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Article
Why We Should Give More
Donations to Haiti have helped, but the country has more needs than we can imagine Bill Holbrook March 31, 2010 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.haiti31mar31,0,5429355.story Source Publication: The Baltimore Sun Today in New York, donors will be asked to provide $11.5 billion to help Haiti recover from the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. Since the U.S. government has already provided more than $700 million in assistance - a number that will likely rise - some might ask: Why should we give more? To these skeptics, I have two responses. First, more is getting done than you think. And second, more needs to be done than you can imagine. Nearly two months ago, I left my home in Montgomery County bound for Port-au-Prince to lead the relief and recovery efforts of the international aid agency Mercy Corps. Haiti is near and dear to my heart. I first lived there in 1996, I have been married to the same wonderful Haitian-American woman for 12 years now, and Haiti has become a home-away-from-home for our family. I've come to know the country well, and even with its many charms, Haiti can be an extremely challenging place to work. The situation was disastrous before this disaster ever occurred; the people of Haiti have been exploited and impoverished for the better part of 200 years. What do you get when you layer that reality with a powerful earthquake in the country's overcrowded, under-resourced urban core? Logistical chaos. Relief efforts may not have been perfect, but the obstacles - a collapsed port, the serious loss of scarce human resources, collapsed centers of government and response, a scattered population still suffering the effects of shock - have been extreme. Still, great strides have been made. The United Nations and international aid groups are providing more than 1.2 million people in Port-au-Prince with clean water each day. Food is being distributed in massive quantities; the World Food Program estimates it has reached more than 4 million people since Jan. 12. The Haitian government announced that schools will reopen tomorrow. This week, donors will grapple with how to help Haiti use this very tragic but pivotal moment in history to become something better - a viable state with a viable economy. I would encourage donors to read the analysis of the quake's impact prepared by the Haitian government, the U.N. and other international organizations, and prepare to act boldly. Haitians know what they need, and I hope we will keep the faith and listen to them. Large swaths of the population seek out a subsistence living in the country's vast, informal economy, selling anything they can get their hands on. But almost every Haitian would abandon that hand-to-mouth existence for a real job with a future. They need skills training, jobs and private-sector investment. Today, Haiti must resurrect a middle economy that was lost many years ago. This would offer hundreds of thousands of decent-paying jobs - transforming a largely unskilled work force stuck at the bottom of the economic pyramid into a skilled work force. But Haitians need international assistance to make this possible. Industries such as apparel production, agriculture and tourism should be nurtured in both the provinces and the capital city so that Haitians can participate formally in a growing, vibrant grass-roots economy. Perhaps the most difficult proposal to donors will be to bolster the Haitian government. In the last 100 years of Haitian governance, many things have gone very wrong. But no country can make meaningful progress without resourced and functional government institutions. President René Préval's government has had limited capacity, but its vision for Haiti is solid, and it has been working effectively with international partners. While cooperation and progress continue, the Haitian government merits our support. Haiti faces huge obstacles and a troubled history, but that should not make the international community shy away. If mold-breaking change is ever going to happen in Haiti, it will happen now, with all of us - Haitians, donors, the business sector, aid groups - focused on the end game of building the future that Haitians envision for themselves and deserve. Bill Holbrook, a Burtonsville resident, is the Haiti country director for the international aid group Mercy Corps. His e-mail is wholbrook@ht.mercycorps.org.
