Abstract
The rhetoric of development is a dominant driving factor for intervention into the Republic of Haiti. Millions are pumped into the small black republic located in the Caribbean for development projects motivated by health, HIV/AIDS awareness, religion, and sanitation just to name a few. Yet, despite the innumerable efforts of nongovernmental organizations and donor organizations in Haiti, the country is sinking deeper and deeper into desperate conditions. The motivation for this thesis is to examine the accountability that these organizations operating in Haiti have towards the Haitian peoples who are the targeted beneficiaries. Are they involved in the development process aside from being the receivers of assistance? Development projects designed and implemented without the input of the targeted communities have relatively short-lived progress and experience failure. Accountability to the constituents necessitates involving and engaging their values and community needs. The Lambi Fund is a nongovernmental organization that attributes its success to its alternative "bottom-up" model of development. Local organizations in Haiti solicit funding, training, and guidance from the Lambi Fund with project proposals and community needs in hand. This model appears to have an impressive degree of accountability to the grassroots organizations that it serves. I analyze and assess the viability and success of this model in the context of the history and current trends of development in Haiti and elsewhere by examining both the Lambi Fund's own claims about its programs (in print and in interviews with its principal officers) and a recent evaluation made of its programs by a third party organization. A recommendation for further research is enclosed in the conclusion.