A car for Luckson François
Donation protected
For almost four years, Luckson François has been the data entry agent for Fonkoze’s program for the poorest Haitians. He commutes to his office in downtown Mirebalais from his home on the road towards Lascahobas and the Dominican Republic, to the east.
His path to the job was long and difficult. At 21, he passed Haiti’s national high school graduation exam, something only very few young Haitians are able to accomplish. He is his parents’ youngest child, and by then Luckson was already helping to support his family as a professional driver. Even as a teenager, he was driving dump trucks that carried sand and other construction materials. Eventually he found a steady job as a chauffer for an organization in the Port au Prince area.
Then disaster struck. Coming home from work one night, Luckson was robbed at gunpoint. The mugger shot him, one bullet paralyzing him permanently below the waist. In quick succession, he also lost his primary caretakers – an older sister and then his mother – whom he had previously been supporting with his wages.
He returned home to Flandé, in far eastern Mirebalais, and began teaching school. Luckson was wheelchair-bound, but was determined to earn his living. But his ill-fitting, poor-quality wheelchair made it harder and harder for him to sit straight. It led to back pain so severe that he had to give up teaching. He began spending most of his days lying in bed, waiting for occasional visits from friends.
In 2015, he joined Fonkoze’s extreme-poverty program as part of a pilot to determine whether the program could serve persons with disabilities. His hard work and determination brought him success. He acquired a new, better wheelchair, and began to get out of his house again. He learned to use a laptop and earned his current job through a competitive application process. In many ways, he has turned his life around.
But life with limited mobility is extremely challenging in Haiti. To get to work – or anywhere else – he must depend on the pick-up trucks that provide most public transportation. He waits for drivers willing to take the time to stop, help him into their truck, and lift his chair onto its roof. The principal alternatives, motorcycle taxis, are dangerous for someone who cannot use their legs. Getting anywhere except Mirebalais or Lascahobas is much more difficult because it requires Luckson to change trucks. His dream is to go to college, returning to the path to higher education that seemed forever lost to him when he was shot, but the complexities involved in travelling to and from a good school have proven too much so far.
Luckson could change his life if he had his own automobile. Thanks to a gift from a stranger, he already owns the device he would need to adapt one for hands-only operation. But saving up the money he would need to buy a car is more than he can hope to do with his small salary, especially considering the family members who depend on his support.
His path to the job was long and difficult. At 21, he passed Haiti’s national high school graduation exam, something only very few young Haitians are able to accomplish. He is his parents’ youngest child, and by then Luckson was already helping to support his family as a professional driver. Even as a teenager, he was driving dump trucks that carried sand and other construction materials. Eventually he found a steady job as a chauffer for an organization in the Port au Prince area.
Then disaster struck. Coming home from work one night, Luckson was robbed at gunpoint. The mugger shot him, one bullet paralyzing him permanently below the waist. In quick succession, he also lost his primary caretakers – an older sister and then his mother – whom he had previously been supporting with his wages.
He returned home to Flandé, in far eastern Mirebalais, and began teaching school. Luckson was wheelchair-bound, but was determined to earn his living. But his ill-fitting, poor-quality wheelchair made it harder and harder for him to sit straight. It led to back pain so severe that he had to give up teaching. He began spending most of his days lying in bed, waiting for occasional visits from friends.
In 2015, he joined Fonkoze’s extreme-poverty program as part of a pilot to determine whether the program could serve persons with disabilities. His hard work and determination brought him success. He acquired a new, better wheelchair, and began to get out of his house again. He learned to use a laptop and earned his current job through a competitive application process. In many ways, he has turned his life around.
But life with limited mobility is extremely challenging in Haiti. To get to work – or anywhere else – he must depend on the pick-up trucks that provide most public transportation. He waits for drivers willing to take the time to stop, help him into their truck, and lift his chair onto its roof. The principal alternatives, motorcycle taxis, are dangerous for someone who cannot use their legs. Getting anywhere except Mirebalais or Lascahobas is much more difficult because it requires Luckson to change trucks. His dream is to go to college, returning to the path to higher education that seemed forever lost to him when he was shot, but the complexities involved in travelling to and from a good school have proven too much so far.
Luckson could change his life if he had his own automobile. Thanks to a gift from a stranger, he already owns the device he would need to adapt one for hands-only operation. But saving up the money he would need to buy a car is more than he can hope to do with his small salary, especially considering the family members who depend on his support.
Organizer
Steven Werlin
Organizer
Stuart, FL
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