1 April 2010
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Article
What We're Doing in Haiti
Haitians left homeless after the earthquake camp out in a Port-au-Prince park. Photo: Photo: Reuters/STR New, courtesy www.alertnet.org Nearly two months after the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti, Mercy Corps’ team of emergency response experts is working to meet the immediate needs of survivors. At the same time, our team is laying the groundwork for longer-term recovery, drawing upon Mercy Corps’ three decades of experience helping disaster-struck communities transition from receiving aid to carrying out their own recovery. Haitian authorities estimate that more than 230,000 people died in the earthquake and that three-quarters of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, will have to be rebuilt. At least one million people have been displaced. The Mercy Corps team is coordinating with the United Nations and other aid groups on the ground to ensure the most efficient response. Team of Experts Just hours after the earthquake struck, Mercy Corps deployed an A-team of humanitarian first responders. These experts from around the world have collective experience that includes responses to the China earthquake, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, and Hurricane Katrina. Learn more about our Haiti Response Team Right Now: Water, Trauma Support, Jobs The Mercy Corps response is currently focused on immediate humanitarian needs: food to beleaguered hospitals, water and sanitation, trauma support for children and job creation. Five days after the quake, this woman and her baby need water first, then food and shelter. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps Earthquake survivors like this little girl are living in parks and vacant lots around Port-au-Prince. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps Clean Water and Sanitation Our water and sanitation team has conducted assessments at 14 separate sites in Port-au-Prince with plans to secure clean water systems and at least 500 safe latrines for more than 42,000 people. Earlier this month, our team installed a water filtration unit at a local hospital. Job Creation and Economic Recovery To jumpstart the decimated economy and begin rebuilding efforts in earthquake-affected areas, Mercy Corps has initiated a cash-for-work program that pays earthquake survivors a daily wage to clear debris, restore buildings and repair basic infrastructure. We plan to employ more than 8,000 workers in some of Port-au-Prince's poorest and most-devastated neighborhoods. Through the cash-for-work approach, survivors carry out their own recovery efforts. Employing survivors gives them the dignity of earning an income they can then spend on the supplies they need for their families. Their purchases in turn help restart local commerce. Trauma Support for Children When the earthquake struck, all schools in Port-au-Prince collapsed. Haitian children who survived the earthquake experienced trauma that could negatively affect them for life. To help restore children’s sense of well-being, Mercy Corps is providing post-trauma help using Comfort for Kids. This counseling methodology was first developed in New York by Mercy Corps and Bright Horizons, a global workplace childcare provider, to help children recover from the trauma of 9/11. Subsequently, Mercy Corps has used Comfort for Kids to help children recover from the China and Peru earthquakes and Hurricane Katrina. Mercy Corps recently announced a partnership with Haiti's First Lady, Elisabeth Delacourt Préval, to implement Comfort for Kids trainings for adult caregivers. The First Lady and UNICEF will organize “safe spaces” in camps to run arts, sports and music activities for children, while Mercy Corps will run simultaneous sessions — in French and Creole — to educate parents and caregivers about child symptoms of trauma and how they can be addressed. Next Steps Mercy Corps will focus on supporting the creation of jobs, especially in the provinces around Port-au-Prince, in sectors such as agriculture, tourism and apparel manufacturing. Mercy Corps also expects to use cash grants to help people rebuild assets like small businesses, fishing boats, food carts. In addition, Mercy Corps is exploring options with microfinance provider FONKOZE and other partners to help small- and mid-size businesses grow using remittances and microfinance. In the coming weeks and months, Mercy Corps plans to expand its work to include the provinces surrounding Port-au-Prince, particularly the Central Plateau area where approximately 500,000 people fled after the earthquake. The agency is striving to make these areas economically viable and provide critical resources to displaced families who have settled there. A Long Track Record of Helping Recovery The earthquake in Haiti left three million people in need of aid, exacerbating the dire humanitarian situation in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The Caribbean nation suffers extreme hunger and political instability, and this disaster only increases the needs of thousands of impoverished Haitian families. Mercy Corps has a long track record of helping people living in the world’s toughest conditions to recover and rebuild after natural disasters and conflict. The agency has special expertise in disaster response that establishes a foundation for, and leads directly to, self-sufficiency. HOW TO HELP Mercy Corps is accepting donations toward our earthquake response. Public support thus far has been strong, and corporations such as Amazon.com, ITT Corporation, Best Buy, Western Union, Gap, Nike, and Trilogy/Voilà have generously contributed to our efforts.
