In its continued effort to support Haiti as the country builds its own prosperous future, the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund today announced $1.4 million in new commitments for three new projects: a franchise-based housing program, a vocational training program, and a sustainable energy initiative.

As part of this announcement, $1.08 million in traditional and recoverable grants is committed to GaMa Entreprises, S.A., a Haitian company that will use the money to implement a franchise-based housing solution. This new GaMa venture plans to take advantage of unprecedented opportunity in the construction sector while meeting Haiti's critical housing needs. Under the brand name KayTek ("House Technology" in Haitian Creole), GaMa's housing enterprise will manufacture steel-frame housing kits at a factory in Port-au-Prince. KayTek will provide a selection of ready-made and custom designs for homes in a range of markets, as well as a one-stop materials solution for buyers to customize their homes. The program will train engineers and general contractors, who can in turn train general tradesmen. With this technical training in steel home construction and entrepreneurship, those selected as franchisees will be prepared to start and manage their own home-building businesses throughout Haiti.

"Together, GaMa/KayTek and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund are supporting long-term reconstruction by promoting jobs, cultivating entrepreneurship, and building capacity in construction. Simultaneously, we are addressing the needs of more than 800,000 individuals still seeking permanent housing," according to GaMa President, Mathias Pierre, named a 2010 Digicel "Entrepreneur of the Year" and a Caribbean "Pioneer of Prosperity" in 2009.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is also announcing its commitment to grant up to $225,000 to equip temporary classrooms at the earthquake-devastated Salesiens Professional School, immediately benefiting 620 at-risk youth who will be trained and certified in construction trades. Salesiens is the oldest and largest vocational training school in Haiti and among the few to hold accredited status and a strong reputation in the job market. This grant gives students the equipment they need to resume their studies, complete their certification, and enter jobs in a sector vital to Haiti's rebuilding.

The Fund's third announcement addresses Haiti's lack of access to sustainable energy, an impediment to economic opportunity and educational achievement. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund will provide $150,000 in seed funding to Arc Finance, a global nonprofit organization whose mission is to build the income and assets of poor people around the world through promotion of and access to financing for energy, clean water, and other basic needs.

This new program, undertaken in partnership with the Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, will allow members of the Haitian diaspora living in the US to directly purchase low-cost and energy efficient products, such as stoves and lamps, to send to Haiti. Haitian-owned goods-remittance company FoodExpress will then deliver the products. This innovative remittance transfer program will make sustainable sources of electricity more widely available throughout Haiti, decrease energy costs, and reduce pollution currently caused by the use of charcoal, diesel, kerosene, and wood in both urban and rural areas.

HL/ HaitiLibre