PÉTIONVILLE, Haiti–Nine credit unions have been seriously damaged and three credit unions were destroyed by the earthquake that struck this country Jan. 12.
The accounting of damage, released by La Fédération des Caisses Populaires Le Levier, an organization of 50 CUs in Haiti, and the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), has been delayed due to difficulty in communication and other issues. WOCCU reported that even for those CUs in rural areas not struck by the quake, there remain "even greater challenges in the coming months."
Overall, Haiti has 120 CUs, most of which had minimal damage. "But that's not necessarily the case for their members," reported WOCCU. "In fact, members who died or have faced a complete loss of personal assets could undermine the financial wellbeing of their credit unions. Increasing loan defaults could lead to the financial collapse of some credit unions, many of which are struggling to restore their own operations."
Greta Greathouse, chief of party for the Haiti Integrated Financing for Value Chains and Enterprises (HIFIVE) program administered in Haiti by WOCCU, said many CUs will likely soon meet capital issues as defaults rise.
WOCCU reported that regulators at the Central Bank of Haiti have already earmarked 15 struggling caisses for closure, a number that could climb to as high as 50 of the country's approximately 220 financial cooperatives.
HIFIVE is a three-year, $34.4 million multi-partner program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that is working with the financial sector to bring savings, credit and remittance-linked products to underserved areas of the country and to provide technical training to micro-, small and medium sized enterprises.
WOCCU's reported its Haiti office is currently undergoing its own logistical challenges, operating out of temporary space in two separate locations, one on the veranda of an apartment building and other inside Gallerie Expressions, an art gallery in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Pal training
Separately, WOCCU said it has delivered 42 tents to Haiti since the earthquake, which have gone to its 19 employees on the ground in Haiti, as well as to other microfinance agencies in need. WOCCU said its Haiti employees also share their tents with family members, meaning that as many as 150 people may be living in the WOCCU staff tents at any given time.
