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I've Got One Week - How Can I Help? (Volunteering in Haiti)

  • Posted on: 5 April 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

We get quite a few emails from young people with a week or two off of school who would like to volunteer in Haiti. Without knowing Kreyol or having special skills, opportunities are somewhat limited but they are out there.  Through volunteering you can learn about the country, its culture, and develop an awareness of the developmental challenges, and just as important, how to addresss them. When you come back, that's when the hard work starts.  You may well find that you can do more for Haiti stateside.

Sak Vid Pa Kanpe: Food Rioting Begins in Haiti

  • Posted on: 4 April 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

I expected to hear of food riots in Haiti.  Life has never been easy for Haitians but escalating food costs have made just getting by more and more difficult.  If you and I went a day without eating and did not know if the next day let alone the next week would bring more of the same, I would not be writing this and you would not be reading this - we would be out in the streets protesting!

Food Insecurity and Social Unrest

  • Posted on: 3 April 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Haitians are no strangers to hunger.  Yet, the past six months of rising food and fuel costs has hit the country hard.  But Haiti is not alone.  Citizens of other countries are being squeezed as well.  Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique, Senegal, Argentina, Peru, and Indonesia have all seen protests over rising food costs.  Those who were struggling but making ends meet have found themselves spending more and more of their household income on food (and by extension less in other areas such as education.)  Will our children and grandchildren inherit a hungrier world?  If so, their world will be less democatic, more instable, and more dangerous.

Haitian Prime Minister to OAS - "Progress is Real"

  • Posted on: 29 March 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

According to Caribbean Net News,  Haitian Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis gave a speech on March 28th to the Organization of American States (OAS) highlighting significant improvements in both security and governannce.  A stable, democratic Haiti is strategically important to the Americas.   Haiti needs the help of its neighbors but doing so will require convincing them that Haiti can sustain this progress - that this is not another false promise.   

Haiti and the Struggle for Water (Frontline)

  • Posted on: 23 March 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

In light of World Water Day, I wanted to highlight a Frontline multimedia piece on water scarcity in Haiti by Shoshana Guy.  Though not recent (it was produced after Tropical Storm Jean) the key issues are as valid now as then.  Haitians continue to struggle both from having too little water to drink and from having more water than cab be absorbed after seasonal rains.  The result is flooding/mud slides such as those which decimated Gonaives.

Konbit Sante Secures Funds for Pediatric Emergency Room in Cap Haitian

  • Posted on: 21 March 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The Maine based Konbit Sante group continues to make a difference in Northern Haiti by investing in the human and physical infrastructure that the Hospital Justinien needs to become the hospital that Cap Haitian deserves.  In recognition of their efforts, Konbit Sante was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the Dorthea Ross Haus Foundation to build a pediatric emergency room at Justinian Hospital. The project, which is expected to take six months to complete, will also help improve water and sanitation in the pediatric facility.

Pumping Up in Port au Prince (New York Times)

  • Posted on: 19 March 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

A recent article in the New York Times took a look at two gyms in Port au Prince - a Gold's Gym in the wealthiest suburb of Port au Prince and one of the home-made gyms which are far more  common both in the city and the countryside.  The homemade gyms are nothing compared to a Gold's Gym - but they are testament to Haitian creativity and possess a sense of camraderie that you will not find at an establishment that caters to the rich. Exercise can be empowering and as Haitian bodybuilder Julien Mr. Spencer puts it, "You can't buy fitness." 

Digicel Haiti Foundation Delivers Promise of 20 Schools in Year One

  • Posted on: 18 March 2008
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The article below (courtesy of bonpabon) announces that the Digicel Haiti Foundation met its goal of building twenty primary schools in its first year of operation.   Digicel, as the largest foreign investor in the history of Haiti, prevents a compelling model for others to follow - a socially conscious corporation that provides a much needed product, employs a substantial number of local staff, and funnels some of its its profits into education projects.  It makes sense for Digicel who will need educated employees as it grows and it makes sense for Haiti where long term development will depend on education.

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