5 March 2010
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Article
'Byenvenu a New York'
A student in the after school program at the New York Action Center colors the Statue of Liberty on the front of a welcome pack the children prepared for children who have been relocated from Haiti to NYC after the earthquake. Photo: Michael Rizzo for Mercy Corps Ten-year-old Georgia Greenleaf sat on the floor of the Action Center to End World Hunger, painstakingly choosing the right shades of brown and green for an outline of the Statue of Liberty she colored on a simple paper packet in front of her. As she worked, she started thinking out loud about just what the statue meant to her and what it will mean for children from Haiti en route to make a new home in New York. “New York might be called the Empire State, but the Empire State Building doesn’t really stand for New York. The Statue of Liberty does — way more than anything else. When we see her and she welcomes us, we know there’s freedom here and that anything is possible.” said Georgia, who lives in a neighborhood along Manhattan’s south edge, where Lady Liberty looms large in the distance from a park along the bank of the Hudson River. Georgia and 20 other students from schools in the neighborhood, who participate in the Action Center’s after school program, will soon meet children from Haiti transplanted to New York with their families in the wake of the January 12’s devastating earthquake. In preparation, the kids spent a recent Tuesday afternoon at the Action Center making welcome packets that just might make the new arrivals feel at home in the meantime. On the cover of the guide the Action Center kids put together, the Statue of Liberty greets the new arrivals along with “Welcome to New York!” — "Byenvenu a New York!" in Creole — just like she’s greeted millions of immigrants who’ve arrived in New York City for more than a century. The short packet also includes pictures drawn by the Action Center kids of their favorite places around the city and a student-produced guide of useful English phrases the children relocating to New York can use when they start school. That guide will help them join games on the playground and learn how to ask for things in the cafeteria. “It’s really important that they can understand it. Their own language will help them feel comfortable,” said Georgia. The guide will be part of a welcome kit put together by kids for kids, including handmade puzzles of New York City landmarks. The students spent a couple hours carefully cutting up postcards of the Empire State Building bought at neighborhood souvenir shops. Georgia and the students at the Action Center belong to the Hang Out for Change program, where 20 students in 3rd-5th grades attend a weekly session where they learn about the causes behind hunger and poverty around the world. The group has been using Haiti as an example and learning about how Mercy Corps helps in places devastated by emergencies or chronic poverty. The Action Center education team is working with Brooklyn-based CAMBA, an agency that serves vulnerable populations in New York City and runs several after school programs, to make it happen. If all goes as planned, the kids from the Action Center will get to say "Byenvenu a New York!" in person sometime in the late Spring.
4 March 2010
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Article
Unleashing the Haitian Enterprising Spirit
Linda Mason March 2, 2010 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-mason/unleashing-the-haitian-en_b_482616.html Source Publication: The Huffington Post On my recent trip to Haiti, I was filled first with despair and then hope. Despair for the overwhelming human and physical destruction. Hope because of the quiet strength, resilience, and determination of the Haitian people. I spent my time in the sprawling tent camps in Port-au-Prince. It's estimated that 1 million people now live in these camps -- with no water or sanitation and where people sleep under bed sheets tied to sticks in the ground. The city is now populated with amputees, orphans and the homeless. This was a desperately poor population before the earthquake. What little they had is now gone. Let us not forget that this is a disaster of extreme poverty. This earthquake did not need to result in such devastation. The Northridge earthquake that took place in southern California in 1994 similarly struck a dense urban area and was nearly as strong as Haiti's quake (a 6.7), yet its toll of human misery wasn't nearly as high. Sixty people died in California; as many as 230,000 people have died in Haiti. People died because they lived in shanties perched on hillsides, because they were in buildings that were poorly built in a crowded city of three million on a fault line with no building codes. As I spent time in the tent camps, I thought, 'How are Haitians going to survive, let alone rebuild?' The answer became clear to me as I watched how Haitians live their daily lives. Everywhere I went, they were making the most of meager resources -- washing a shirt in a plastic bottle of water, taking scraps of food and stretching them into a meal, scavenging through rubble to find material to rebuild a hut. Their enterprising spirit and drive for survival sprung quickly to life after the earthquake. In one small tent, I met Charlene Malebranche. There she lived with her husband and two little girls, Dahlia and Sahina, and a 16-year-old friend who had lost her entire family. They had retrieved cinder blocks from the rubble to make an uncomfortable floor that would keep them off the mud when the rainy season begins. Charlene invited me to sit in her tent. She talked about how they all sleep holding each other since they are afraid of another earthquake. Her two girls never leave her side. She takes some of the rice she has received in distributions and makes a traditional dish, akasan, to sell for