Since 1993, IOM Haiti has put in place numerous programmes to promote social empowerment through the setting up of income generating opportunities for individuals and communities. These have been carried out in partnership with international organizations and local grassroots associations to benefit individuals and communities living in often underdeveloped and impoverished areas.

These projects range from the refurbishment and construction of paved roads, canal and sewer clearance, irrigation and soil conservation work. Schools and heath centres have also been built as part of efforts to boost local employment, which is key to community stabilisation and social development.

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Since August 2008, the Haitian town of Les Cayes has benefited from many such projects, which include the refurbishment of irrigation canals, public drainage works, the rehabilitation of schools and the construction of a medical centre and public roads.

In Les Cayes, the beneficiaries are mostly HIV/AIDS carriers, according to IOM's Louis Chanel. The programmes are carried out in partnership with the Association de la Solidarité Nationale (ASON), Haiti's first AIDS community advocacy group, together with the mutual assistance group, the Association des Personnes Vivant avec le VIH (APVIH).

"Beneficiaries, receive medical support from the Immaculate Conception hospital in Les Cayes, and are employed at a daily rate of 200 to 250 gourdes", (USD 5 to 6) says Chanel.  To date, more than 2,600 people have gained employment through the USAID-US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme.

"This has allowed me to set up a small retail business," says Eugène Solange who has recently joined ASON. "I sell rice, oil, spaghettis and soap".

Luckner Brunal has also joined the community advocacy group ASON. With the money he received for his involvement in PEPFAR projects, he bought his family a piglet, which he intends to fatten up and sell. "This programme is a real life line for my family. It has allowed us to better feed and clothe our children."

The programme initially launched by IOM in Les Cayes to help HIV carriers has now spread to the neighbouring communes of Port-à-Piment and Coteaux. Programmes are carried out in partnership with the Haitian Movement for Rural Development, which is based in the capital Port-au-Prince. Thanks to these projects, a significant number of people affected by HIV/AIDS in these areas have found employment.

"The work is always carried out in a spirit of conviviality, sharing and happiness," says Louis Chanel. "This contrasts with the prevalent hostility and stigmatisation that HIV carriers usually have to put up with."

To counter prejudices against people with HIV, the advocacy group APVIH organizes regular awareness raising sessions among the general population.

Apart from infrastructure projects carried out by IOM and its partners in Les Cayes, a variety of projects were launched in February 2009 to encourage local food production with funding from PEPFAR. As a result, hundreds of HIV/AIDS affected persons directly benefited from this initiative.

USAID's Programme de Revitalisation et de Promotion de l'Entente et de la Paix (PREPEP) works with community-based groups in targeted, conflict-prone areas to identify small scale, high-impact projects designed to engage a wide cross-section of the community in its own stabilization and improvement. The programme aims to bridge the gap between the government and marginalized communities by creating opportunities for dialogue and collaboration around the rehabilitation of small infrastructure and socio-cultural activities, especially for young people.

The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme has also assisted NGOs, associations and organization in sub Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and in other parts of the world to combat HIV/AIDS.  Through PEPFAR, Haiti received USD 100 million in fiscal year 2008 to provide comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programmes. By implementing these projects, IOM not only contributes to community development and job creation but it also directly assists persons living with HIV, an important step in promoting more tolerance and understanding among the general population.