To commemorate two decades of service and impact, Lambi Fund of Haiti hosted a celebration on July 15 at Penthouse 808 in New York City, which featured Top Chef Ron Duprat, best selling Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat, and award-winning dance troupe, Cumbe. The fund supports sustainable development projects proposed by local grassroots groups from across rural Haiti, including the Northwest, Plateau Central, Nippes, Artibonite, and the South.
“Lambi Fund Haiti is not just marking two decades of partnership, achievement, and results, we are honoring the success of the thousands of women, farmers, families, civic organizations, and rural communities in Haiti that we have had the privilege to support,” said Marie Marthe Saint Cyr, Executive Director of Lambi Fund of Haiti.
The Fund believes that local communities should lead the development process and define funding priorities and programming. Since its founding, it has funded over 250 projects focused on civic education, credit for farmers and women, technical training and capacity building, agriculture, processing crops for market, irrigation and construction of cisterns, and rehabilitation and protection of the environment. Since 2006, through its partners, the Fund has helped to plant more than three million trees. Additionally, its majority Haitian staff has worked directly with more than 250 groups, 60,000 residents, and has indirectly benefitted more than two million Haitians.
“The soiree in New York City follows several events held in Haiti in collaboration with local leaders to recognize what Lambi Fund of Haiti has achieved in the past and to forge a path for the future. This fete (party) is an opportunity to renew our commitment to the Haitian people,” Saint Cyr said.
The event included a special tribute to the fund’s founder, Josette Perard, who received a lifetime achievement for her tireless hard work and dedication to social change in her homeland and around the world.