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PADF/OAS STRENGTHENING HAITIAN-DOMINICAN RELATIONS ALONG THE BORDER

PRESS RELEASE - PAN AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
Contact: Amy Coughenour (202) 458-3969 or (202) 441-1776 ([email protected])


New Initiative Promotes Exchanges that Improve Living Conditions and Enhance Regional Development

WASHINGTON – The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), an affiliate of the Organization of American States (OAS), is implementing an important new initiative along the Haiti-Dominican Republic border that is designed to strengthen ties between the two countries and improve living conditions of the neediest populations on both sides of this traditionally conflictive zone. Through a five-year, $3.25 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development and $1.4 million generated by PADF through the private sector and other donors, the Frontyè Nou – Nuestra Frontera (Our Border) program is building the institutional capacity of 112 Haitian and Dominican non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to deliver vital services in areas such as health, education, human rights, agriculture, natural resource management, and disaster assistance.

The population living along the relatively isolated border regions in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic are among the poorest in both countries and NGOs play a crucial role in expanding economic activity and social services in pockets where the public sector does not yet reach. Institutional strengthening provided under the Frontyè Nou – Nuestra Frontera program includes financial, administrative, leadership, strategic planning, fundraising, project design, monitoring, and evaluation, as well as specific technical training related to the targeted sectors. Other important technical assistance include the creation of a virtual network including a bilingual electronic message board (www.bohio.org), sponsoring of bi-national workshops on issues such as HIV/AIDS and Trafficking in Children in collaboration with the OAS country offices in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and the conducting of border social perception studies.

Local organizations can also apply for small grant funds through the Frontyè Nou – Nuestra Frontera program to implement specific community-based projects and cross-border exchanges. The initial round of grants awarded include promoting computer literacy through construction of cybercafés, assisting expansion of local fishing, beekeeping, and 4-H goat-raising associations, improving cross-border disaster assistance capabilities of local Red Cross chapters through building and equipment improvement, and facilitating language training for national park guides hosting the first bi-national eco-fair.

Juan Rodriguez is a Dominican Provincial Judge and the Secretary of a local fishing association located in the southwestern border town of Perdernales whose organization is receiving assistance under the Frontyè Nou – Nuestra Frontera program. According to Rodriguez, “This project is welcome. It is helping us upgrade from an association to a cooperative, providing tools to help us increase our catch, and bringing us closer together to Haitian fisherman who share our waters.” OAS Acting Secretary General Luigi R. Einaudi emphasized “the potential of this ambitious program for improving the quality of life of the communities on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic at a critical moment in the history of both countries which share the same geographic space”.

Among the essential purposes of the 35 member OAS, are the consolidation of representative democracy and the promotion of the socio-economic development of member states through cooperative action.. The OAS is the region’s premier political forum for multilateral policy dialogue. PADF is a private, non-profit organization established in 1962 through a partnership between the Organization of American States and the private sector to promote and implement development and disaster relief programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information on PADF programs in the region, please visit www.padf.org.

Reference: PADF-001