Dear Friend,
Already in 2025:
- Our partners at Gwoup Konbit held a nation-wide Konbit Soup Joumou,
- Konbit San Pou San held a first aid training and a blood drive,
- Roots and Rasin co-wrote a chapter of Community-led Development in Practice, which was published last month and will serve as an important tool for current and future aid practitioners,
- The United States inaugurated a new administration, which immediately paused all US foreign aid,
- We joined with partners in remembering and reflecting on the 15th anniversary of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti,
- and Rasin Devlopman broke ground on the La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center.
2025 may be mired in uncertainty and upheaval, but our support and commitment for our partners remains steadfast, and their work continues every day, building toward the future they want for themselves.
FREEZE ON US AID DOLLARS
The Facts:
- On January 20th, President Trump signed an executive order freezing all US foreign aid for 90 days pending review and another withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
- Following the order, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) issued an order to immediately stop work on all activities funded by US foreign aid dollars.
- US foreign assistance totals $60 billion a year, which makes up less than 1% of the federal budget
- Roots does not currently directly or indirectly receive funds from USAID. Our partners, Rasin Devlopman and Gwoup Konbit, also do not receive US government funding at this time.
Our Thoughts:
This order is already having a devastating impact on thousands whose jobs and organizations are now at risk or are already suspended due to the loss of funding. The US government’s investments abroad are critical to national interests and global security, and total funding levels should be restored following this pause.
However, this pause and the potential overhaul of USAID also represents an opportunity. As it stands, USAID does not effectively use a large portion of its funding, and its grantmaking requirements and practices box out many of the most impactful organizations around the world—community-based, locally led groups like our partners. We will be working with other groups throughout the next 80 days to see how we can influence the outcome of this transitionary period to prioritize investments in community-led development.
BREAKING GROUND ON THE LEADERSHIP CENTER
On Saturday, January 18th, Rasin Devlopman held a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center, officially breaking ground on construction. More than 50 community leaders from all 11 communal sections of La Gonave participated, representing both municipalities. The ceremony was also attended by several local authorities, including Jacques Henry Filias, one of the three mayors of Anse-a-Galets, who spoke about the importance of this project for the community.
Immediately following the official groundbreaking, drilling commenced on the well that will, along with a rainwater collection system, service the Center. Drilling was completed on January 25th. A perimeter fence is now being constructed around the site.
RESPONDING TO CRISIS IN REAL-TIME
On December 23rd, two reporters and one police officer died during a gang attack at the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s largest hospital. This called public attention to the danger that journalists who remain in Haiti to cover the situation put themselves in on a daily basis.
In response, Konbit San Pou San, a member of Gwoup Konbit, organized a three-day first aid and CPR training for 40 Haitian journalists. This training took place over the weekend of January 10-12, also commemorating the 15th anniversary of the 2010 earthquake.
COMMEMORATING THE EARTHQUAKE
Roots President & Co-Founder Chad Bissonnette and Rasin Program Director & Gwoup Konbit Co-Founder Louino Robillard participated in a panel on lessons learned. You can view the recording here.
Disaster relief giving is complicated—and the aid itself can sometimes cause more harm than good. Read “How to Give Responsibly to Disaster Relief,” published Jan 2025, here.
In 2022, the New York Times published an exposé on Haiti’s double debt to France, which sabotaged its growth after independence. Read our response, “How Aid Has Failed Haiti,” published June 2022, here.