Haiti News

Transitional housing slowly getting built in Haiti

2010-05-01T12:32:00.000-04:00

Transitional housing now rises on the foundations of cinderblock homes pulverized by the Jan. 12 quake, framed in pressure-treated yellow pine, roofed in rustproof paint-coated galvanized steel and anchored in newly poured concrete.

The Dutch relief group, Cordaid, expects to finish 150 of the dwellings with sturdy tarpaulin walls by next week in this village overlooking a mango-lined lagoon. They are among the first of more than 130,000 semi-permanent shelters that international relief groups hope to put up in the earthquake zone in coming months. Link

New Roads In Haiti

2010-04-27T23:41:00.001-04:00

This is the expressway connecting Port-au-Prince to Mirebalais. It was funded by the European Union. Below find the pic of the EU commissioner Andris Pielbags and Haiti's Tranport Minister Jacques Gabriel at the inauguration Saturday April 24, 2020.

Relocating Haiti Earthquake Victims

2010-04-11T05:19:00.001-04:00

Relief organizations on Saturday began to move Haitians from tent camps that are in danger of flooding to new camps on the perimeter of the city, part of a larger plan to decentralize the population after January's devastating earthquake.

After a heavy rain the night before, buses carried 62 people from a bedraggled camp on a defunct golf course to a barren field 10 miles northwest of the city.
Aid workers helped Romaine Vincent Donal, 44, load her belongings in wheelbarrows. People cheered her on as she was first up a hill to the buses. She said she couldn't wait to leave, though she didn't know where she was going. Link

Demolition of Haiti National Palace

2010-04-09T19:08:00.001-04:00

Private hospital closes its door in Haiti

2010-04-02T20:52:00.000-04:00

There are heroes everywhere.

2010-04-02T10:43:00.003-04:00

Joseph Campbell put together a well known book named: "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." In it he examines the path of heroes in mythology and how they are all very much the same, and the same as they are likened to the lives of the people that applied themselves to myths throughout history. Heroes all have mentors; a wise man or woman that helps them along with their journey. One we all remember is Star Wars, where Skywalker is identified as the chosen one to challenge the eminent Force. What was the name of Skywalkers mentor? In cultures all over the world, and for centuries, where myth has been applied, many people have taken the path of Skywalker and for real in their minds. And actually things have been very healthy for them and the cultures they live in, thanks to the many mentors and guides who were positioned to serve the people. But what has happened to them? What has happened to these mentors?

The world has grown bigger in a way. Well organized living styles have been shattered, dependent on cultural living styles that have a world they are familiar with, and many important pieces have been lost. What do we have now? Campbell reflects as he realizes the first landing on the moon by Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969; things have graduated to a broader fabric for culture where for heroes and people with good ideas, we need to look at things differently to find our guidelines. He describes more in terms of ourselves today the ideas can be managed for a progression with maturing; that was in 1969.

Now in 2010 we have the Internet; it is much easier to take something like your good ideas and get feedback! If Campbell was right in 1969, well, today is the day to evaluate it, and especially like in places where we have a large need for heroes. The New Haiti Project thought it would be good to give things a try together with a number of people, where the number is growing rapidly now. It seems to have been a good idea, at this time, where the Internet with the new tools available, that are free, and are easy to get at, can be massaged by the hands and minds of many people at one time: heroes.

Foreign donors pledge more than $4.8 billion

2010-03-31T19:58:00.000-04:00

Pledging to work in partnership with a Haitian-led reconstruction effort, foreign aid donors Wednesday promised more than $4.8 billion toward rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged country.
Heading the line of pledges at the start of the much-anticipated Donors Conference was the United States with $1.15 billion of the $2.8 billion the Obama administration is seeking from Congress to help jump-start the country's recovery over the next 18 months. Link

A Plan to Spur Growth Away From Haiti’s Capital

2010-03-31T19:27:00.000-04:00

Prepared by a group of urban planners from the Haitian government agency responsible for the country’s development, the plan is built around a bold central idea: to redistribute large parts of the population of Port-au-Prince to smaller Haitian cities, many of them at a safe distance from areas most vulnerable to natural disaster. In the process the plan would completely transform Haiti from a country dominated by a single metropolis to what the planners call a network of smaller urban “growth poles.” Link

Haiti Signs Public Health With Cuba & Brazil

2010-03-31T19:01:00.000-04:00

Haitian President Rene Preval has high hopes about the future of public health in Haiti after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cuba and Brazil.

