Founder of Fonkoze, Fr. Joseph B. Phillippe visits BRAC Bangladesh

Fr. Joseph B. Philippe is best known as the founder of Fonkoze, Haiti’s first microcredit bank for the poor. Since 1994, the bank has helped spread the concept of solidarity and has been lending to the furthest reaches of rural Haiti. BRAC first partnered with Fonkoze, more than three years ago. Over the last few years BRAC has been providing Fonkoze technical assistance to Fonkoze for its economic development program for the ultra poor, Chemen Lavi Miyo (CLM). Fr. Joseph recently visited BRAC in Bangladesh to hold talks of further partnership between BRAC and Peasant Association of Fondwa (AFP) in Haiti.

Fr. Joseph provided some insights into the proposed collaboration between BRAC and AFP. He said, “BRAC’s philosophy, mission and vision match with those of APF: to empower the rural poor. I am very impressed with the quality of work BRAC has already done in microfinance, healthcare and education. With BRAC’s participation, our vision of empowering the poor will be strengthened and we could then expand our experience throughout Haiti."

“BRAC has an ongoing formation program for staff which is very good. They have several impressive training centers to develop their staff. Most BRAC employees work with high dedication, commitment and professionalism and I believe this is because they are well-trained and the social benefit package for the employees is also quite good. I want to emulate this approach so that the people we are training turn out to be as professional and motivated as the BRAC staff.”

He further added, “BRAC, unlike other international [Non-Governmental Organizations] NGOs, was organized by the poor. This gives BRAC invaluable insight and direction about their work. Moreover, most other NGOs don’t care about sustainable development but BRAC does. This is why we want to work with them.”

Fr. Joseph has been a leader in the struggle to promote economic opportunity for Haiti’s poor majority for more than two decades. He was involved in transforming his hometown of rural Haiti into a model for sustainable agrarian development. In this process, he started the Peasant Association of Fondwa (APF) in 1988.

With an ambitious and visionary mind, Fr. Joseph also founded the University of Fondwa (UNIF), Haiti’s first and only rural university. UNIF specializes in training young people from rural Haiti in Agronomy, Veterinary Medicine, and Management, encouraging them to return to their home communities and become leaders in sustainable development efforts.