Benita Bien-Aimé, pictured with two of her children, is a beneficiary of the small business loans funded by the Raising Haiti Foundation. (Courtesy of Raising Haiti)
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an average monthly salary of between $150 to $200 USD. Its literacy rate is also one of the world’s lowest, with only about 61 percent of adults able to read and write. This cycle of inequity has locked half of the population into poverty, and about a quarter of the population into extreme poverty.
Since the July 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president, the Caribbean nation has been in a constant state of political turmoil, making it difficult for residents to travel to the capital, Port-au-Prince. Assaults by gangs and paramilitary groups in Port-au-Prince have led to severe insecurity, forcing those who traveled into the city for work to rely on other options.
In 2020, the U.S.-based nonprofit Raising Haiti Foundation began working with the Smallholder Farmers Alliance to fund and distribute small business loans of $25 to $50 to 100 women clients around the rural Haitian communities of Medor and Sarrazin. By July 2024, this project had given over 2000 loans between $76 and $1,132 to 426 beneficiaries. This year, this microcredit program will offer larger amounts and expand to over 500 clients.
Most of the women use their loans to become entrepreneurs, or to expand their current businesses, selling goods in local markets. Some use them to purchase livestock or crop seeds, improving their farming outputs. Besides loans, the women receive training on topics such as business management, customer satisfaction, how to avoid supply shortages, and the role of local leaders in community development.
Loans are repaid in monthly installments over six months. After repayment of her loan, each client may apply for a larger loan. To date, there is a 100 percent loan repayment rate in both communities, in part due to the beneficiaries organizing themselves into “families” of women, with an elected “mother.” If a member is unable to repay her loan, her “family members” come together to assist with the repayment.
The interview below between Benita Bien-Aimé and filmmaker Jeff Kaufman exemplifies some of the achievements of the microcredit clients. She lives in a few miles from Sarrazin in the community of Mirebalais.
This interview has been edited for clarity
Jeff Kaufman: Madame Benita, it’s nice to talk with you again. The last time I was in Mirebalais was about 10 years ago. How has the community changed since then?
Benita Bien-Aimé: There is a really big difference in Mirebalais. Now, we have one of the most important hospitals in Haiti (Editor’s note: a 300-bed hospital built and operated by Partners in Health). We did not have that ten or so years ago. We also have more production in our community, and there are a number of non-profit organizations here trying to help people. That’s led to a lot of newcomers living in this community.
Kaufman: The federal government has not had much to do with rural communities in the past. How is the current political chaos affecting you and people you know?
Bien-Aimé: The current situation in Haiti affects us on many levels.
Economically, people from my area used to go to Port-au-Prince to get supplies for our businesses. Now, we are not able to travel there because it puts our lives at high risk. Instead, we have to go to the Dominican Republic to get our supplies. They are more expensive there, and the transportation increases the costs. Life is much more difficult.
Kaufman: Please describe where you grew up and what your childhood was like.
Bien-Aimé: I grew up in a community named Granbwa. When I was a child, we only ate food that came from our farm. We did not have other sources of food like we do today.
I have two brothers. My father used to plant yams, black beans, pigeon peas, plantains, cassava, and a mix of other crops. My mother was a trader in the market, and from very early in my childhood, I assisted in her business. I went to school in the morning and helped my mother in the afternoon. Fortunately for me, the school was fairly close to our home. This was very different for other kids who had to walk many miles to get to school.
Sometimes I made cookies, snacks made with peanuts, and other items, and gave them to my mother so she could sell them for me. When she returned from the market, she would hand me the money. So I was involved in trade when I was very young. Business is in my blood, and I like it. I think I will do it for the rest of my life. That’s the only way to survive.
My father became blind at a very early age. I was about to get married. He could not help me with the expenses for my wedding. Because of my business, I was able to help myself and pay for the wedding. I could be a bit independent, economically speaking, because of my business.
Business is in my blood, and I like it. I think I will do it for the rest of my life. That’s the only way to survive.
Benita Bien-Aimé
Bien-Aimé at her shop in Mirebalais. “Because of my business, I was able to help myself and pay for the wedding. I could be a bit independent, economically speaking, because of my business,” said Bien-Aimé. (Courtesy of Raising Haiti)
When my father was unable to do anything because of his blindness, my mother and I took care of our family. We didn’t earn a lot, but our work allowed us to survive.
