Map Pim-Pey Ou Ayiti: The Haitian Diaspora Back-In-Haiti Podcast

We are speaking with Tarik Muhammad on this episode.  An African American, who grew up in the Nation of Islam household, he has made the transition to living and doing business in Haiti. He is our first non-Haitian on our Podcast and a testament that anyone who can find a niche and be successful in Haiti.  He's done it by building an enterprise that is internationally facing, and provide good well paying jobs for employees.  He has an exceptional story that requires much listen.

In this episode, Marc and I are chopping it up, discussing our specific experiences related to the lifestyle of Haiti from our experience.  On the docket: Driving by oneself, using a driver, gasoline pumps, home help, food, market vs grocery store, getting water, and a bunch of other things.  More open discussions like this on the podcast to come. Come on in and listen.

Originally from Haiti and Co-Founder/CEO of Anseye Pou Ayiti, Nedgine has experience in the non-profit sector with a particular focus on instructional excellence, youth empowerment, curriculum implementation, and leadership development. In addition to past roles as an education professional, she has conducted extensive research about the historical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors contributing to Haiti's education system. Nedgine earned a B.A. in History from Yale College and an Ed.M. in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She was named among the top global social innovators by Echoing Green in 2014, among the Forbes Magazine "30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs" in 2016, and among the inaugural Obama Foundation Fellowship in 2018 for her work leading Anseye Pou Ayiti.

Anseye Pou Ayiti (APA) is a movement to equip a new generation of Haitian civic leaders for educational justice in Haiti. APA equips its program participants and graduates – including teacher-leaders, students, parents, and school leaders – to transform classrooms and communities. Since 2015, 215 Haitian teacher-leaders have been recruited and reached more than 9,000 students across 84 partner schools – tripling community outcomes, including an 85% pass rates; encouraging collaborative community development projects; and equipping students, parents, and neighbors as civic leaders. The classroom is the unit of execution, and the community is the unit of change. APA is rooted in appreciating the assets of culture, customs, and community, and redefining leadership as being rooted in collective action.

It's with the most up most pleasure that we welcome to Jessica Laguerre to the podcast.  She will forever hold the distinction of being our first women guest. And given her important work of running a hospital in Artibonite that services over 350,000 Haitians.  We are very happy to have her provide her prospective on this 4th epsiode of our podcast.

Jessica Laguerre is the 6th child of a large family of 8, Jessica moved to Philadelphia in her early teenage years. With a vision and intent to return home and a passion for advocacy, Jessica remained closely connected to her country of birth by completing internships, research projects/thesis, on subject matters prevalent to Haiti’s development. 

Currently, based out of Deschapelles, Jessica is the Administrative Chief of Staff at Hôpital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) where she works as a strategic advisor to the CEO while providing day-to-day operational support for the success of the institution. 

Jessica comes to HAS with Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Sociology from California University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University. While pursuing her master degree at Case Western Reserve, Jessica was selected as a Leadership Fellow. As a fellow, she received two years of training emphasized on evidence-based practices and leadership development for social change. Upon completion of her master’s degree Jessica returned to Haiti in August of 2018. In many ways, Jessica views her return to Haiti as inevitable due to her passion, her connection to Haiti, and her already existing support system to facilitate such transition. 

When not in Deschapelles, Jessica spends her time visiting family in Port-au-Prince and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

www.hashaiti.org  to donate and support the development and medical efforts of Albert Schweitzer Hospital.

In country job boards discussed:

Jobpaw.com;

Idealist.org; Devex.org

Today we are having a chance with an original OG of the Haitian Diaspora who have returned to be physically in Haiti.  And his experience after moving fulltime to Haiti in 2016, he talks about the capacity to live the dual life in Haiti and America and the opportunities that exist in media in Haiti.

A bit more on Pascal.  Pascal Antoine is a media entrepreneur, video editor, producer, and voice-over actor. A graduate of  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was born in Paris, France and raised in Brooklyn New York by Haitian parents. After a life-changing trip to Haiti in January 2010, right after the devastating earthquake which crippled the country and took the lives of thousands, he founded HaitiXchange Digital Media (www.haitixchange.com) to concentrate on the production of various media and video projects. Today, Pascal spends most of his time between the U.S. and Haiti, following a lifelong desire to contribute to the Haiti’s advancement from the source itself. More of his work can be found at www.pascalantoine.com.

You're in-store to a great episode.

This episode we are being joined by Junior JB. He holds a degree in psychology and philosophy. Initially interested in primary and secondary education, and worked as a teacher for a few years before returning to Haiti. He took advantage of summers off to go back-and-forth between Haiti and the US, but soon realized summers were not enough as he wanted out of the so-called rat race. After challenges finding steady work in the local job market, and not keen on starting my own business,he started aggressively pursuing the idea of working remotely. Family is from PAP originally but he decided to relocate to Cap-Haitien for many reasons, mostly because it is the one other area of the country he had visited most often and where he felt most comfortable being long-term. He is actively pursuing initiatives at the local level in Haiti, but striking the right balance has proven challenging. He has joined us to discuss digital nomad and his experience with the transition to Haiti.

Many Haitian Americans are interested in moving back to Haiti.  Our account is to provide information on that experience, from A to Z from our specific relatable experiences.  There is a lot we wish we knew when we were looking to make the move back. The true aim of the show is to provide that resource.   And to provide insight for young Haitian nationals here who are also intrigued by the return of the diaspora. This episode is about an introduction about us the hosts, me SeeJeanty and Marc Antoine and a discussion on our past and what's next.

A quick walk-through on what this show is about. Come take a quick listen.