Our first Board meeting of 2023 was devoted to reviewing and funding the new projects Etienne proposed for this year.
| Water: Colse is a mountain village without a nearby water source. Residents have to walk down the mountain for water, then carry it back up. Etienne will buy water storage tanks and transport them to the village. | $7000 |
| Goats: Etienne plans to start a goat program in Coquione, a village above Charbonnier. He needs money to buy the goats, transport them, and run the training program for the recipients. | $7000 |
| Seeds: Etienne proposed buying seed for farmers in Les Anglais. We are requesting that he also buy additional seeds to restart the community garden on church grounds. | $3000 |
| Agronomy Agent: Etienne recently hired a new agent, Mr. Legoute, to help farmers establish crops of cacao, coffee, and bananas in Bwa Picon. His pay is $600/quarter. | $600 |
| Transportation: Rebuild Etienne’s old, non-working motorcycle. Having this to use when he doesn’t need the truck will save a lot of expensive fuel and reduce wear and tear on the truck. We will buy the parts in the US and ship them to him through Agape Air. | $1500 |
| Fuel: We need to send Etienne money to cover his increased fuel costs due to huge price increases in Haiti. | $1000 |
| Amount to send Etienne (sent on 1/26/2023) | $18,600 |
| Motorcycle parts to buy in the US | $1500 |
| Total Spend | $20,100 |
We will continue to hold $6000 in reserve to repair the wells damaged in the August 2021 earthquake. Parts shortages, damaged roads, and too-busy well drillers have prevented us from being able to schedule the repairs. We’ll ask Etienne to check in with the well-drilling company to see if they are able to start work soon on these wells.