FATHER JOSEPH - APF-USA

FAT H E R
JOSEPH
PHILIPPE
has been intensely engaged in
the strenuous work of Raising
Haiti. His own peasant beginnings
have prepared and inspired him to
understand and hearken to the struggles of his fellow Haitians
in powerful ways that have lifted hundreds of thousands of lives.
Over the past three decades, Father Joseph has been providing rural
Haitians with the motivation and tools they need to create wealth
in their communities and to lift themselves out of poverty. He is
best known as the founder of Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest micro-finance
institution with 45 branches, over 200,000 depositors, 62,000 loans in
the hands of the poor, and millions in assets.
But even before the birth and miraculous growth of Fonkoze, Father
Joseph was busy in the beloved community of his birth – Fondwa
Haiti. In 1988, Father Joseph founded the Peasant Association of
Fondwa (APF-Haiti) which boasts a primary and secondary school
serving some 700 students, an orphanage, a community radio station,
renewable energy, water purification, reforestation and agricultural
programs and so much more. And at the 200th anniversary of Haiti’s
independence, APF-Haiti established the University of Fondwa (UNIF),
Haiti’s only accredited rural university.
Facing what others would consider insurmountable odds, whether
economic, political or environmental—including the devastating
earthquake of 2010, whose epicenter was very close to Fondwa—he,
together with a growing team of collaborators, has persevered, turning
challenge and struggle into progress and victory.
related processes. Far from the often paternalistic approach taken by
well-meaning NGOs, these ventures have blossomed from the ground
up: undertakings by and for the very people whose lives are now
being transformed.
Over the past three decades, much assistance has flowed, whether
in the form of human or financial resources, from well beyond Haiti
including, of course, the United States.
Now, for the first time, resources are fast coalescing to give significant
lift to these Haitian enterprises. An unprecedented number of
creative individuals and organizations have recently stepped forward,
committing their time and resources. Two new 501(c)3 entities
with respective boards have been established to allow US donors
to receive full charitable deductions for contributing to an array of
programs. A powerful new documentary entitled ‘Father Joseph’ has
been completed (CLICK HERE TO WATCH TRAILER), is now making the
film festival circuit and will be commercially released in late August.
Significant efforts are now in motion to raise adequate funds that
will help to ensure the vital and ongoing success of these important
grassroots endeavors which hold significant transformative promise
for all of Haiti.
One of the unique characteristics of Father Joseph’s various
undertakings has been the grassroots nature of the impulse and
This is where you come in. This is where you can become part of history; a history that provides the promise of enriching
the lives of all of the people of Haiti by helping us build upon these already successful Fondwa-based undertakings.
at www.apfusafoundation.org
Photo courtesy Floating World Pictures
or with a check to:
APF-USA Foundation
PO Box 21624
Washington DC 20009