Preval signed the document shortly after Health Ministers Jose Ramon Balaguer (Cuba), Alex Larsen (Haiti) and Jose Gomes (Brazil) did the same and expressed his confidence on the possibilities the MOU. Link

Sheatshops frofiting from proverty in Haiti

2010-03-25T07:24:00.000-04:00

Right Place, Right Time

2010-03-21T23:05:00.001-04:00

``Santé started up just a month and a half before the earthquake,'' said Artie Gold, shipping director of Food for the Poor, an international relief and development charity. ``They were in the right place at the right time.

``Ships going to Cap Haitien [after the earthquake] were limited, and Santé was in a position to take our cargo. We work with several lines but we had so much cargo coming in, and there weren't that many avenues to get it into Haiti. Basically, we were feeding Haiti through Cap Haitien.'' Link

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcmiami.com/video.

Haiti Reconstruction & Frustration

2010-03-20T17:41:00.000-04:00

Cancelling Haiti's Debt

2010-03-19T20:55:00.000-04:00

The Obama administration says it is near an agreement with other nations to cancel the $447 million that Haiti owes to the Inter-American Development Bank.
Treasury Department officials said Thursday that a deal would likely be struck this weekend to cancel Haiti's debt to the bank, which serves as a major source of development loans for Latin America and the Caribbean. Link

Reconstruction Of Haitian Air Transport System

2010-03-17T15:23:00.000-04:00

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will be involved in the coordination of the reconstruction of the civil aviation infrastructure of Haiti, seriously damaged by the earthquake of 12 January 2010.

The announcement was made following a three-day mission to Haiti by ICAO experts to assess the extent of damage caused by the earthquake to the international airport in Port-au-Prince and to air navigation services facilities. Link

Project will redo private port

2010-03-17T02:35:00.000-04:00

Haiti's WIN Group and Miami-based Santé Holding Corp. on Tuesday announced a $70 million project to redevelop Terminal Varreux, Haiti's largest privately-owned shipping terminal and port facility.
This initiative, the largest private sector investment made public in Haiti since January's earthquake, will support relief efforts and lay the foundation for the modernization of the country's shipping industry, said Youri Mevs, managing partner of the WIN Group, a family-owned conglomerate. Link

Haiti's President with Sec Hillary Clinton

2010-03-09T23:38:00.000-05:00

Crowley lands Haiti shipping contract

2010-03-08T21:29:00.000-05:00

Crowley Liner Services Inc. has received a contract worth up to $22 million from the U.S. military to provide emergency port services in Haiti.

The Jacksonville-based shipping company will repair Port-au-Prince’s piers and beaches, provide warehousing, cargo consolidation, and transport cargo, according to the U.S. Transportation Command contract. The contract runs until April 15. Link

Haitian-American firm lands Haiti cleanup contract

2010-03-04T10:29:00.001-05:00

The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded a $3.5 million contract to PHS Group, a Silver Spring, Md., engineering firm, for cleanup work in Haiti, the first earthquake-related contract to go to a Haitian American. Link

Global Aid Is No Relief for Small Haitian Businesses

2010-03-02T20:57:00.000-05:00

Alex Zamor's drinking-water factory is operating again at near full capacity after suffering damage from the earthquake. But he still hasn't rehired 200 employees at the factory because sales are so weak. He blames free water handed out by the relief effort.

