Hurricane season has begun.  Flooding  will be inevitable each year until environmental degradation is reversed.  Still, leadership, preparation, and coordination can mitigate the human and economic costs.  Jacqueline Charles describes, in the Miami Herald, the last minute efforts of the Haitian government to bolster infrastructure in Haiti's most vulnerable cities, yet to recover from the consequences of last year's storms.  Haiti is more ready than it was last year, but still has a long way to go. 

Surgical Volunteers International (SVI) is an organization that specializes in treating clefts, burns and urological problems.  SVI visited Haiti in March and worked with Haitian counterparts to reconstruct, without charge, 67 cleft lips and palates.  SVI will travel to Haiti in June and again in September.  If you know of a Haitian child in need of surgery for a cleft lip or palate, please pass on the contact information contained in the attached flyer (in Kreyol) to his/her family.  Below is a summary of their last visit from the SVI Blog.  

Haiti Pro is new website for entrepreneurs interested in private sector solutions to Haiti's developmental challenges.  Haiti Pro Members can easily share videos of their ideas and efforts.  There are already a number of interesting clips on topics including dairy franchising, wood charcoal alternatives, reforestation, and women's groups.  Below are summaries of the clips that are in Kreyol and/or French.  Consider joining if you are interested in small business development in Haiti.

Below is a post from "The Cable", confirming rumors that Paul Farmer is considering a position in the Obama Administration.  The position is as of yet unclear.  It may be USAID Administrator or a new position coordinating U.S. Global Health programs.  Partners in Health has had a tremendous impact in Haiti, Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere.  As a champion of health and human rights, Farmer's vision and expertise would be an asset to the Obama Administration.  

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. is a health research/consulting firm dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities worldwide.  JSI visited Haiti in January 2009 to identify gaps in the availability and accessibility of reproductive health (RH) services and to assess community responses for strengthening quality, accessibility and availability.  Reproductive health is a social issue, a public health issue, a human rights issue, a security issue, and one that is important for countries that are fragile, stable, or in Haiti's case, teetering in between.  The report is attached and deserves to be widely read.

Copied below is an article published last year in Biodiesel Magazine. It may be worth revisiting given several interesting videos that Haiti Xchange noticed on the Haiti Biodiesel Industry website.  The first video concerns a group in Port au Prince that is converting used cooking oil into biofuel.  One of the members is using it in Haiti's first biofuel powered truck.  Another demonstrates a fully functional bio-stove.  Finally, there is a video of a biofuel powered generator.  Readers can discuss biofuels in the Haiti Biodiesel Forum.  Dialogue is needed given the many unanswered questions concerning the potential of biofuels in Haiti.  What is the position of the goverment?  How best to coordinate among the grassroots organizations, government ministries, and private sector?  What do pilot projects require to be brought to scale? Perhaps the June Jatropha conference that CHIBAS is hosting can shed light on these issues. 

It is a sad irony that child slavery still exists in the only country to have led a successful slave rebellion.  On June 5th, Beyond Borders and the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington DC will host an event to raise awareness (and possible solutions) for the restavek crisis in Haiti.  Sociologist and Pastor Dr. Tony Compolo will speak as well Alina Cajuste and Helia Lajeunesse.  Alina and Helia are former restaveks who went on to become members of grassroots movements against child exploitation.  Below are Alina and Helia's stories and a schedule for the event which is free and open to the public.  If you can participate, please register online. 

The relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic could be described as schizophrenic.  On one hand, the heads of both governments get along well.  This has opened up opportunities for cross border cooperation in health, business, and infrastructure.  For example, the Dominican government now sells subsidized propane to Haiti.  Recently, the Dominican President even called for the Ibero-American Community to admit Haiti as a gesture of solidarity.  However, the mistreatment of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic prevents both countries from becoming less like adversaries and more like neighbors. 

From May 21st-24th, there will be a festival of films, workshops, and music in Miami to celebrate the premiere of the documentary "The Other Side of the Water".  The Other Side follows the 20 year journey of a Haitian rara band in America. Much like Haiti itself, rara is unique, compelling and chaotic.  If you have a chance to attend, by all means do.  The Miami Light Project, the Backyard Movement, Change Charity, Inc., Moksha Family, and HaitiXchange.com will be participating.  Below is more information and a schedule.

Today is Haitian Flag Day, a national holiday celebrated around the country by all. This past weekend, while travelling through the country side, I ran into many repetitions and parades with adolescents marching on the streets and stomping out lyrics of national unity. Small paper flags on splintered sticks are carried everywhere and perched in the tautly pulled back hair of young girls and woman alike. Students from all schools come together to march down main roads, and onlookers wave their flags cheerfully. Scouts-- boys, girls and adults-- take the opportunity to don their khaki uniforms and yellow scarves, among others in solid blue and red, the colors of the Haitian flag. The festivities glimmer with the same level of pride from which the country was born. It gives one a good feeling.