Life is difficult in Sassier, as it is everywhere in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Life expectancy is 55 years. There is almost no electricity, and there is no running water. Villagers walk for two hours to obtain water to drink, cook, and wash. Most inhabitants engage in subsistence agriculture, and are hampered by deforestation, erosion, poor soil, inadequate rainfall, difficulty of irrigation, mountainous terrain, and poor roads. Only a quarter of the land is arable. Hurricanes, flooding, and drought are frequent. Less than half the population is literate. Per capita annual incomes are less than $400. State institutions are weak. Economic growth is slow and erratic. Inflation, low investment, and trade and budget deficits pose persistent macroeconomic difficulties.

Against this backdrop, the citizens of Sassier identified education, health care, and community development as their most pressing needs, and began work on projects to address them.