"Of course we welcome the relief, but nobody wants to buy water if there's free water on the streets," he says. Mr. Zamor says international relief agencies should be sourcing more of their products for the relief effort from Haiti itself. "We should be helping Haitian companies instead of companies in Florida," he says. Link

Rebuilding Haiti, one project at a time

2010-03-02T16:34:00.000-05:00

Mulet (UN chief in Haiti) and others are telling all the actors engaged here to adopt just one project, or focus on one region and set clear goals and benchmarks.

France, for instance, has already promised to rebuild Haiti's government buildings, one of a dozen or so other areas where they want to be involved. Mulet is telling the French to instead commit to rebuilding central Port-au-Prince and nothing else. Canada will be asked to only focus on Leogane, a smaller city that was 95 percent destroyed. The Latin American states are being told to zero in on Jacmel, a historic city founded in 1698.

The Inter-American Development Bank has promised for decades to repair the country's abysmal road network; the bank is now being asked to make good on that promise and build at least 500 kilometers of new highways.

Haiti has no civil birth or registry system in place, so the United Nations wants the OAS to assemble one, using the data it gathered in organizing voter registrations. Haiti's land title and registry system is in shambles, something the European Union has been asked to fix. Other groups will be told to focus just on reforestation, agriculture and even coastal restorations to boost the nation's potential as a tourist destination. Link

Launch of the reconstruction phase in Haiti

2010-03-02T15:30:00.000-05:00

EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs announced today the release of €100 millions to support recovery activities in Haiti. This amount will be used for the reconstruction of government buildings and key state infrastructures, budget support to help the government maintain essential expenditures such as the payment of salaries, rebuilding of schools and strengthening of the education system, consolidation of the main road around Port-au-Prince, enhancement of civil protection capabilities and technical assistance. These priority needs have been agreed together with the Haitian government. This first envelope will be disbursed from now until May. Link

Effort to end Haiti debt-relief cycle

2010-03-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

Haiti had $677 million in multilateral debt in 2009. This does not include the recent addition of a $102 million loan from the IMF after the earthquake. Interest rates on outstanding loans from the IMF are zero until 2012, but without debt relief Haiti will spend 2.8 percent of government revenue on IMF obligations by 2014, according to the IMF. Link

8.8-Magnitude Quake Hits Chile

2010-02-27T03:05:00.002-05:00

A massive magnitude- 8.8- earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile, early on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital of Santiago.
A tsunami warning was issued for Chile and Peru by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and a tsunami watch was issued for Ecuador. Link

IFC invests in Eurasian Minerals to support Haiti create jobs

2010-02-26T19:07:00.000-05:00

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest 5.3 million Canadian dollars in Eurasian Minerals Inc to support the company’s gold and copper exploration in Haiti and its other exploration work around the world. This investment reaffirms IFC’s commitment to social and economic growth in Haiti. It also comes at a critical time for supporting the country’s recovery through private sector participation. Link

US rice doesn't help struggling Haitian farmers

2010-02-26T17:50:00.000-05:00

Haiti's rice farmers are dismayed. It's nearly harvest time in this fertile valley where the bulk of Haiti's food is grown, and they're competing once again with cheap U.S. imported rice. Link

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund Grant Recipients Allocations

2010-02-26T16:01:00.002-05:00

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund has raised $31 million from over 200,000 individuals, and in the month after the disaster has allocated $4 million to the following organizations on the ground in Haiti providing relief, recovery, and rebuilding assistance (partial listing): Link

Jumping the Falls at Bassin Bleu

2010-02-25T22:54:00.002-05:00

Video courtesy of "iamhaack"

Haiti Reconstruction Links 02-25-10

2010-02-25T22:27:00.000-05:00

IOM is supporting the Haitian government in a new surge to register people displaced by the earthquake and to identify their home areas.

