Community Development

Supporting projects that improve quality of life through education, healthcare, economic development, and community partnerships.

About This Program Area

Who We Build For

Community development is the quietest and most durable form of change. Unlike a headline, a park doesn’t fade. Unlike a campaign, a women’s centre compounds over decades. Sons and Daughters of Haiti (SNDhaiti)’s Community Development & Humanitarian Support program funds the physical and social infrastructure that sustains Haitian life — the things communities need long after the donors and cameras have moved on.

Our work spans urban planning, tourism infrastructure, women’s wellness, and emergency humanitarian response. We work directly with local leaders, architects, and community members — because the people who live somewhere know best what it needs. Sons and Daughters of Haiti (SNDhaiti) brings resources, networks, and sustained commitment. Communities bring knowledge, labour, and ownership.

From the boardwalks of Haiti’s coastline to diaspora community hubs in Miami and New York, we are building the spaces where Haitian life can unfold with dignity.

What We're Working Toward

Objectives

Support local initiatives

Develop parks, community centres, boardwalks, and public gathering spaces that serve Haitian communities for generations.

Empower communities

Establish dedicated wellness centres and programmes that support Haitian women's health, safety, and economic participation.

Encourage sustainable development

Develop tourism infrastructure — resorts, trails, heritage sites — that benefits local economies rather than bypassing them.

Humanitarian Crisis Response

Mobilise rapid-response resources for communities affected by natural disasters, political instability, and public health crises.

Support Local Leadership

Fund and amplify community-led initiatives, ensuring that development decisions are made by the people who live with them.

Long-Term Presence

Maintain active, multi-year commitments to each community we work with — not one-off projects but sustained partnerships.

Current Initiatives

Projects in This Area

Haiti Park / Women’s Center / Boardwalk Initiative

This initiative is a large-scale community development project based in Haiti. It focuses on building inclusive public spaces that support both social and economic progress....

Palmis Beach Resort & Spa

Palmis Beach Resort & Spa is a hospitality and tourism project located in Haiti. It promotes a high-end beachside experience focused on relaxation, comfort, and...

Measuring What Matters

Impact Goals

Improve access to resources

Land identified, community consultations completed, and architectural planning underway with local firms in partnership with resident leaders.

Strengthen local organizations

Infrastructure surveys complete. Financing secured at 60%. Local construction crews contracted and community hiring targets set at 80% Haitian labour.

Promote long-term impact

Programming framework designed. Staffing plan in place. Facility construction to begin once park groundbreaking is complete.

Generate 200 permanent local jobs through tourism development

Target for direct employment at Palmis Beach Resort & Spa across hospitality, maintenance, programming, and management roles — all prioritising local Haitian hiring.

Complete boardwalk and public park for community use

Open access, free-to-use coastal boardwalk and public park — a permanent community asset owned and maintained by a local trust, not Sons and Daughters of Haiti (SNDhaiti).

Establish a community-owned development fund with $500K endowment

A self-sustaining fund seeded by Sons and Daughters of Haiti (SNDhaiti) but governed entirely by local community members — so development continues with or without external donors.