rebuild its supply chain strategy.

ANATRAF’s relocation to southern Haiti offers lasting benefits. It will stimulate production by creating new jobs, benefit smallholder farmers in the South and North, and ensure the sustainability of ANATRAF’s activities. ANATRAF’s food processing role strengthens local nutrition and production in the country. By prioritizing sustainability across economic, social, and environmental dimensions, ANATRAF guarantees long-term development benefits for local communities.

Donate online today to support small fruit growers and processors in Haiti!

If you can donate only by check or wire:

• In Haiti, send a check to FOKAL at 143 Avenue Christophe, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Memo: ANATRAF)
  • Wire donation to FOKAL’s bank account: 

                                   Name: Fondation Connaissance et Liberté

                                   Address:  143 Ave Christophe, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

                                   Account number: 141-1022-1244226

• In the USA, send a check to Ayiti Demen,28 Bethune Street, New York, NY 10014 (Memo: ANATRAF)

DONATE NOW ONLINE

More about ANATRAF:

The Association Nationale des Transformateurs de Fruits (ANATRAF) was created on June 12, 2002, by a group of thirty-seven processing units. In agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development (MARNDR), and with the support of the Projet Rural Franco-Haïtien, this initiative aimed to strengthen processing units to meet the significant challenges facing the processing sector in Haiti. ANATRAF specifically targets farmers in search of sustainable livelihoods. Thanks to the association’s various interventions and support, the country now has over a hundred workshops spread across the 10 regions of Haiti, 70 of which are ANATRAF members.

Five rural areas in Haiti will soon have a community space where they can meet, relax, store seeds and goods, and learn. Ayiti Demen’s board chairperson, Michèle Pierre-Louis, led a delegation to several towns in the Grand Sud region of the country from February 13 to 17, 2023 to present and discuss the concept of these community centers with local residents and community leaders.

The idea for this project came about in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in August 2021, when several local organizations approached FOKAL for support in the rebuilding of their community. “It was difficult to build a house for each family,” said Madame Pierre-Louis during a community meeting in Barradères. “We wanted to do something that would serve the whole community.”

Ayitika is a local company based in the southern part of Haiti, dedicated to producing high-quality chocolate from scratch. What sets Ayitika apart is not only its delicious chocolate, but also its commitment to fair wages for farmers and sustainable farming practices.

From the beginning, FOKAL has been a champion of Ayitika’s mission. They provided critical funding that allowed a group of young people to purchase 10 hectares of land, allowing them to grow more cocoa and expand their production. In addition, FOKAL stepped in with cash assistance after the devastating earthquake in 2021, helping farmers stay in business and ensuring the continuity of this impactful project.

Watch a short video to learn more about Ayitika’s journey and the power of supporting local communities in Haiti.

Beniton Magloire, a Haitian farmer in his sixties, has been immersed in coffee for as long as he can remember. Not only is it the drink that kicks off his day every morning, but coffee growing has also been his family’s main subsistence activity. “As a kid, I would go to the farm with my mom every June, and she taught me everything about coffee.” 

So, it did not take Beniton long to figure out that he would become a coffee farmer. At only eighteen, he was already raising his crops. “Coffee is really what allowed me to get into business,” he says. He now harvests some 250 pounds of coffee beans a year on his own piece of land in Jacmel, one of the most forested parts of Haiti.  

Coffee farming has historically played a vital role in the Haitian economy. In the mid-20th century, Haiti was the world’s third largest exporter of coffee, and thousands of Haitian families rely on it as their primary source of income. The mountainous configuration of the land offers ideal environmental conditions to grow arabica, the world’s best coffee quality, in Haiti.