The registration is part of a broader strategy to address the issue of congested temporary settlements throughout Port-au-Prince. The objective is to enable as many people as possible to return to their places of origin. Link

Villagers are near the breaking point as they try to accommodate tens of thousands of displaced city dwellers just when they would be putting their precious resources into preparing for planting. In desperation, some have resorted to eating their meager seed stocks or killing their chickens and goats to feed the influx, rather than keeping them to sell. Link

Clutching automatic assault rifles, truckloads of U.N. troops patrolled the streets of Haiti's shattered capital on the day after the earthquake hit last month, seemingly oblivious to the misery around them. Link

As Haitian farmers struggle to prepare for the March spring planting season, rebuilding the agricultural sector in the impoverished, earthquake-devastated country will need a broad range of support from other countries, with funding being key. Link

InnoVida donated 1000 homes to Haiti

2010-02-24T19:10:00.000-05:00

InnoVida is committed to the Haiti Relief Effort. With our donation of 1,000 homes and the installation of a local FCP manufacturing facility we hope to provide jobs as well as housing to thousands of Haitians with the greater hope of assisting in the full development, rebuilding and modernization of the country. Link

Preval also brought 50,000 tents from China for 5 millions US dollars Link

Haiti Reconstruction Links 02-23-10

2010-02-23T09:03:00.000-05:00

The wave of immigration that some expected in the aftermath of the earthquake has not materialized, there have been recent reports of the interception of Haitians trying to make the dangerous journey to the US or the Bahamas. If the new contract for GEO Group is to bolster their facilities at Guantanamo, it makes explicit the US' plan for using Guantanamo to handle increased immigration; however given the group's checkered past, this should be an immediate cause for concern. If the contract is not simply to bolster their facilities, or if Guantanamo is not being used to house Haitians intercepted at sea, it raises the question of what, exactly, the $260,589 contract is for. Link

Haiti Focus: Port-Au-Prince

2010-02-22T14:19:00.000-05:00

Haiti Focus: City of Jacmel

2010-02-22T13:42:00.002-05:00

Exploring Emerging Gold & Base Metal Districts in Haiti

2010-02-22T10:38:00.001-05:00

Focused on EXPLORING EMERGING GOLD & BASE METAL DISTRICTS in haiti

Majescor is a junior explorer focusing on emerging mineral districts. Recently, Majescor signed an agreement with SIMACT Alliance Copper Gold Inc. ("SAGC") and its principal shareholders and has acquired a 10% interest in SACG, as well an option to acquire the remaining 90% interest in the SOMINE copper-gold property in north-east Haiti. Link

Majescor and SACG discover a new copper-gold showing and outline a distinct 650 m-long by 300 m-wide copper-bearing zone on the SOMINE property, Haiti. Link
SImACT is currently engaged in several exciting new initiatives in the areas of tourism, mining, and financial services that are based upon the platform of development and success that the company has experienced to date. Link

Haiti Reconstruction Links 02-20-10

2010-02-20T21:12:00.001-05:00

The U.S. Agency for International Development has given two assignments for Haiti-related work to two beltway firms involved in international development: Washington, D.C.-based Chemonics International and Bethesda, Md.-based Development Alternatives Inc. Link

“At a time when Haiti is facing a major food crisis we are alarmed at the lack of support to the agricultural component of the Flash Appeal,” UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf told a high-level meeting in Rome to coordinate UN efforts for the medium- and long-term recovery of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Link

Medical clinics and daycares in Haiti will soon be housed in earthquake-resistant and hurricane-resistant shelters designed in Ottawa and made in Windsor, Ont. Link

Haiti Reconstruction: The role of the garment industry in the new Haiti

2010-02-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

Haiti Reconstruction Links 02-15-10

2010-02-15T07:48:00.000-05:00

American Airlines will begin flying to Port-au-Prince on February 19, with Air Canada and Air France to follow shortly after, Brigadier General Darryl Burke, vice commander of Air Forces Southern, said in an interview over the weekend. Link

Haiti's government is banning a commonly used sand from structural construction in an attempt to improve building safety. Link

The biggest U.S. military surge since Iraq and Afghanistan is scaling back a month after the troops arrived in haste to aid victims of Haiti's catastrophic quake. Link

A United Nations tally showed aid groups had distributed some 20,000 mats to Haiti earthquake survivors on a recent day -- but more than 35 times as many sat in a warehouse. Link

Jorge Puello Lawyer of Idaho's 10 investigated for human trafficking in Haiti

2010-02-14T03:55:00.003-05:00

You can't make this stuff up!

