Christy Turlington Burns reports on her visit to Haiti

The model and activist pens a 5 part series in the Huffington Post.

Model, entrepreneur, and activist Christy Turlington Burns recently blogged about her recent visit to PIH's partner organization in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante (ZL). In a series of five articles published by the Huffington Post, she and Every Mother Counts Executive Director Erin Thornton examined different aspects of PIH and ZL's work. Below is an excerpt of part three of the series, “Give a Wo(man) a Fish... Or a Farm... Or Both.” 

According to a well-known Chinese proverb, we are told: "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." 

While this expression is arguably used too often within the developmental world and humanitarian aid communities, Zanmi Lasante, a sister organization to Partners in Health, has given this phrase a new meaning; one that will provide post-earthquake Haiti with self-reliant foundations for their future health and survival.

PIH has placed an emphasis on fostering a sustainable and self-sufficient system of food production in order to better treat ongoing issues of poor nutrition, as well as to further the progress of economic empowerment.

In other words, PIH isn't just teaching fishing to the Haitian people, they are bringing in tools and equipment, and are cultivating new grounds for lasting success. Even a seemingly modest operation, such as then new Lacheteau Fish farm, could be a real game-changer in a region where malnutrition is abundant and sources of protein are few and far between.

Here the goal is not only to increase food for local farmers themselves, but also to encourage those farmers to sell their fish to local clinics to both feed patients and to stimulate sales on the local market. More proceeds will also help those farmers to better feed their families and yield a higher quality of health overall.

Read “Give a Wo(man) a Fish... Or a Farm... Or Both” in its entirety, and check out the rest of the series:
Part 1: "All People Are People (Tout Moun Se Moun)"
Part 2: "Every Mother Is a Mother (Chak Manman Se Yon Manman)"
Part 4: "Effective Service Delivery: Accompaniment"
Part 5: "The Future for Haiti: Building Back Better" 

Photos of Zanmi Lasante's work to fight malnutrition and help local families produce food to feed and support their families: