Nou Tande W is a faith-based organization founded to help rural Haitians improve agricultural productivity. According to Nou Tande W, GIA Web Design has offered to build websites for organizations working on behalf of Haitians. If you are interested, call (845) 523 -3143. Below is more information on both Nou Tande W and GIA Web Design.
The Decheteries De Carrefour Feuilles factory, founded by CASCAF, was selected among 12 finalists in the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Challenge 09 Competition. This project has created jobs, cleaned up neighborhoods, and made available a reasonably priced alternative to the wood charcoal that has left Haiti's hills and mountains largest deforested. If you also feel that this program deserves to be expanded and replicated, vote for it at the BBC World Challenge website. Bon Chans!
Hard to believe that just a year and a half ago, there were food riots in Port au Prince and other Haitian cities. Since then, Haiti has become become politically stable to the point where firms involved in agriculture, textiles, infrastructure development and tourism are considering investing in Haiti. Livelihood opportunities are sorely needed given that half of Haitians live on less than two dollars a day. Still, the majority of Haitians are small farmers. Without opportunities to provide for themselves and their families, the influx of the rural poor to urban centers will only accelerate. Increasing agricultural productivity/opportunities is key to improving food security in Haiti.
Below is a piece by Miami Herald contributor Greg Blustein on a new initiative launched by the Carter Center to eradicate malaria in the Dominican Republic and Haiti within 10 years. The funding will be used on house to house search for cases, free treatment and mosquito control, repellents for mosquito nets and walls in high risk areas, and for education and social mobilization in both countries. Malaria is a nasty disease to which children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable. However, it is preventable, treatable and the international community knows what works. We hope that this initiative will be a success for both Haiti and the DR.
In late 2006, we were blogging about Haiti’s kidnapping crisis. Now in late 2009, we are blogging about investment opportunities. Much has changed. Just last week, hundreds of potential investors gathered for the largest investment conference ever held in Haiti, organized by the Inter American Development Bank with financial support from the Canadian government. Will trade become more important than aid some day? This depends on the answers to two questions. First, can investors make a return on their investments? Second, will the government allocate new resources in an effective, accountable way that benefits all of Haiti and not just the cities?
Robert Maguire, with Trinity University and the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), recently wrote a well thought out report (attached and below) on obstacles to stability and growth in Haiti. Maguire highlights important issues such as the neglect of rural Haiti, where most Haitians live, and the need to bolster Haiti's Health and Education Ministries. Throughout, he states success depends not just on securing resources, but on allocating them in a way that is accountable, effective, and demonstrates the committment of the government to reform. Something to keep mind if investment picks up in Haiti.
At the recent Clinton Global Initiative meeting, Fonkoze, BRAC, BRAC USA, Partners In Health, CGAP, and CHF announced a partnership in which they would contribute $50 million towards a two-year effort to improve health and reduce poverty in Central Haiti. The initiative will target 575,000 people on Haiti's Central Plateau and will do what all development programs should be doing...helping people to help themselves.
The Clinton Global Initiative has concluded and committments were made totalling 258 million. This includes the three-year, $2 million pledge by actor Matt Damon's Water.org to get water and sanitation to 50,000 people, a $4.5 million pledge by USAID and Habitat for Humanity to repair 1,500 family homes cities wrecked by last year's hurricanes. The Green Family Foundation pledged $280,000, as part of a five year $680,000 commitment, to help fight poverty on the Central Plateau through its Millennium Village Project. Without a doubt, a great event for Haiti.
Microfinance has been successful throughout the world, including in Haiti. Thanks to Mix Market, there is now an application that allows users to track microfinance. Mix Market has published data on more than 1,500 microfinance institutions (MFIs) in 190 countries. As Development Seed puts it,"The Mix Market is a Bloomberg for microfinance...it opens this information up to help MFIs, researchers, raters, evaluators, and governmental and regulatory agencies better see the marketplace, and that makes for better international development."
