Since banks are rare and over crowed, in Haiti a home is a savings plan. As families earn money they will invest it into building their home, little by little, block by block. It’s not uncommon for it to take a family 5+ years to finish their homes. It’s their promise of a better future.
A few months ago, Izarak, one of our employees began building a home. Izarak was the first full time employee from Chiron that we hired. He comes in at sunrise every morning to help take care of the animals. He is dedicated and is so appreciated here on the farm. One day I saw a house going up next door. I asked Izarak whose it was and he excitedly said it was his. Nick and I walked over immediately to see it. In the matter of a few days, he had already poured his foundation and built his blocks chest high. We were both proud to see how much progress he had made, but assumed that construction would stop for a significant amount of time until he had the finances to keep working.
A few weeks after that Izarak asked if he could go home for a few minutes to tell the guys putting his roof on something. We couldn’t believe he had already made this much progress. Nick asked him if he wanted to borrow a ladder or any tools, to which Izarak declined. Today we went and visited Izarak’s home again, which his family has now been living in for two months. We are still amazed that Izarak was able to start and move into his home in roughly 3 months time.
That never happens. And most excitingly, he did it on his own. He didn’t ask us to pay for it or to even give him a cash advance. He didn’t use our tools or expect anything from us. Izarak worked hard every day on the farm, saved his money, and provided for his family, ALL ON HIS OWN!
Izarak, we are proud of you and are so thankful to have you as a part of our team. Thank you for working hard everyday and for being so dedicated to the vision of New Roots! Congratulation on your new home!