Grinding poverty is a reality for far too many people in the world. QIFD helps people rise above poverty through unique and innovative development approaches.

QIFD - Quisqueya International Organization for Freedom & Development - is a nonprofit organization that works on the grassroots level to advance political, economic and social rights and support development initiatives. We achieve this through education, research, advocacy and partnerships with local organizations.

We believe that sustainable development, good governance and democracy can only be achieved if the poor are able to fully participate in their society. Our development programs focus on giving the less advantaged a voice so they can make change in their own communities and become self-sustainable. We work with community organizations in Haiti to build their capacity and help them develop their communities. Before we begin a project, we establish strong partnerships with local organizations based on cooperation and trust. This ensures that the people we work with represent the real interests of their community and are committed to the work. We believe it is critical that the people we partner with understand that they are not just beneficiaries of our programs but are partners in our projects and actors in their own destiny.Because of the growing insecurity and political unrest in Haiti, we have reinvented QIFD's approach to include community based security and conflict resolution components in our work. Despite the current insecurities, we continue to travel to the field because it is during these times that communities most need our presence so that together we can set up mechanisms to protect them against the impacts of crisis. Further, we can help prevent problems and reduce conflicts to enable communities to move forward in a positive direction.Currently QIFD is working in five of the nine departments of Haiti - the South, West, Artibonite, Northwest and Central Plateau Department.

Our main areas of work are:

• Community development and Civil Society Agriculture and Environment
• Education: primary, community schools, teacher training, informal, adult education - civic education, literacy and post literacy training.
• Community and Rural Health - including HIV/AIDS
• State building and Decentralization
• Vulnerable women
• Micro-enterprise development