Summary

Louis lives in one of the poorest slums in Haiti. She has four children, two of whom are living as indentured servants with other families. She is sick, her children don’t go to school, and they often don’t eat during whole days. Sponsorship level: $24 per month.

Household

Louis Vilia, mother, age 23
Husband: Lucson Jean Charles, age 26.
Children:
Jean Benson, age 4.
Claude Jean, age 7.
Ricadine Pierre, age 12. RESTAVEK
Jean Dieuna, age 9, RESTAVEK.

Personal information

Louis is very gentle. She was born in Tiburon, and has been here in Cite Soleil for five years. She came by bus. “Every women wants to come to Port-au-Prince to find work.” But she did not find work.
Louis has no job. She does sell things occasionally: mangos, corn, oranges. But not often, because she doesn’t have money.
She went to school for the first three years of primary school.
Her parents live in Tiburon, and she speaks with them often on the telephone.
Sometimes Louis’ husband goes fishing. He helps fishermen, and sometimes gets some fish. “I can explain, but you can’t understand my situation. It’s very complicated. Sometimes we can’t anything for one, two, three, five days. My husband Lucson doesn’t have a regular job. My children can’t go to school, because there is no money to spend.”
Louis is sick. “I have a back ache and stomach ache.” She is pregnant. She has never seen a doctor in her life.
She buys water for her family for 7 goudes (about 25 cents) per bucket. They sometimes get money from her husband’s friends.

Community information

Louis lives in City Soleil, a notoriously poor slum in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. She lives in a particularly poor area of City Soleil called Mangue. A few feet from her shanty is a large area of garbage. It is literally a river a garbage, because during the rains it flows down from richer areas of Port-au-Prince higher up, and sometimes reaches a height of five feet or more.
There are no police in Mangue, but Louis says there area is now not too dangerous (it has been known for kidnappings and gang fighting). There are no holidays, celebrations, or parties.

Self-survey

What do you care about?
She wants to have some help, to get money to help herself.
What would you like to tell your friend in the U.S. about your personal qualities?
“I am gullible, naïve, wise, and generous. I want to share. I want to leave this condition, in which I am living. I love everyone. I have no enemies.”

Unique path

She wants to sell. This is an area for fishing, and she’d like to sell wire, nets, and other fishing supplies.
She needs a business. She is pregnant, and after she has her child she wants to learn an occupation. She’d like to learn sewing, cooking, or to be a driver, because she likes that kind of work.

Life Plan and Sponsorship

Immediate needs
Food
Medical care
Goals and dreams
Send children to school
Get back her children who are now working as indentured servants with other families
Go to school herself
Development
Start a small business
Send children to school
Get back children
Sponsorship level
$27.00 per month for one year. These funds will be used for the items described in the Life-plan, with focus on Development, which is a way of connecting immediate needs with goals. The sponsor is able to help guide the choice of priorities. Local organizations will monitor use of the funds, and the sponsor will receive monthly or bi-monthly updates of progress.

Interview details

Interview conducted by Geoff Bederson, Cajuste Jean-Louis, and Jean Marcel in February, 2008. We were led to this area by Jean, the director of a primary school close by.

Location

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