The FORF, following what has been done by FERF since 1997, has sponsored a project since 2007 whose principal purpose is to distribute suitable reading material to Haitian schools in the form of portable mini-libraries.

Between 1997 and 2007, FERF and FORF have donated over 100 mini libraries. Each mini-library includes some 100 small books for children. In 2009, 25 mini-libraries were donated at a cost of $7,000. A pilot school in LaBoule is now acting as a pilot program to assess the utilization and benefits of these mini-libraries. In 2009, the FORF also created and donated 6,000 educational posters for display in and around schools. These posters were designed (a) to advertise the importance of civic education, (b) to encourage voter participation in local and national elections, and (c) to educate viewers about the origins of the Haitian flag.

Schools lack reading material for children. FORF’s program on mini-libraries is designed to offer schools a set of mini-libraries stocked with small books and pamphlets in French and Creole. Each mini-library is stored in a classroom, from which children can draw reading materials and return them for use by others.



Between 1997 and 2007, FERF and FORF have donated over 100 mini libraries to schools around the country at a cost of $7000. Each mini-library includes some 100 smal books for children. In addition, the FORF has created and donated an additional 6,000 posters on civic education, voter behavior, and illustrations of the flag of Haiti at a cost of $1,650.

In 2009, the FORF launched a program whose principal objective is to develop a form of tourism that is designed to bring visitors to many of Haiti's hidden historical, natural, and cultural treasures.

The FORF Program for economic development is principally focused on stimulating a complementary form of tourism to the one that Haiti's Ministry of Tourism is advancing. Launched in 2009, the Program is built on three principles:

PRINCIPLE #1: Identifying local sites throughout the country that are likely to be of interest to national and international tourists. The sites can be naturally scenic cascades, seafronts, or mountain tops. They can also consist of colonial ruins, indian cemeteries and caves, the locations of colonial battles, or other historically significant locations. The sites must be geographically close in order to enable the creation of various/diverse travel circuits throughout the country.

PRINCIPLE #2: Participation and involvement of the local communities linked into these travel circuits. Local mayors and decision-makers organize the young labor force needed to develop, manage, and protect the sites on the circuit, and ensure safe travel in the region.

PRINCIPLE #3: Involvement of haitian citizens living abroad (the diaspora), in the form of grants, donations, investments, and volunteerism. The diaspora that originated from the communities and regions from which the local sites are drawn are a key contributor to promoting tourism and economic development into each of the travel circuits.

The role that the FORF is committed to playing in this process is to organize support, raise funds, and launch a pilot project designed to test the viability of the process. Once initiated, these projects are expected to become self-managed and financed, and also contribute to the protection and embellishment of the environment, as well the stabilization and growth of the economy in the regions.

Project Plan (2009-2011):

• Phase 1: Feasibility Analysis, Create Project Plan, Build Local Alliances
• Phase 2: Fund-Raising for Pilot Project, Staff Resources
• Phase 3: Execute Pilot Project, Continue Fund-Raising for Full Project
• Phase 4: Assess Pilot Project and Continuity Analysis
• Phase 5: Extend Pilot Project to Full Circuit

Although there are some courses in schools, very little is being done to promote the topic outside schools and particularly to adults. The FORF is actively engaged in promoting youth programs and post-alphabetization programs for adults, and distributes a broad range of educational materials including books written by Mrs. Odette Roy Fombrun and a variety of posters that advertise the importance of civic education, encourage people to vote, and describe the origins of the Haitian flag.