| Coalition Completes First Round of Project Planning and Skills-Building Workshops |
The Haitian Coalition of Somerville recently completed its Haitian Diaspora in Development Workshop Series, which trained community members in basic project planning and budgeting skills so they can run successful projects and promote positive and sustainable development in Haiti.
Over three weeks, participants learned critical skills in three areas:
Visioning
- Identifying organizational mission statements and vision for change
Budgeting
- Developing basic project budget, tracking spending and handling receipts
Project Design
- Developing project goals, objectives, activities and indicators as well as a monitoring and evaluation plan
- Acquiring tools to assess community needs and develop appropriate and realistic responses
- Gaining fluency in critical concepts of community participation, gender equity and sustainability
By the end of the program, participants had a basic project plan, budget, and preparation to fundraise and support their work.
The workshops were based on Mercy Corps’ Localizing Institutional Development in Sudan (LINCS) curriculum with materials adapted for the Haitian community. Connie Baker of African Community and Economic Development of New England facilitated them.
Mercy Corps is an international relief and development organization that works in more than 40 countries to combat poverty, conflict and disaster to create secure, productive and just communities. It has worked in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake, promoting long-term development through economic, agricultural and youth development programming in both Port-au-Prince and rural communities in the Central Plateau and the Lower Artibone Valley.
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| Images From the Coalition's Summer 2011 Humanitarian Mission in Haiti |
| The Haitian Coalition of Somerville |
The Haitian Coalition is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the social, educational, and economic development of Haitian youth and families living in Somerville and the Greater Boston area. It was founded to serve Haitians living in Somerville and surrounding communities following the flight of thousands of Haitians to the Greater Boston area after a September 1991 military coup in Haiti.
Haitian activists founded the Coalition in 1992 to meet the needs of these new immigrants who lacked the resources to thrive in Massachusetts. By 1997, the Coalition had gathered enough support from the community to become an independent nonprofit organization. In its early years, the Coalition fought racism, promoted Haitian culture, and helped Haitian residents gain access to services and programs from legal aid, social services, voter registration, and small business training.
Today, we continue to offer these and similar resources to our clientele primarily comprising of underserved Haitian immigrants. We offer literacy, ESOL and citizenship classes for adult learners and the elderly; health and education campaigns; support services and tobacco education for youths; parenting workshops and more. One of our newest initiatives is a partnership with Tufts University that brings resources to residents of Haiti’s Balan community.
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