It was not easy for me when I tried to move forward in my education. School opened each year in September, but I couldn’t start classes until January because my parents’ economic means were so low. I’m proud to say I eventually obtained a high school diploma. I then had a chance to go to university and study nursing, but I couldn’t finish. I got stuck in my third year due to lack of finances.
Without education in my life, something important would be missing. It is thanks to education that I understand the major problems our society faces. It allows my thoughts to flow and to broaden. Good schooling is the driving force behind the development of a nation; no country can improve without education.
Kaufman: Tell us about your family.
Bien-Aimé: As you know, I am married. My husband’s name is Dieulin Jean. We have two daughters: Amiëlleda Dayana Jean is 5 years old, and Abiëlleca Shamarlie Jean is 3.
Kaufman: My son Daniel went with me to Mirebalais one time, and we had an incredible experience there.
Bien-Aimé: I would like to meet him, if you can come back.
Kaufman: We’ll make that happen. What was your life like before you received these microcredit loans?
Bien-Aimé: Before Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA) arrived in our community, I already had a small business, but it was not successful. I liked doing this work, but it did not help me very much.
When I joined the SFA microcredit program in 2020, I had my own store, which I rented. I sold clothes, fabrics and some cosmetics, but I was barely able to pay the rent. It was very challenging. Thanks to my SFA loans, I added more products: food, like rice, beans, sugar; and beverages, like Coke and other sodas. With these additional items, my business started being successful. Also the business principles taught in the training sessions helped me to manage better and get more profits.
Before Smallholder Farmers Alliance arrived in our community, I already had a small business, but it was not successful. I liked doing this work, but it did not help me very much.
Benita Bien-Aimé
Kaufman: What was your husband doing while you operated your store?
Bien-Aimé: My husband was a full-time teacher (he still is), and I was a part-time teacher. When my business had challenges, we used some of our income from teaching to keep it going. But that still wasn’t enough to make it successful.
Kaufman: What would the two of you earn per month to support your family?
Bien-Aimé: The combined income from teaching for my husband and me was about $400 U.S. per month.
Kaufman: Can you describe the moment of greatest concern for you and your family?
Bien-Aimé: The most worrying moment for me was in 2019 when there was a fuel shortage, and the entire country was on lockdown. People were protesting and they blocked many schools, including ours. We could not continue teaching and we had no income. We didn’t have enough food to eat. It was a very difficult time.
I remember a moment when I could not buy milk for my babies. And I could not buy the other items that they needed, like diapers. That touched me to the bottom of my heart. I saw the needs of my children, but I did not have any way to satisfy them, to actually take care of my babies. It hurt me very deeply as a mother.
Kaufman: A mother’s love is equally strong in every country. How did you find out about the Smallholder Farmers Alliance?
Bien-Aimé: We had to close my shop in 2017 due to lack of funds. I didn’t have enough products to attract customers. I tried to reopen it in 2019, but still could not make it work. That was very sad.
My husband is a member the board of a farmers’ association in Sarrazin. Sarrazin is a communal section of Mirebalais. In 2020, the Smallholder Farmers Alliance hosted a meeting for all the families there. They spoke about their plan for the community. My husband heard it and when he came home, he explained to me how SFA works. We knew it could be very helpful for us. I started going with him to SFA meetings.
With support from the Raising Haiti, SFA began in Mirebalais with tree nurseries. We volunteered our time helping to grow trees and plant them in a responsible way, earning crop seeds, agricultural tools and training. I planted mangoes, lime and cocoa.
I really wanted to participate in the SFA loan program because I had recently reopened my shop. Now, I’m renting a converted shipping container in a better location. I felt that regardless of how much money I might get, it would still help me rebuild my business. Waiting to learn if I was accepted was very stressful.
It was in September 2020 that I got the good news from Danord Baptiste. He’s the SFA microcredit agent for our area. He registered me in the program, and my first loan was for about $50. It was a very exciting moment.
Bien-Aimé’s shop made from a converted shipping container. (Courtesy of Raising Haiti)
Kaufman: What kind of training did you get along with the loan?
