Back in June of this year the National Hurricane Center at NOAA predicted an abnormal season with 17 to 18 storms in the Caribbean and 5 to 6 of those would have the potential to be major hurricanes. With the recent passage of Gustav and the pounding rains of Hanna and Ike and Josephine creeping closer, unfortunately the prediction is wreaking havoc on Haiti.
Natural disasters are a fact of life in Haiti, both in terms of the inevitable tropical storms/hurricanes and the floods/ mudslides left in their wake, largely as a result of the unabated deforestation. Gustav resulted in 22 deaths, but certainly could have been worse. While Haiti can't stop the storms, it is possible to mitigate the damage that they cause. Preparedness is key. Topix carried a Scoop Media World article on the efforts of the international community to help Haiti better prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
Project Medishare has been operating on Haiti's Central Plateau since 1995. Working with community groups, the Haitian Ministry of Health, Partners in Health, and the Green Family Foundation, Project Medishare has dramatically improved the health infrastructure of Thomonde and sorrounding areas. Construction is proceeding on their latest and most innovative project - a Nutrition Training Complex with three components: (1) An AK-1000 processing facility; (2) A treatment center for malnourished children; and (3) An education and training center. This community-driven approach will promote children's health and bolster the local ecomomy at the same time.
Haitians say that their country has teeth. Once it has bitten you, it may not let you go. There are a large number of bloggers who write about Haiti for many different reasons - the one thing they have in common is that blogging allows them to stay connected to a country they care about. Blogging is inherently democratic in that anyone with interest, motivation, and access to the internet can visit Blogspot, Wordpress, or any number of other free websites and, with a few keystrokes, start writing almost immediately. Haiti Innovation decided to take a look at who else was blogging Haiti - here is what we found.
In 2004, a group of farmers from Cap Haitian put their ideas into motion to create a cooperative which connects rural communities with markets. Four years later, Makouti Agro Enterprise is a bustling agribusiness in a country severely hit by the rising costs of food and fuel. The demand for Makouti’s services outweighs its newfound ability to supply them. Recognizing the critical need for timely support to these communities, Partners of the Americas and Global Giving teamed up to enable individuals around the world to support Makouti projects in vegetable gardening, animal production, and fruit tree cultivation. These projects teach rural families how to improve production of food for consumption and income.
Disagreements among parliamentarians and political parties over who will serve in the new government have prevented Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis from presenting a new Cabinet and policy priorities (one of which is food security) on Tuesday as scheduled. As politicians bicker, the people struggle. The Miami Herald notes that school starts on September 1st and the fees will be out of reach for many. According to the USAID Famine Early Warning System (FEWS-NET), food security conditions are likely to deteroriate beginning in October due to the high prices of staple food crops, hurricanes, civil unrest, and high transportation costs. Having been four months without a functional government, it is long past time to make a deal and get to work.
Haiti is a beautiful country but it would certainly be more so if there were a functional waste management system. What if waste, rather than winding up in the street, ocean, or a landfill could be converted into energy? Port au Prince would become a very clean city in short order. The New York Times carried an article stating that virtually any material containing hydrogen, carbon and oxygen could potentially be converted into fuel. This include plastics, construction debris, forest and lawn trimmings, wood chips, wheat straw, and agricultural waste. This approach could someday help Haiti meet its energy needs without being at the mercy of oil.
Denise Green, a Haitian friend and colleague, wrote a blog in November 2007 urging Haiti to go solar. Over the past year, there has been a tremendous increase in coverage of solar energy. With new interest, developments, and possibilities solar energy could make a real difference in countries such as Haiti where oil fluctuations are felt acutely. Haiti is predictably hot and sunny but apart from traffic lights and a handful of schools and homes, it is not widespread. This could change. Perhaps Haiti can learn from the experiences of other countries.
We've written about the Jacmel Film Festival and the efforts of the Foundation Festival Film Jacmel (FFFJ) to train a new generation of Haitian film-makers. Through the medium of film, FFFJ continues to tap the creativity and energy of Haitian culture to engage youth, build partnerships with other countries, and lay the groundwork for producing local content for use nationally and abroad. It would be impossible to understand Haiti without knowing its music, art, and dance - perhaps someday we'll say the same about Haitian cinema.
The Haiti Micah Project (HMP) was established in 2005 by Father Joseph Constant, a Haitian Priest who was born in Mirebalais and is now living and working in Virginia. Like many in the Haitian Diaspora, Father Constant wanted to give back to his hometown and his country. He established a feeding program for street kids and other vulnerable children as a first step toward meeting their basic needs which include shelter, water, health care, education, vocational training and spiritual/emotional support. HMP is growing and this blog provides an update of their activities.
