Staff Spotlight: Leconte Joseph

This month we spoke to Leconte Joseph, a Messenger for the team developing PMC-Haiti’s show Zoukoutap 3 (“To Limp”), about the strong connections between our Haitian staff members, and the excitement audience members have for each new show in the Zoukoutap series.

What is your name, position, and how long have you worked for PMC?

My name is Leconte Joseph. I work as a Messenger at Village Santé, the marketing partner that represents PMC in Haiti. I started working with PMC’s Haitian resident representative, Christina Guérin in 2005.

I was there in 2013 when the team launched the first season of Zoukoutap. It was a landmark experience in my professional life. The second and third seasons of Zoukoutap, launched respectively in 2015 and 2018, brought me as much joy, because beyond my professional function, Zoukoutap teaches me many things.

My job consists first of all in delivering documents and parcels of all kinds for the office, and then in carrying out other tasks more or less related to my position or depending on the emergencies that the office has to respond to.

What is your favorite thing about working at Village Santé?

My favorite activity was during the first two seasons of Zoukoutap where we worked as a team, sometimes late at night, to burn the episodes on CDs. I was in charge of the deliveries — I had to send them to radio stations all over the country. Every time I did it, I thought about the people who were looking forward to the episodes, the awareness messages that were meant for them, and the joy that these episodes would bring to families, to whole communities. It was really a beautiful activity. I did it with joy and a sense of being useful to my community, to my country.

What is one memorable story from your time at PMC?

For the launch of the second season of Zoukoutap, we had a big launch party at a hotel called Hotel Montana. There were representatives of PMC who were present. It was an exceptional party. The conviviality, the joy, the feeling that we are a team, and the sharing that reigned there marked me forever. It was one of the most memorable moments in my work with PMC.

What is one of the biggest challenges of your job?

One of the biggest challenges in my job is the socio-political turmoil in Haiti, especially the last two years known as “Lock Country.” Sometimes I have to walk the streets, but there are demonstrations, burning tires, and armed clashes between demonstrators and police, which cause many casualties.

Why did you decide to work for PMC?

I was already working at Village Santé long before I joined PMC. So I can say that the arrival of PMC, with the radio drama Zoukoutap to be precise, brought a lot of changes in my life. It is a drama that promotes positive values that change mentalities. Zoukoutap’s messages have had a great impact on my life and that of my family. It is an honor to have worked on the first three seasons of Zoukoutap.

Tell us a little about your childhood, family, or favorite things to do outside of Village Santé and PMC.

I spent my childhood in the countryside. As is the custom in the countryside, every morning before going to school, I had to take care of the animals first, make them eat and drink in the savannah, and go to the garden with the adults. In the afternoons, after school, I had to pick up the animals to bring them home. Another thing that marked my childhood was swimming naked in the rivers with my friends.

Outside of work, I take care of my children, bring them to school and bring them home afterwards. I like to spend time with my children and my wife.

Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your work?

If there is something else I would like to share, it is about waiting for the next season of Zoukoutap. After the broadcast of each season of Zoukoutap, there is a great expectation of Zoukoutap, because this drama has become so ingrained in people’s lives and practices that they become frustrated by the wait. Being on the team, every day people in my neighborhood ask me when the next season will be.