After Earthquake in Haiti, Crosby Organization Expands to Offering Disaster Relief

As Haiti feels the effects of a earthquake and a tropical storm in less than one week, one Minnesota foundation 2,300 miles away is working tirelessly to help people in need.

The Mothers Clubs of Haiti, a microfinance program for the poorest women in rural Haiti, started 31 years ago after founder and director Barb Grove accompanied a doctor on a trip to Haiti and wanted to help.

With about 59% of Haitians living on less than $2 per day, it’s more than likely a person born in Haiti will be subject to living in extreme poverty. When Grove asked how she can help, she found out many people were just asking for employment and an opportunity.

The foundation she created has been able to handout over 20,000 loans to Haitian women. But after the recent 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti, Grove, a former natural disaster worker, knew that she had to go to work.

She started by sending out letters to program donors, expressing Haiti’s need for help. Then, she turned to the workers on the ground.

“I have a wonderful, wonderful Haitian staff, and they have the experience of what to do when a giant hurricane comes through. They know what to do. And we go from being a microfinance program – small – into being a disaster relief agency because no one can get into the areas that we’re working,” said Grove.

As the Mothers Clubs of Haiti transitions from a loan organization to a disaster relief fund, Grove reflects on her first trip here. She ended our interview by saying any single person can make a difference to a world of people.