Bernadette, a PMS beneficiary in Haiti
In Haiti, small traders are often over-indebted to loan sharks who have offered them loans at exorbitant rates. This is the case of Bernadette who testifies in this video. Thanks to PMS, Entrepreneurs du Monde’s social microfinance programme in Haiti, Bernadette was able to repay her debts and re-launch her income-generating activity. Thank you Bernadette for this statement!
“I have a small restaurant where I sell corn and rice. During the evening I prepare a barbecue and I cook some banana.
I have two loans with Palmis. Palmis helped me to improve my activity, to pay school to my children and to support my needs. And I repay my loans. Palmis helped me to be productive in my business. Before meeting Palmis I had many debts with the moneylenders.
I talk to you about the system of the loansharks in Haiti: they give loans to small traders. But these loans have very high rates and the traders cannot always repay their loans. The moneylenders then use their “strengths” to put pressure on the small traders to force them to repay their loans. Sometimes they have to deal with punches. These loans make the traders poorer because they cannot repay them.
Palmis tries to resolve this problem by giving them loans and by training them to avoid taking this kind of loan.
I thank you and I pray God for you and that you can keep on helping us in our activities because in Haiti there are very few financing for people with little resources. I thank you a thousand times for this. “
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