One of the most urgent problems facing Haiti is the rising price of goods, exacerbated by a shortage of cash in the country. National banks have been slow to open, and even slower to make significant sums of cash available to other financial institutions in the country. One of my Haitian friends wrote on Saturday: “Thanks to God I am still alive but I have a lot of friend died [sic]. My house broke down and I am sleeping around the street with no money to buy food I do my best to stay alive.”

In a broken city, Fonkoze stands. The largest microfinance institution in Haiti, Fonkoze serves over 200,000 people with credit, savings, money transfer, and adult education. Of these services, Haitians and their families living abroad have been most concerned with money transfer. Food, water, and other essentials are for sale in Port-au-Prince—the question is how to get cash to buy these goods. Fonkoze has answered, opening 34 out of 40 branches throughout the country last week, paying out cash transfers and reporting that customers can use any of three services—Moneygram, Unitransfer, or CAM.