PHILADELPHIA, PA – Chestnut Hill College will host the annual reception and lecture for Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest microfinance institution, on Wednesday, October 30 at 6 p.m. in the Redmond Room, St. Joseph Hall. Gauthier Dieudonné, director of Fonkoze’s Chemen Lavi Miyò (CLM) program, and Laurence Camille, director of education, will present the lecture “Moving Forward… What is Working in Haiti.” 

Founded in 1994, Fonkoze (pronounced “Fon-koe-zay”) is a Haitian non-profit microfinance institution that offers a full range of financial and development services to Haiti’s rural poor. Aside of creating new business opportunities, Fonkoze provides educational programs and measures the progress clients are making in their journeys out of poverty. 

The lecture will discuss the country’s progress since the devastating earthquake nearly four years ago, and share how the Philadelphia community is making an effective, lasting impact. Dieudonné and Camille will focus on what practices are working in Haiti, including organizations like Fonkoze that are helping Haiti’s rural poor lift themselves out of extreme poverty. 

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Marie Conn, Ph.D., professor of religious studies, at 215.248.7044 or email mconn@chc.edu.