INTERPOL has issued an international wanted persons Red Notice for a Salvadoran national accused of running an international sex trafficking ring that lured women and girls from the Caribbean and Central America into prostitution with bogus offers of modeling jobs. Link

The man providing legal advice to American church workers charged with trying to take children out of Haiti did jail time in the United States for bank fraud years before emerging as the key suspect in a child prostitution ring in El Salvador, according records and interviews. Link

While investigators in at least four countries are looking into the past of Jorge Puello, church leaders, families and lawyers of the detained Baptists say they didn’t know him until he contacted the church to offer his services after the arrests. Link

Haiti Reconstruction Links 02-12-10

2010-02-12T20:07:00.000-05:00

Now that the post-quake emergency has settled into dismal routine, the unresolved question of how to clear staggering amounts of debris has emerged as a major logistical obstacle to reconstruction, as experts begin to confront a task they say will be neither simple nor quick. Link

World Food Program Haiti Factsheet Link

Haiti Reconstruction Links 02-11-10

2010-02-11T12:42:00.000-05:00

EU to mount military operation to bring shelter to Haiti before the rainy seasons starts. Link

Haiti will decentralize power and facilities in reconstruction to reduce damage in disasters such as the Jan. 12 earthquake, Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive said Tuesday. Link

The Haitian judge deciding whether 10 U.S. missionaries should face trial on charges of trying to take a busload of children out of the country said Thursday he will recommend that they be released. Link

Vietnam's largest cellular network operator by subscribers, Viettel, has said that it remains committed to its planned investments in Haiti, despite the catastrophic damage suffered by the Caribbean country in the earthquake of last month. Link

Haiti Reconstruction Links 02-08-10

2010-02-09T07:58:00.001-05:00

Haitian President René Préval has left Port-au-Prince yesterday evening to Quito (Ecuador), where he must now attend a special summit of South American countries to coordinate regional aid for Haiti. Link

Brazil has donated US$ 400,000 to finance one of three UNESCO projects to rebuild Haiti’s devastated education system. The donation will fund training for teachers in psycho-social support and disaster awareness for students traumatized by the earthquake of 12 January. Link

The priority for FAO’s agronomists and technicians in the immediate aftermath of this terrible catastrophe is to keep Haitian agricultural production going in support of the effort to feed those in the affected areas. In this context, it is essential that reconstruction of agricultural assets be a high priority for the early rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. Link

Bill Clinton 2nd trip to Haiti

2010-02-09T06:58:00.001-05:00

President Clinton went to GHESKIO clinic, a Haitian NGO based in Port-au-Prince, where he delivered approximately 1900 Ibs of much needed medical supplies. He met with Dr. Pape, founder of Gheskio.

Also, Penske Corporation responded to the need for trucks in Haiti by donating 40 flatbed trucks to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund for use in the relief effort. Their generous contribution is an example of what the private sector can do to help Haiti rebuild and recover from the massive earthquake.

Haiti reconstruction meeting in Canada

2010-01-26T08:34:00.001-05:00

Here's the press conference of Sec Clinton and PM Harper of Canada about the reconstruction phase in Haiti.

Pledges from around the world for Haiti

2010-01-24T17:14:00.002-05:00

(AP) - Governments have pledged nearly $1 billion in aid to Haiti, according to an Associated Press estimate, including $575 million from the European Union's 27 nations. Those promises include:

AUSTRALIA: $13.8 million in aid pledged.

