As of last week, Paul Farmer was no longer under consideration for the position of USAID Director.  Today, it was announced that he has instead been appointed Deputy U.N Special Envoy to Haiti.  Clinton said that Farmer's "credibility both among the people of Haiti and in the international community will be a tremendous asset" to their work in Haiti.  While many looked forward to seeing him to reforming and leading USAID, this new position allows him to once again work full time on Haiti, a country for which he cares deeply.

Trenton Daniel of the Miami Herald describes below the speech given by Bill Clinton at the second annual Haiti Diaspora Unity Congress. During the speech, he encouraged the Diaspora to stay engaged and announced a number of new initiatives.  For example, he noted that the Soros Economic Development Fund has created a Haiti Invest project, through which an initial 25 million dollars will be spent on  promoting investment in agricuture, energy, housing, and tourism.  Clinton is an asset to Haiti, but as one participant emphasized, the Haitian Diaspora must now step up.

According to the Post Conflict Project Blog, the MINUSTAH Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) program has been approved for a sixth year with a budget of USD 3 million.  The intent is to set in place small, high impact projects throughout the country that will improve confidence in MINUSTAH and its mission.  Priorities include infastructure rehabilitation, education, health, and agriculture.  Please feel feel to reach out to MINUSTAH if you know of organizations that would be strong candidates.  Guidance and contact information is both attached and copied below. 

In the article below, Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald writes how, despite Haiti's many challenges, roads are being built, power plants constructed, and business opportunities growing. Investments in Haiti - in the capacity of its government, in its infrastructure, and increasingly in its private sector, are starting to pay off.  Haiti is a country under construction, with something that it has not had for years...momentum.      

Haiti's long term development depends on agriculture.  Yet most of Haiti's population relies on what could be called a faith based approach to agriculture - pray you get enough rain at the right time.  Ressurecting Haiti's agricultural sector requires effective irrigation systems.  Below is a description of an irrigation project that USAID completed with IOM and CHF in the Plaine de Cul de Sac outside of Port au Prince.  The photo above illustrates what the waterways were like before the project... 

Rough roads, sporadic electricity, out-dated ports, and rural areas in need of irrigation.  Haiti needs Haitian engineers badly. The prerequisite is students who understand and have a passion for math and science.  In January 2007, a group of Cap Haitian students (Team Citadel), with the support of Mark Moorman, a Haitian Businessman, and Rotary International, participated in the First Lego League Robotics Challenge in Florida.  In April 2009, they again competed in Atlanta.  Some of these students may one day become leaders in addressing their country's considerable infrastructure needs. 

"Timoun se moun" (children are people too).  In Haiti, far too many children are treated as less than people.  CNN's Sanjay Gupta recently travelled to Haiti to learn more about the restavek practice.  His blog is below.  All social problems have solutions, and while the attention of foreigners to this issue is welcome, lasting change must come from within.  One person fighting to bring about this change is Jean Robert Cadet, who was himself a restavek fourty years ago.  He has gone on to found the Jean Robert Cadet Foundation and has devoted his life to ensuring no one else experiences what he did.  Far from a victim, he is a hero and a change agent.

The past month has been important for Haiti.  The World Bank, IMF, and the IDB forgave $1.2 billion of Haiti’s debt.  Deals were reached with members of the Paris Club to cancel an additional $152 million in debt.  Bill Clinton made his first trip to Haiti as UN Special Envoy.  Plus, discussions at the G8 Summit indicated we may be on the verge of a historic shift in how food assistance is delivered, to the benefit of Haiti and other food insecure countries.

Many interesting films have been made about Haiti - but comparatively few of them have been made by Haitians.  Someday, this may change.  Jacmel's Cine Institute, the only film school in Haiti, is teaching students how to make documentaries, films, and even commercials.  Donations help to keep the tuition free.  These initial efforts may be short, but they could represent the first steps in the careers of a new generation of Haitian film-makers.  Below are links to and summaries of the 2009 Spring Semester films.

Kerry Kennedy of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Justice and Human Rights recently completed an advocacy mission to the Dominican Republic.  The racism against those with darker skin can be so intense that travelling there feels like going back in time.  Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent are routinely denied citizenship, making them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.  While meeting with government officials, Kennedy urged them to work with local human rights defenders such as Sonia Pierre, who despite winning the 2006 RFK Human Rights Award, has been treated not as a hero, but a threat.  Her trip summary is copied blow.