March 20th, 2026
CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
On March 8th, International Women’s Day, Rasin Devlopman held their annual launch event for their Fanm Djanm (Strong Women) women’s leadership programming on the island of La Gonave.
For the first time ever, Rasin held the launch in Pointe-a-Raquette, on the other side of the island from their home base of Anse-a-Galets. 84 people, including 66 women and 18 men, attended the event, which was held in partnership with Gwoup Fanm Soley, a local women’s group on the island.
The celebration began with parade, accompanied by a marching band, from the waterfront, through the market, and ending at the venue. Once they arrived, there was an exhibition of products made by local women, including cement pots and crafts made of recycled materials.
Participants heard from Rasin staff and program participants, and a keynote was given on “rights, justice, action for all women and girls,” which is the theme of the entire Fanm Djanm program in 2026.
The International Women’s Day celebration represents the just the beginning of Rasin’s Fanm Djanm program in 2026; over the next several months they will hold 13 trainings for women across the island. In 2025, Rasin held 12 Fanm Djanm workshops on “empowerment for women and girls, a path to equality,” which reached 662 women across 9 of Rasin’s 11 communal sections. Read more in our 2025 Annual Report.
Thank you to Ayiti Community Trust and Debley Foundation for their support of Rasin’s women’s programming!
WELCOME OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER
Please join us in welcoming our newest board member, Florence Rouzier! Florence said: “As a proud Haitian American, I long to see my homeland surmount the barrage of obstacles that have hampered its full development and fulfill its promise as the first Black independent republic. My philanthropic priorities are to support nonprofits whose aims are to help lift the Haitian people out of poverty. I believe the most effective ones that are capable of doing so have embraced the community-led development model exemplified by Roots of Development. I want to help the organization gain more traction with funders and other important stakeholders.”
Florence is a retired nonprofit executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience in education and community-based organizations. She most recently served as Executive Director of Crossroads Foundation in Pittsburgh, where she led organizational growth, expanded programming and staff capacity, and completed a successful endowment campaign that more than doubled the foundation’s assets. Florence is Haitian American and is based in Pittsburgh, PA.
ALNAP RESEARCH KICK-OFF
On March 17th, ALNAP officially kicked off Research Phase II of “The Evidence around Supporting Mutual Aid Initiatives with International Funding.” The call brought together ALNAP’s Locally-led Humanitarian Action Team and research partners from Ukraine, Palestine (Gaza), Sudan, India, and Haiti.
For us at Roots of Development, this moment carries particular weight.
Haiti is too often absent from global conversations on aid, despite being one of the most heavily funded contexts. That absence means missed opportunities to share what we’ve learned, to challenge assumptions, and to learn from others navigating crisis and resilience in their own contexts.
Being in the same discussion space as peers from Ukraine, Palestine (Gaza), Sudan, and India is both meaningful and necessary. It signals a shift, one where Haiti is not just a recipient of aid, but an active contributor to global knowledge and practice around mutual aid and locally led development.
Our research team is deeply proud to represent Haiti in this work, to bring forward the experiences of communities we partner with, and to help shape a more connected, inclusive, and informed global conversation.
We’re excited for what this collaboration will yield, not just in research, but in relationships, shared learning, and more equitable approaches to supporting local actors. Thank you to ALNAP for leading this initiative and to Vitol Foundation and Center for Disaster Philanthropy for making it possible.
Read the Phase I Research Report.
Watch the Phase I Virtual Presentation.