December 12, 2011

Thanks to many generous sponsors, we are excited to report that Santos, the first of our commercial-sized chicken farms, is up and running!

Santos provides infrastructural support for the smaller individual farms already in place. It's currently breeding over 8,000 birds and employing more than 50 Haitians! Jobs created range from merchants, farmhands and administrators to border controllers, drivers, distributors and carpenters.

Here's a real story of one life being changed:

The January 2010 earthquake in Haiti left Michel jobless. But now, through the Jobs For Life program, he has a new job and is able to support his wife and six children. Michel is an administrator at Santos and is also responsible for keeping the birds healthy.

To those of you sponsoring the Jobs For Life program, thank you! Your gifts are truly changing lives. 

October 17, 2011

The startup infrastructure is done. Chicken coups have been built, an old chicken farm has been renovated and a well has been drilled for the needed water source. The first group of entrepreneurs have received 52 chickens to get them started, along with the quality feed and medications they need. They are now on the road to a successful business that should double their monthly income!

But many eager entrepreneurs are waiting to join the program. As the necessary donations come in ($33/month per family), we can get more families on track to end their suffering for good! Join this movement to end the cycle of poverty in Haiti!

Haitian entrepreneurs look at one of the new chicken coops with excitement, joy and hope!

July 29, 2011

Last week, twelve Haitian entrepreneurs were trained to start the first chicken-breeding businesses in Haiti! The training was conducted by a representative of Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG), the largest chicken-breeding business in the English-speaking Caribbean, and a key Forward Edge partner. JBG will also be providing high-quality chicks, feed and medications for the "Jobs for Life" Program, as well as ongoing veterinary support.

FEI Field Coordinator, Jeff Hartley (fifth from left), with the first
group of "Jobs For Life" entrepreneurs.

What Is "Jobs For Life?"

The earthquake in Haiti...the tsunami in Southeast Asia...flooding in Pakistan. Each disaster brings with it the need to respond, and as Americans we respond with amazing generosity. But have you ever wondered if your generosity might actually be creating a dependence?

Forward Edge International shares this concern. That’s why we specialize in Phase II disaster response work—impacting communities long after the first responders have left, and moving beyond temporary fixes.

One example is our "Jobs for Life Project" in Haiti. This project is designed to create jobs and address Haiti's unemployment rate that has been hovering between 70-80%. The jobs will be created by Haitians, for Haitians, and run by Haitians. It's a program that will empower Haitian entrepreneurs to create jobs for life and move beyond short-term relief and temporary fixes.

One of our Haitian partners—a Christian ministry founded and run by Haitians—has asked Forward Edge to assist in providing long-term solutions to the thousands of people currently in their care. At the heart of our response is job creation. Rather than fostering perpetual dependence, we want to help Haitians help themselves, and in so doing, end the cycle of poverty that has kept millions of Haitians from reaching their full, God-given potential.

Your gift will help fund this effort and offer long-term solutions to a people crippled by natural disaster, limited infrastructure and a dysfunctional government.

Invest today in "Jobs for Life"! Your gift of $33 a month, for 12 months,will provide the start-up capital for a Haitian entrepreneur to start his/her very own chicken farming business.