HAITI: Mutual Loan Funds Build Collective Economic Power

Amid the collapse of government services, rising violence, and economic instability, grassroots leaders from the People’s Organization for the Development of
Haiti (OPODHA) are pooling their resources to survive. They’ve organized 54 mutual aid lending funds with 3,132 enrolled members and financial capital of $245,256
USD. This would be equivalent to $9.6 million in the United States, where per capita GDP is 40 times higher than in Haiti.

Members can borrow funds at a 2% interest rate, rather than relying on loan sharks. They use loans to buy wholesale products for resale in local markets, pay education fees to keep their children in school, and purchase seeds and tools. OPODHA’s loan funds generate revenue to support local development projects decided on by members, as well as OPODHA’s operations — reinforcing economic self-reliance alongside civic participation. As OPODHA grows in new communities and people build strong, accountable, and transparent local organizations, they’re establishing new loan funds, building Haitians’ economic power to determine their own destiny.