(updated 7/7/2010)
In June Marion and I paid a quick visit to my friend and colleague, Pius, in Port au Prince.
Time for some zzzzzz's in Miami...
A stroller donated by a Burlington VT business (I dont know the name) to Polly Menendez was checked-thru to PAP.
Polly worked with a Vermont medical response team and identified a girl with special needs who needed the stroller.
The stroller in its box is just below the wing.
Thanks to neighbor Kim Schmitt, who also worked with the VT medical team for setting this up!
Read about the VT Medical Response Team
Looking for a reliable organization that is coordinating its work and is there for the long haul?
Stick with the experienced ones.
Among many fine groups are these:
The International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Partners in Health
Rreliable country information is found on the UN ReliefWeb site.
"The quake left an astonishing amount of debris, including concrete and
rebar from collapsed buildings, destroyed belongings and human remains.
Twenty million to 25 million cubic yards of debris fill the streets,
yards, sidewalks and canals of Port-au-Prince .... According to our
research and conversations with aid groups in Haiti, less than 5 percent
of this has been removed since January, and even less has been properly
disposed...."
Georgia Institute of Technology, Op-Ed Contributors
Haiti’s Eternal Weight - NYTimes.com
7/7/2010
Above: Hermann, Jessica, Ted
Herrmann is Jessica's colleague at the Global Volunteer Network. See below.
About the stroller.... we were unable to reach the child's village as there were supposedly farm demonstrations en route, blocking the roads.
As luck would have it, I had been introduced to Jessica via my sister Margy.
Jessica has recently been hired by the New Zealand based 'Global Volunteer Network' as a project manager.
She took the stroller to an orphanage she helps to manage and it is now in good use.
This is Jessica's blog:
http://jess-in-jacmel.blogspot.com/
Another photo of the stroller is on Jessica's blog, here:
http://jess-in-jacmel.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html
Below, various views of Port au Prince.
The tent cities for internally displaced are now wet and miserable. Rubble lines many streets.
Ministry building are ruined and the presidential palace has not been touched.
Despite major international aid, thousands of aid workers including engineers, and total foreign-debt forgiveness, many parts of PAP are in ruins.
Our tour was brief, and in many cases we did not even get out of the van when in the downtown area.
This was my 4th trip to Haiti. Conditions have deteriorated significantly since my first visit in 1976, and my last trip to conduct refugee interviews, in 1993.
A rare sight: heavy earth-mover at work clearing a commercial street.
This building was featured in almost every news report from PAP soon after January 12th.
The Haitian Ministry of the Economy and Finance.
Haitian government offices behind the Palace
There is a major international aid presence, which has increased since the earthquake. Coordination, even of just the evaluations, are a major issue as of 6/2010.
We visited Ms. Gina Duncan, who with her family run the Fondation Enfant Jesus.
This remarkable children's home and orphanage is well managed, based in the local economy and most importantly, a legitimate undertaking.
It is located in Lamardelle, a small village community with a population of about 20,000 near the town of Ganthier, close to the Dominican Republic border.
Our transport, courtesy of Pius
Reception at the center.
An actual "poverty tour!"
Church groups plough their way through Port au Prince, then open their pockets, and those of others in their congregation to fund god knows what.
No doubt some good work comes from these efforts. No doubt, much is bilked, sunk into irrelevant and badly coordinated or 'feel good' efforts that will outright fail, or cease in a year when donors get bored and forget all about Haiti, just like they have for the Tsunami, Pakistan earthquake, Katrina, Niger, China floods, Sudan, Honduras, etc....
Looking for a reliable organization to donate to Haiti? Stick with the experienced organizations that will be there 5 years from now.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Partners in Health
At the Sugar Cane museum
This bizarre Domino's is located next-door to the US Embassy and UN compound. Brilliant!
In the background, note the tarps of a tent city.
Our host assured us of some fine dining.
Read about Pius here.
2010 Finalist—Citizen Services Medal
This award will recognize a federal employee for a significant contribution to the nation in activities related to social services.
Achievement: Expedited the immigration process to quickly unite more than 1,100 Haitian orphans with their adoptive families in the United States following the devastating earthquake in January 2010.
Pius and Michelle, and Marion.
Beyond tasty, this meal will never be forgotten
'Little-Miami' embassy residential area in PAP, briefly, our home
Art is part of any trip to Haiti. It was great to purchase a few items. Some of the photos below are from the collection of my host.