AUSTRIA: $1.9 million to United Nations and international aid organizations.

BRAZIL: $19 million in aid pledged. Eighteen flights have delivered 200 tons of aid including food, water, tents, medicine, a hospital and medical equipment. Forty six medical doctors and nurses have been sent, along with 50 firefighters who specialize in search and rescue using search dogs. Nearly 1,300 Brazilian U.N. peacekeepers are working in rescue operations.
BRITAIN: $33 million in aid. A 64-member search and rescue team is on the ground.
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: $80,000 in aid.
CAMBODIA: $50,000 in aid from the government; $10,000 from Cambodian Red Cross.

CANADA: $130 million in aid pledged. So far, Canadians have privately contributed more than $39 million and Ottawa will match those funds. Some 2,000 military personnel, including two warships.

CHAD: $500,000 in aid.
CHILE: 15 tons of food and medicine, search and rescue team, 20 doctors.
CHINA: $4.2 million in aid pledged. Deployed a 60-member rescue team to the island, including search and rescue specialists with sniffer dogs and monitoring equipment, medics, and seismological experts.

COLOMBIA: $900,000 in aid pledged through Colombian Red Cross. $1 million in food, water, tents and medical supplies sent. Colombia's air force has flown in more than 200 rescue and medical workers and 18 sniffer dogs.
CONGO: $2.5 million in aid.
COSTA RICA: Engineers, health workers, disaster experts.
CROATIA: $137,000 from the government and a similar amount donated from citizens to the Red Cross.

CUBA: 30 doctors.

CYPRUS: $141,000 in aid.

CZECH REPUBLIC: $1.1 million in aid pledged.

DENMARK: $9.67 million in aid.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: $11.4 million in aid.
FRANCE: $28.6 million in aid pledged, plus more than 500 personnel, especially rescue workers, and 61 tons (55 metric tons) of supplies. Dispatched Francis Garnier, a ship that specializes in humanitarian missions, and three military transport planes.

GERMANY: $14.28 million in aid pledged by government. $25.56 million donated by private citizens.

GRENADA: $215,000 in aid.
GUATEMALA: Rescue team.

HUNGARY: $140,000 within an aid program coordinated by the EU, plus three medical teams and three search dogs.

ICELAND: Search and rescue team.

INDIA: $5 million in aid.
ISRAEL: Established field hospital, sent some 150 doctors and rescue workers and 10 tons (nine metric tons) of medical equipment.
ITALY: $8.14 million as part of $131.37 million in emergency aid from EU member states. Separately it is donating $2.57 million to international groups to help children in Haiti. A field hospital that can treat 150 patients a day has been airlifted in.
JAPAN: $5 million in aid, plus $330,000 in emergency supplies. One 24-member civilian medical team on the ground, sending 110-member military team of medical and other personnel via a Japanese C-130 transport plane.

LIBERIA: $50,000 in aid.
MEXICO: Rescue team.

NETHERLANDS: $2.86 million in aid from the Dutch government, which has pledged to double the amount raised by the public. So far the appeal has raised $9.28 million. A Dutch plane with search and rescue team and sniffer dogs has been sent.

NORWAY: $17.5 million in aid earmarked for the World Food Program, Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross and other aid organizations. The country's Red Cross and other aid organizations have raised at least $4.5 million for the country.

PERU: Two planes with 50 tons of aid, mainly food; two field hospitals.

PORTUGAL: Around $860,000 from private donations. The government has sent a military transport plane with more than 20 emergency rescue workers and sniffer dogs, as well as medical equipment and water.

RUSSIA: Has sent 138 emergency workers, a mobile air hospital, and doctors and five transport planes to deliver aid.

SENEGAL: $1 million in aid. President Abdoulaye Wade has said he would give a region of Senegal to Haitians wishing to move to Africa. He argued that because Haiti was settled by African slaves they are owed a right of return. The eccentric proposal was met with criticism by many who say the government is not even able to house its own people.

