Initiative Description:

SECOND MILE is a social enterprise focused on creating a sustainable model of local farming to fund a model of care to keep vulnerable families together (reducing the orphan crisis) including a maternity center, job creation, and health & education.

FAMILIES ARE REFERRED FROM WITHIN HAITI’S HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICE SECTORS (from Hospitals and clinics, and from orphanages and aid organizations where the family has gone seeking help… )

• Referred children are screened for severe acute malnutrition
• Children with severe acute malnutrition are admitted to live-in center with a caregiver/family member
• Professional health team coordinates individualized care response including referral to local hospitals as needed, and coordination of follow-up visits with these health centers
• Haitian trained nurses monitor daily progress, intervene according to National Protocol for Treatment of Children with Severe
• Acute Malnutrition (PTA), and teach mothers/caregivers how to administer treatment
• Rehabilitation continues for 4 – 10 weeks depending on severity of child’s condition

DURING HER STAY AT THE CENTER EACH CAREGIVER,

• Participates in daily group education classes: in health, nutrition, business, gardening, and literacy
• Receives individual issue-based support
• Benefits from participatory learning, hands on livelihood-training, and peer-support
• Gains confidence by driving her child’s recovery and developing literacy skills
• Learns how to manage income-generating activity and raise small animals as asset investments

During education classes and one-on-one sessions, caregivers learn that prevention of malnutrition begins with family planning, prenatal care, breastfeeding, and improved hygiene and sanitation:

UPON PROGRAM GRADUATION, EACH CAREGIVER,

• Is supported through home visits as well as follow-up visits at the center
• Starts income-generating activity which allows her to meet her children’s nutritional, educational, & health needs through earned income
• Can participate in an incentive based savings program which leads to purchase of assets like livestock and small animals
• Is more likely to send her children to school, an important step in breaking the cycle of generational undernutrition
• Shares her knowledge with friends, family, and community, and becomes an advocate for malnutrition prevention

Initiative Anticipated Impact and Outcomes:

And we see it everyday. It’s the three year old twins who were too weak to crawl, but are now learning to stand. It’s the woman who was didn’t understand basic arithmetic, and is now running her own business. And it’s the employees who are using their stable income to build their own homes, educate their children, and save for the future. These are the moments we know: it’s working. We try to share as many of these stories as we can over at our blog. However, we also gather data, images and testimonials to track impact in three categories:

HEALTH – Healing malnourished infants so they can develop into healthy, happy children

EMPOWERMENT – Giving people the tools to create brighter futures for themselves and their families

EDUCATION – Educating caregivers in health, nutrition, business, literacy and agriculture

+ We’re all local, organic and natural. No pesticides or artificial fertilizers. No imported seeds. No preservatives.

+ The farm produced enough food to cover all fruit, vegetable and legume needs for over 10,000 meals at Second Mile in 2014, 17,000 in 2015, 25,000 meals are estimated for 2016.

+ Since the Moms stay on site Monday-Friday, they don’t have time to go to the market before heading home for the weekend. Therefore, we send each caregiver home with a large bag of produce to assure her and her family can eat healthy wholesome meals all weekend long.

+ Tending the farm allows us to create stable employment for 8 people, including 5 boys from Streethearts, a partner organization that works to create better futures for boys living on the streets in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

Initiative Sustainability Plan:

Haiti was once an agricultural haven, and we’re trying to connect to those roots. The farm contributes to Second Mile’s sustainability for a number of reasons. We have 40 plant varieties growing on 4 acres. Everything from legumes to mangos, limes to moringa. We have a compost plot where we produce nutrient rich soil for the farm and train caregivers in the program on composting. Cow’s and goat’s milk are used to produce dairy products like yogurt and cheese. (We also eat the goats sometimes too.) Bees act as necessary pollinators for the crops and we sell their honey in local markets.

EAT -A way to provide daily, nutrient-rich meals for the moms and kids in our program and all staff members.

TEACH – A place for women and their family members to learn new agriculture techniques and practice growing food

SELL – An opportunity to generate income for the organization through the sales of agricultural products

We also produce and sell…

RAW HONEY -Harvested from beehives right on our land

MANGO JAM – Delicious and sweet, especially with our yogurt

MORINGA POWDER -Considered a ‘super food’ packed with minerals and vitamins

These all natural, hard-to-find products are developed right on our land and sold in local markets. All proceeds go towards business grants for women in the program.

COCONUT OIL – Cold-pressed virgin coconut oil perfect for cooking

CREAM CHEESE – Creamy and smooth

YOGURT – Filled with probiotics that help with digestion

Total Funding Requested: $25,000

Funding Date Requirement: 03/01/2020

Initiative Video or Related Links:

Nonprofit Name: Second Mile Haiti

Nonprofit Website: https://www.secondmilehaiti.org/