Summary

O’Dette is a single mother of ten children. She farms to provide food for her family, but it’s not enough. Often they eat only rice, and frequently the family does not eat at all during the day. At the moment they don’t have money for seeds, and their house is falling down. Sponsorship level: $24 per month.

Household

O’Dette Antoine
Children:
Claudie Antoine, age 25
Willanton Antoine, age 22
Jameson Felix, age 20
Rosemiland Sarafen, age 8. NO SCHOOL (Father is dead)
Luisne Paul, age 15. NO SCHOOL (Father is dead)
Sofia Antoine, age 13 (Going to school)
Sarefin Mareline, age 6 (Going to school)
Edline Fis, age 3 (Triplets)
Yvonne Fis, age 3 (Triplets)
Joseph-Dave Antoine, age 3 (Triplets)
Nideland Felix, age 18 (Going to school)
Vinez Antoine, age 11 (Going to school)

There is just one double bed inside, which ten in the household need to share, or sleep on the ground.
Her front teeth are not so good.

Personal information

O’Dette is from this area, Platos Michelle. She farms for a living, growing bananas, peas, and corn. Her children help her work in the fields. Four of her children go to school. All except for two of her children live with her.
Because of the current drought there is not enough food. They eat two times a day, corn, yams, bananas, and rice. But there is not enough food. Sometimes they send children to the health clinic, down near the coast in the town of Cayes-Jacmel. She says that her children are not sick
“Our house is not good. It is falling down. When it is raining I can’t sleep, because the rain comes inside of the house. We aren’t able to buy much. Sometimes even with six cans of rice there is not enough. Sometimes there are peas to put in the rice, but often there is just salt.”
There is just one double bed inside her house, which ten in the household need to share, or they sleep on the ground.
They eat meat only when someone gives her money. They sometimes sell in the market and get a little money for themselves. She leaves the little children with some of the bigger ones.
O’Dette used to go to the market in Cayes-Jacmel on Wednesday and Saturday. She made at least 130 goudes and a maximum of 250 ($3.50 to $6.60 American). She went all the way to Cite Soleil (in the capital city Port-au-Prince) to buy her goods.
Sometimes they pass a whole day without anyone in the family eating anything. “We just taste a little food.” This happens about one in every three days.

Community information

O’Dette lives in Platos Michelle, a rural grouping of homes on a path reached from Cayes Jacmel, a village on the South coast of Haiti. Platos Michelle is perched on the foothills of mountainous territory, with wonderful views of the ocean. Road access is difficult, as the dirt roads are steep and rugged, and while it is possible to hire a motor bike, most people walk down to the water (about an hour) when they need to go to Cayes Michelle. There is no electricity, and there are water faucets occasionally available along the road. There are no schools in the area.
According to O’Dette, it is safe in the area. There is a Catholic Church in Cayes-Jacmel, and O’Dette goes there every Sunday. Sometimes on December 25 there is a large Vodou celebration, and occasional other ones. But O’Dette never goes to any local celebrations or Vodou ceremonies.

Self-survey

O’Dette says she has no one to help her. She is a strong, independent woman, and helps herself, with her own effort, by working in the fields. She is friendly. She likes to share when she gets something.
Sometimes, when the children misbehave, she gets angry. For instance, when they don’t help in the house, when it is very messy.
Talents and interests: O’Dette can’t read. She wants to continue her agricultural work. “There is nothing else I am interested in doing.”
This is now the season for planting, but they don’t have any money for seeds.

Unique path

Her house if breaking down. She hopes that her friend in the U.S. can help her create a business. She’d like someone to help her get money to make a business and put the children who don’t go to school in school.
“I’d like to make a little business and improve my house. What I want most is that all my children can go to school.”

Life Plan and Sponsorship

Life-plan and Sponsorship
Immediate needs
Money for seeds for planting
Re-cover the roof of her house
Food to eat – There is not enough
Goals and dreams
All of her children go to school.
Have a strong house
Grow their own food and sell it.
Development
Help her re-start her small scale market business. In the past she has sold onions, salt, and garlic. She wants to do it again.
Improve her farming.
Send children to school.
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, Laura Reynolds, and Cajuste Jean-Louis, February 14, 2008. We took a tap-tap (shared open pickup truck) about 20 miles east of Jacmel, a larger town, to the smaller village of Cayes-Jacmel. Then we hired three drivers of motorbikes to take us up the hills. We drove about 20 minutes up, until the way was too steep for the motorcycles, and then walked the rest of the way, about 30 minutes.

Location