SIERRA LEONE: $100,000 in aid. The government has also offered to send police, soldiers and medical teams.

SLOVENIA: $70,000 in aid, and has sent tents worth $98,000.

SOUTH AFRICA: $135,000 in aid, and has sent a search-and-rescue team and plans to send forensic experts to help identify bodies.

SOUTH KOREA: $10 million in aid from government, aid agencies, religious groups and business companies, plus relief workers.

SPAIN: $8.56 million in emergency aid disbursed, sending 450 troops, 50 doctors, technicians and specialists.
SWEDEN: $25.6 million to organizations working in Haiti, including the U.N. and E.U.

TAIWAN: $5 million in aid. Dispatched a team of 23 rescue personnel and 33 medical staff.

THAILAND: $120,000 in aid; 20,000 tons (18,000 metric tons) of rice.

UNITED STATES: $130 million in aid, according to USAID. Has sent about 12,000 military personnel so far, 265 government medical personnel, 18 Navy and Coast Guard ships, 49 helicopters and seven cargo planes to assist in aid delivery, support and evacuations. Is managing operations at the Port-au-Prince airport.

VENEZUELA: 679 tons (616 metric tons) of food and 127 tons (116 metric tons) of equipment, including water purification systems, electrical generators and heavy equipment for moving rubble. 225,000 barrels of diesel fuel and gasoline is on its way, and the Venezuela-led Bolivarian Alternative trade bloc also sent two ships carrying 5,248 tons (4,761 metric tons) of food aid. Search and rescue team.
INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: $200 million pledged.

WORLD BANK: $100 million pledged.

Hopefully they will come through. Haiti needs all the help it can get.

US will let illegal haitians stay for 18 months

2010-01-20T08:02:00.001-05:00

While I think it's very generous, Haitians need to get ready to go back home to rebuild their country. There are more haitian professionals here in the US than in Haiti.

It's a duty to go back and rebuild our homeland.

We have to make sure the contracts that will be given out for construction jobs go to Haitians. We need to hire our people in order to revive our economy.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/16/nation/la-na-haiti-refugee16-2010jan16

A plea for decentralization

2010-01-19T20:36:00.000-05:00

In the midst of this catastrophy of magnitude proportion, I think there is a silver lining. For one thing, the decentralization of Port-Au-Prince, which has already begun since Wednesday.
Many of the survivors are going back to the province where they came from.
If we can rebuild our agriculture many of these people will probably start working the land again for food production and ultimately rebuild their communities.

Port-au-Prince should be rebuilt with better building standards and fewer residents.

I also think they should privatize everything. That way people can have electricity, running water, and of course jobs.

Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

2009-10-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

One of the best songs ever!

I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

2009-10-30T20:27:00.001-04:00

I know why the caged bird sings

A free bird leaps on the back

Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.
But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through....

The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

Haiti Cheri!

2009-10-06T23:21:00.005-04:00

"Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives."
(John Adams)

I will be posting news and music from Haiti as often as I can.

If you guys have any suggestions about what you want to know, what you want to see on this blog let me know.

Keep your nerve. Don't panic. The only way out is through

2009-10-06T20:17:00.008-04:00

Always tune out the noise of your life and hear your calling.

Then you will face the biggest challenge of all: to find the courage to seek out your big dream, regardless of what anyone else says or thinks.

Dream, dream big!

Admire a strong character

2009-10-06T16:45:00.005-04:00

I went to a book store earlier and I realized how many relationship advice books were focused on good looks, money, ect. I could not find any concerning the appeal of a strong character.

I do believe that the best trait to look for in a partner is a strong charcter. Because it will help survive the bad times in the relationship. It is important to know that the person will not bailout on you at the first sign of problems or misunderstandings.

"Personality can open doors, but only character can leave them open." (Elmer G Litterman)

A strong character matters.....