Thriving Villages International (TVI)
2022 Summary
In 2022 Thriving VIllages International (TVI) reached its 10th year anniversary! TVI has been primarily engaged in a remote region of Haiti called Pestel, a region without electricity, running water, or basic health care access. The average annual income in Pestel is around $700US.
Due to gang violence and global inflation, the cost of a gallon of fuel in Pestel was $40US. As a result, the movement of goods, including fruits and vegetables, came to a halt. Since Pestel relies heavily on the ability to send their small-scale farming goods (like peanuts, beans, mangos) to the city markets, many in Pestel suffered greatly.
In 2022 Thriving Villages addressed basic needs by partnering with KPA (“Christians Progress Together”, a Haitian community group in Pestel):
Improved family economics:
85 households received and planted crop seeds to produce harvests, such as peanuts and beans
80 households received at least one goat as part of a long-standing goat-distribution project. Since 2017 we have distributed over 400 goats. Goats serve as an important source of revenue for families, and since they can be bred the offspring can also be given to neighbors to share the benefits.
Repaired cisterns
Almost all (or all) of the cisterns throughout Pestel cracked after the 2021 earthquake. Cisterns are a primary means of getting water in Pestel. 25 cisterns were repaired in 2022, each of which serves hundreds of people.
Provided employment
TVI supports five leaders of KPA through stipends
TVI also supports 6 elementary school teachers (full time) annually
Supported education
TVI provided full scholarships for 110 elementary students ($110 per student), and subsidized the public high school (300 students) and another elementary school (64 children) in the region.
TVI funded a school feeding program at the St. Rose School when teachers started noticing more children coming to school hungry. The cost of the feeding program is $110 per student.
St. Rose School expanded to include 5th grade in 2022, with support from TVI. We are planning to build another classroom since the school is growing.
Two university students, Herlande and Jean-Gilles, are finishing up their final year in agricultural studies. One student, Rosemithe (pictured on the right), graduated from nursing school and is now serving in Pestel.
We are honored to partner with KPA, our main in-country Haitian partnering organization. We receive updates from KPA. We want to share part of their 4th quarter report with you since it provides a helpful snapshot into KPA’s activities and some of their challenges. This was sent by our Haitian colleagues in English, which is an achievement because in 2016 we paid for the leadership of KPA to take English classes so that we could better communicate with one another, and that investment has paid off! Here is the KPA report as they describe the work:
For the fourth quarter, we did some work despite the trouble in the country. 15 families received goats, 20 families received seed and 16 elderly people had monthly money . We finished the repair of 2 cisterns, the 3 others will be finished shortly because it has just rained. The work was stopped because of the drought.
The [St. Rose elementary] school was doing with a little quantity during the month of November and December. The children will attend class totally in January. After the crop, some people gave us peanut for St Rose school children. They told the crop was good, they have enough for selling, they let a part for replanting and the other part for St Rose Children.
Miss Rosemite [a nurse that TVI provided funding to train and who is now living and serving in Pestel] is helping some elderly people and children. She explained that the people are very poor, they are facing hunger because they can not work now . This is why we include in the budget $3000 Dollars for emergency food for 70 people with extreme needs. Gerald [a KPA leader] wrote about a latrine project in [the village of] Luciere. This is a good project because the people face Cholera in the country. Thanks for all the things you are doing for the people in Pestel and for KPA.
—4th Quarter Report, Submitted by KPA Leadership
TVI donations are sent to Haiti via KPA, which manages the funds and uses them to purchase and distribute items and pay teachers. TVI board members cover the overhead expenses. The TVI Board is very glad that we have the opportunity to directly benefit some of the poorest people in our Hemisphere through our giving. Through our relationship with KPA, we meet real-world needs that include food, water, education, and employment.
If you would be interested in supporting the work of TVI in Pestel, please consider giving, either online at https://thrivingvillages.com/ or by sending a check to
Thriving Villages International
1201 S. 20th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17104
