Fifine, a 32 year old strong and courageous woman, her husband, and their six children lived in a shanty made from palm leaves and corrugated metal sheets in Belle-Anse, Haiti.

They live in a humble shelter and survive as fishermen on the country’s southeastern coast. Sadly, when Hurricane Matthew ravaged the country on October 4, 2016, the gale force winds destroyed and damaged all of their fishing equipment. As the winds subsided they were faced with the harsh reality: their livelihood as fishermen was washed away with the receding waters.

In Fifine’s community, the local population survive by fishing. With their only source of income destroyed, they worried that they, too, would suffer from even greater poverty. As it was, nearly 90 percent of the crops of local farmers were destroyed.

There were significant loses to their livelihood. The fishing traps in the sea that held valuable seafood to eat and sell were destroyed. There were 46 of them.

But, she never was a woman to give up. With a brave heart, Fifine swallowed the anguish and despair that could have easily destroyed her spirit. Together, she and her husband, and their children fought together to pick up the pieces and resume their daily activities.

Sadly, times have been difficult since Hurricane Matthew. The sea has been tumultuous and the family has yet to replenish the seafood lost.

To help Fifine and her family recover from the devastation of the disaster and replace the fishing equipment lost at sea, we have provided Fifine with assistance to produce 16 new traps to resume her fishing activity in the community.

The local production of fish-traps is lengthy, taking about 2 days for each fisherman to produce one trap. But thanks to the assistance 180 fishermen were had their livelihood restored through our Hurricane Matthew Fisherman Assistance Program.

PROJECT GALLERY

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