Bien-Aimé: In the past, I had the experience of feeling very, very bad when clients came asking for specific products that I didn’t have.
SFA taught us tools to successfully run a business: how to manage the stock and do accounting; how to cooperate with other traders; how to better connect with customers; how to study market needs and offer items people need; how to make a profit; and how to establish ties with other members so we can grow together as a community.
Kaufman: How did your first loan grow to the next one, and the next, until where you are now?
Bien-Aimé: I paid back my first loan over six months, then got a second loan, which was larger. Each time I repaid a loan I took out another, bigger one. My current loan is a bit more than $500.
Kaufman: So, each loan gives you a chance to purchase more products for your store, and therefore grow the business and get more customers?
Bien-Aimé: Yes, that’s it exactly.
Kaufman: How do women with jobs and businesses transform a community like Mirebalais?
Bien-Aimé: I think what makes women like me successful in business is that we have courage, we have strength; we know what the market needs are, we go looking for these products, and we bring them to the community!
We are brave! We are not afraid of sitting on the top of a big truck while we travel a long distance, four or five hours, to get products and bring them back to our businesses. We have the strength to do that! Plus, since we learned about the principles of business management, and we follow these rules, so we are successful.
I am part of a group of 13 women benefiting from the microcredit program. I have been the group leader since October 2020. We support and encourage each other, thanks to the solidarity that I preach. This allows us to always repay our debts on time, and if anyone in the group has a money problem, we help out. And it is as a group that we participate in planting trees in the community. I also share the training that the SFA loan officers gave me so we can all move towards a better future.
(Group support) allows us to always repay our debts on time, and if anyone in the group has a money problem, we help out.
Benita Bien-Aimé
Kaufman: In the U.S., there’s still a fight for women’s rights, and there are many men who are trying to roll back the gains that women have made over the years. How would you describe that state of women’s rights and opportunity in Haiti?
Bien-Aimé: Women in Haiti struggle for their rights. We also struggle with Haiti’s social challenges and political challenges. The women in my community decided not to give up. We do not want to be seen as helpless people in our houses.
We want to be respected, and we are fighting for that. We want to be able to help our families, to take responsibility, and to make decisions.
Kaufman: How have you seen the success of your business change your family’s life and the way you feel about yourself?
Bien-Aimé: Today, the microcredit program is impacting me in different ways. I can take care of my children easily and can pay for their schooling.
Socially, I’m better off. I have more friends. I receive visits from new people. I feel very well, even though I still want to have more loans so my store can continue to expand. I’m not yet satisfied with the size of my business, but at this point, I’m feeling very successful.
Kaufman: You have two daughters. What kind of future do you want for your girls and all the women in Haiti?
Bien-Aimé: I would like to be able to help my daughters get their high school diplomas, and then I would like to be able to send them to university so they can study things they are interested in. I would like them to go overseas for college, so they can get a better education and come back to help Haiti.
Right now, the situation in Haiti does not allow children to have the kind of opportunities that parents wish. So many kids in Haiti are living in poverty. Many are hopeless. I would like to see that change.
Kaufman: Is there just a moment of joy that you can describe that connects to your new success?
Bien-Aimé: May 2 is my oldest daughter’s birthday. She asked us to celebrate it at my store. I brought in a special beer. A lot of people came to congratulate my daughter and to buy beer. It was very joyful! During the party, I remembered all my worrying when my business was struggling and had to close. I was also thinking about how today my life is totally different. My business is open, and I have many customers. That party was very meaningful for me and my family and the whole community.
My daughter was very happy, and I was happy too.
Kaufman: Madame Benita, you’ve been so kind with your time. I would love to see you and your family next time I go to Haiti.
Bien-Aimé: Thank you. It was great speaking with you. I’m feeling very proud. It’s like I’m part of a larger family, and I pray that God will protect you and all the donors of this initiative. I would like to see the SFA microcredit program increase in our country so more women can have the lives they deserve.
For more information and to support the microcredit programs described by Benita Bien-Aimé and Marimène Tijuste, head here.
Interview organized and translated by Timote Georges, director and co-founder of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance, with the assistance of Sue Carlson, M.D., executive director of the Raising Haiti Foundation. Editorial assistance and further transcript support from Livia Follet.
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