a bit of cash on the street. She smiled warmly throughout our conversation and showed a quiet but fierce determination to ensure her family's survival. I witnessed this same strength and resolve when I met another mother, Haiti's First Lady, Elisabeth Delatour Preval. The earthquake was a great equalizer. Like so many others, her home and place of work were destroyed along with most government buildings. I met with the First Lady in the government's makeshift headquarters in a small police station near the airport. First Lady Preval is passionate about the needs of Haiti's children and parents. Half of Haiti's people are under 18. Madame Preval echoed the sentiments of Charlene. The half-million children living in the tent camps are frightened and clutching their parents, who are equally as afraid. I went to Haiti on behalf of Mercy Corps and Bright Horizons. They have created a Comfort for Kids program, implemented after 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Sichuan earthquake in China to help parents and caregivers effectively respond to children's emotional needs and symptoms of trauma. Collaborating with First Lady Preval, Mercy Corps is now conducting this training program throughout the day in some of the city's massive tent camps. Prior to the earthquake, 70% of the population survived on less than $2 a day. This extreme poverty existed despite, or perhaps because of, the massive amounts of aid that have been pumped into the country for decades. Yet I marveled as I saw street vendors and markets spring back into life within days of the earthquake. There is a deeply embedded positive, entrepreneurial spirit in the Haitian culture. There is hope that now Haiti can be rebuilt stronger and better. Aid agencies should build on this enterprising spirit and give people the tools to help themselves. One effective approach is the cash-for-work programs that are being introduced by forward-thinking relief agencies. Residents can decide what is most needed for their community, and workers are paid a daily wage to clear rubble, dig drainage ditches or build latrines. With their daily wages, families can buy the things they need most with money they have earned -- restoring dignity -- while also pumping money into the Haitian economy at a time when it is most needed. Aid agencies should creatively support and encourage local initiative and enterprise. Cash grants or loans should be made to small and medium size entrepreneurs and business people. A street vendor can use a small grant to purchase a push-cart for her wares; a small business person can use a loan to refurbish an apparel production facility. Technology can be used to provide banking through cell phones, which nearly every poor family owns. As international donors prepare to gather this month in New York City, they must remember that Haitians, both poor like Charlene Malebranche and powerful like First Lady Preval, will ensure the country's recovery. There is hope that Haiti can be rebuilt out of its ruins, but it will take both a long-term commitment from the donor community and a resolve to build on Haitians' own initiative, rather than imposing our own. Linda Mason is the Chair of the Board for Mercy Corps, Chair and Founder of Bright Horizons Family Solutions.
3 March 2010
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Article
Unleashing the Haitian enterprising spirit
On my recent trip to Haiti, I was filled first with despair and then hope. Despair for the overwhelming human and physical destruction. Hope because of the quiet strength, resilience, and determination of the Haitian people. I spent my time in the sprawling tent camps in Port-au-Prince. It's estimated that 1 million people now live in these camps — with no water or sanitation and where people sleep under bed sheets tied to sticks in the ground. The city is now populated with amputees, orphans and the homeless. This was a desperately poor population before the earthquake. What little they had is now gone. Let us not forget that this is a disaster of extreme poverty. This earthquake did not need to result in such devastation. The Northridge earthquake that took place in southern California in 1994 similarly struck a dense urban area and was nearly as strong as Haiti's quake (a 6.7), yet its toll of human misery wasn't nearly as high. Sixty people died in California; as many as 230,000 people have died in Haiti. People died because they lived in shanties perched on hillsides, because they were in buildings that were poorly built in a crowded city of three million on a fault line with no building codes. As I spent time in the tent camps, I thought, 'How are Haitians going to survive, let alone rebuild?' The answer became clear to me as I watched how Haitians live their daily lives. Everywhere I went, they were making the most of meager resources — washing a shirt in a plastic bottle of water, taking scraps of food and stretching them into a meal, scavenging through rubble to find material to rebuild a hut. Their enterprising spirit and drive for survival sprung quickly to life after the earthquake. In one small tent, I met Charlene Malebranche. There she lived with her husband and two little girls, Dahlia and Sahina, and a 16-year-old friend who had lost her entire family. They had retrieved cinder blocks from the rubble to make an uncomfortable floor that would keep them off the mud when the rainy season begins. Charlene invited me to sit in her tent. She talked about how they all sleep holding each other since they are afraid of another earthquake. Her two girls never leave her side. She takes some of the rice she has received in distributions and makes a traditional dish, akasan, to sell for a bit of cash on the street. She smiled warmly throughout our conversation and showed a quiet but fierce determination to ensure her family's survival. Charlene Malebranche and her daughters. Photo: Linda