4 Very Different Stories

As everyone knows, we've made a priority of really evaluating the "first moms and babies" that had spent time at our facility. That includes looking at how the moms and kids are doing in their first few months after leaving Second Mile Haiti. We want our program to be very successful and we want it to be around for a long time, but for that to happen we need to make sure all of our bases are covered.

So when the moms left the facility I had a prediction as to who's business would be more successful. Here is my initial ranking, 1 through 4.

Guvensly's mom- 1

Witchana's mom-2

Marie Ange's mom-3

Dieuson's mom-4

Okay let's start with Guvensly's mom. First of all, this mom is a mom to 6 other children. That's 7 children in total that she needs to provide food, shelter, and meds to. Just think for a second if you had 7 children. Got the mental picture? I chose this lady to have the most successful business because of her knowledge. She scored the highest on all of the education exams and when Dadou asked which business she would prefer to do, she knew exactly what to say. It was like she had been dreaming it up for years. She knew where she would be selling all her merchandise, where she would go to purchase more, and exactly how much profit she could make from each item. It seemed like she was born to be in business. So, I put her as number #1. There is a couple things I should have factored in…like she still has 7 kids, and she also lives in a spot that doesn't draw much traffic (very few motos and horses, and no tap-tap access).

(Guyvensly's second day at SMM)

 (Guyvensly at home)

Outcome: She still has her business. It may have decreased a bit in terms of merchandise but it's still going strong. Dadou says that the reason she still is successful is that as soon as she runs out of an item she will buy it right away so that she doesn't spend the money. Props to Guvensly's mom for being able to take care of 7 children and still run a successful business.

Ranking now: 2

At Second Mile with her merchandise

Guyvensly's moms business at home - Look at that huge sack of detergent! 

Secondly, we have Witchana's mom. Many of you remember Witchana's mom from all of Amy's blog posts. Witchana was very successful at our property. She only stayed 11 days and in those 11 days her mom was able to see her gain weight, clap her hands, and stand up! Witchana and her mom live at the bottom of the Citadel. So I figured that could play an important role in her business strategy seeing as it's the most popular tourist place in Cap Haitien. I am happy to say Witchana's mom has had the most success in her business. Not only is she selling the same original merchandise we purchased for her but she has expanded! Witchana's mom now sells gasoline which is a huge indication that her business is BIG! Do you know how many moto's run out of gas on the road to the Citadel? Yeah, a lot. 

Witchana's mom receives commerce

First check-up visit on Witchana

Outcome: Witchana looks amazing. Witchana's mom seems extremely happy and blessed. We are excited to see what her business will look like after 6 months time.

Ranking now: 1

Witchana's mom has a total of 5 kids and lives with her mother and two younger sisters.
(that makes for a total of 4 adults and 5 kids at Witchana's house)
Everyone pitches in to help customers!

Thirdly, Dieuson's mom. Dieuson's mom was an interesting character. Many people in the facility would always say "her head is somewhere else." It took her a little longer then everyone else to learn the health education part and it took Dadou a couple more lessons in business to explain profit. That's okay though! I know we all have our weak spots. I was sad to say that her business failed. She no longer has any merchandise to sell. I was bummed until Dadou explained exactly why she no longer has any merchandise left. Dieuson was battling a few different infections in the months of July and August. This kid was extremely sick and had stacks and stacks of medical bills that needed to be paid and meds that needed to be purchased. And you know what? She was able to purchase all of them and pay all of her bills off. And lets not forget that in order for her to make it to all of Dieuson's follow-up visits at the hospital, she had to pay for transportation to and from each of those visits. All of these are things she would have not been able to do before she entered our facility. So yes, her business failed but she was able to give her son the meds and treatment he needed and he didn't even lose any weight during that time. To be honest, Dieuson was the child we may have worried about the most because of his mom's lack of education. But we are happy to say Dieudson is healthy and is still gaining weight! 

Recent follow-up visit to Dieuson's house. If you remember Dieuson took his first steps at Second Mile.

Looks like he makes his Grandma proud!

Outcome: While Dieuson's mom was in our facility she worked the hardest out of all the moms. She was determined to show us that she was a hard worker. We realized her business failed, but we realized it failed because her son had an extremely rough month. Starting next week Dieuson's mom will have the opportunity to work at our facility for 2-3 weeks to raise money to re-purchase her merchandise. While woking at the facility Dadou will take the opportunity to invest in her a little more. She will have to attend more classes and we are hoping she will gain knowledge on profits, record keeping, and a plan for the business.

Ranking now: 4

And lastly there is Marie-Ange's mom. This mom has had a daughter that has been extremely sick her entire life. She has been in and out of hospitals every month. We are still trying to very much invest in this mom, and trying to figure out the best way possible to do that. I think Amy is going to write a blog post on this soon. :) Anyway, Marie-Ange's mom stayed the longest in our facility. Her business ended up doing really well and she till has merchandise. What we are working on with Marie Ange's mom is record keeping and what she needs to be doing with her profit.

Outcome: Marie Ange and her mom will actually come back and stay in our facility. She will continue to work on our property for her room, board, and food. Two days a week she will go off to her house in the city to work on her business. While she is staying in our facility we don't want her business to fail, but unfortunately Marie Ange is not out of the woods and needs 4 or 5 sets of eyes watching her daily. 

Ranking now:3

In summary.. 3 of the 4 kids have all continued to gain weight. Marie Ange, who hasn't gained weight will be returning to our facility so that we can give her mom the extra help she needs. 3 of the 4 moms still have successful businesses. Dieuson's mom will start work on Tuesday at SMM. She will have a second chance to save money for her business.

So far we couldn't have asked for better results. We are so very proud of all of our moms and their businesses and we are especially proud that they continue to have fat and healthy babies. :)