Port-au-Prince — Writer Odette Roy Fombrun died Dec. 23 at her residence, officials of the foundation bearing her name announced via Facebook. She was 105.
Known for proposing ‘konbitisme’ as a way to rebuild Haiti, the writer, educator and youth advocate sought to improve Haiti’s education system and her ideas helped shape several generations of Haitians.
“This is a great loss for the Haitian intelligentsia and in particular for the education sector and civil society,” said Joël Lorquet, founder and advisor of the Lorquet Foundation for a New Haiti, which collaborated with Fombrun. “She was a great voice of Haitian conscience and had made the promotion of Konbitisme her hobby.”
“Unfortunately, she left without seeing the birth of the new Haiti she had dreamed of so much,” Lorquet said.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry said via Twitter that she was an eminent intellectual figure, “a rare model, in terms of patriotism and probity.”
Information available on her foundation’s site and other public sources summarize Fombrun’s work as an advocate for a better Haiti through activism in a variety of fields, from education to wealth creation.
Born in Port-au-Prince-Haiti on June 13, 1917, Fombrun graduated in 1935 from the prestigious École Normale d’Institutrices and studied nursing in the United States. During her youth under the Duvalierist regime, Fombrun was very active in the country’s political life, which led to her going into exile for 27 years.
At a conference in Washington, D.C. in September 1986, Fombrun delivered a presentation titled ‘Is democracy possible in Haiti?’ Many of the ideas and recommendations of that session were later incorporated into the Haitian Constitution of 1987.
In March 1986, Odette published her treatise on “Konbitisme”, a political manifesto based on a Haitian custom of cooperation in the sharing of activities, named after the Haitian konbit style of mutual work common in agriculture. In ‘Solutions for Haiti, Konbit Solidarité Nationale,’ she clarifies the options of Konbitisme and explains the need for a nationwide project to create wealth to fight poverty.
When Fombrun returned to Haiti, her work focused on democratic reforms, particularly in the education and youth sector, as signified by her opening a kindergarten in Haiti.
Acclaimed author, collaborator, leader
A prolific author, she has written dozens of curricular and extracurricular books, which are designed to foster in young people an interest in history, geography, morality and civics, among others.
As a collaborator of the Lorquet Foundation, Fombrun was one of the 30 authors who contributed last year to the publication of the work on solving Haiti’s crises titled: ‘Haitian intellectuals propose ways to resolve the socio-political crisis.’
In 2007, Fombrun and her five children created the Odette Roy Fombrun Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Petion-Ville that focuses on education and developing Haiti and its citizens through Konbitism, civic education and heritage.
Recognition for her work is numerous, from both inside and outside Haiti. Awards include: the certificate of Civic Merit by the Ministry of Youth and Civic Action, the Rochepe Prize, Excellence Prize for the Collaboration and Mutual Aid, the rank of Knight awarded by the President of Haiti
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