Mason/Mercy Corps I witnessed this same strength and resolve when I met another mother, Haiti's First Lady, Elisabeth Delatour Preval. The earthquake was a great equalizer. Like so many others, her home and place of work were destroyed along with most government buildings. I met with the First Lady in the government's makeshift headquarters in a small police station near the airport. First Lady Preval is passionate about the needs of Haiti's children and parents. Half of Haiti's people are under 18. Madame Preval echoed the sentiments of Charlene. The half-million children living in the tent camps are frightened and clutching their parents, who are equally as afraid. I went to Haiti on behalf of Mercy Corps and Bright Horizons. They have created a Comfort for Kids program, implemented after 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Sichuan earthquake in China to help parents and caregivers effectively respond to children's emotional needs and symptoms of trauma. Collaborating with First Lady Preval, Mercy Corps is now conducting this training program throughout the day in some of the city's massive tent camps. Prior to the earthquake, 70 percent of the population survived on less than $2 a day. This extreme poverty existed despite, or perhaps because of, the massive amounts of aid that have been pumped into the country for decades. Yet I marveled as I saw street vendors and markets spring back into life within days of the earthquake. There is a deeply embedded positive, entrepreneurial spirit in the Haitian culture. There is hope that now Haiti can be rebuilt stronger and better. Aid agencies should build on this enterprising spirit and give people the tools to help themselves. One effective approach is the cash-for-work programs that are being introduced by forward-thinking relief agencies. Residents can decide what is most needed for their community, and workers are paid a daily wage to clear rubble, dig drainage ditches or build latrines. With their daily wages, families can buy the things they need most with money they have earned — restoring dignity — while also pumping money into the Haitian economy at a time when it is most needed. Aid agencies should creatively support and encourage local initiative and enterprise. Cash grants or loans should be made to small and medium size entrepreneurs and business people. A street vendor can use a small grant to purchase a push-cart for her wares; a small business person can use a loan to refurbish an apparel production facility. Technology can be used to provide banking through cell phones, which nearly every poor family owns. As international donors prepare to gather this month in New York City, they must remember that Haitians, both poor like Charlene Malebranche and powerful like First Lady Preval, will ensure the country's recovery. There is hope that Haiti can be rebuilt out of its ruins, but it will take both a long-term commitment from the donor community and a resolve to build on Haitians' own initiative, rather than imposing our own. (Editor's note: this story originally appeared on The Huffington Post.)
3 March 2010
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Article
"Once in a Lifetime" Line-Up of Poets Raise Haiti Cash
Huw Williams March 1, 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8542352.stm Source Publication: BBC Scotland A sell-out crowd of more than 800 people has heard many of the greatest poets in the country read work, to raise cash for Haiti. The event, at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh, featured four Poets Laureate, including the UK's poet laureate Carol Anne Duffy. Money raised will go to the Edinburgh-based aid agency Mercy Corps. More than one million people are still homeless in Haiti after January's magnitude seven earthquake. Ms Duffy, one of the main organisers of the event, admitted that "poetry makes nothing happen. " But she said it "has the power of prayer and is the place in language where we are at our most human." She added: "The people of Haiti need our humanity right now." The Poets Laureate for the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, Ron Butlin and Liz Lochhead, both said they found it difficult to imagine poetic inspiration in the destruction brought by the earthquake. But the fourth Poet Laureate taking part, Gillian Clarke from Wales, read a new "Lament for Haiti" reflecting on some of the most graphic images of the quake and its aftermath. In it she described "the white Palace that fell into itself like snow", and "the cots and cushions and cups" that littered the rubble of collapsed houses across Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. Organisers said the event was "the most spectacular poetry event ever seen north of the border." It attracted a message of support from Prime Minister Gordon Brown who said poets "feel and communicate our deepest yearnings and aspirations". And Fiona Hyslop, minister for Culture and External Affairs in the Scottish government, told the audience they were "extending a hand of solidarity to the people of Haiti". The evening marked the end of the "Carry a Poem" campaign, organised by Edinburgh Unesco City of Literature and the Scottish Poetry Library, which ran across the Scottish capital throughout February.
1 March 2010
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Article
The mustache: the newest tool in disaster relief
We can’t all hop on a plane to offer our volunteer services in Haiti, but anyone can help. And who says helping can’t be a good time? The employees at Numara Software came up with an entertaining and effective way to raise funds for Haiti — mustaches! The two winners of Numara Software's mustache-powered Haiti relief fundraiser. Photo: Numara Software So how did the "Stache for Haiti" campaign work? Participants agreed to grow a mustache over a two-week period. Women were able to participate, sporting fake mustaches. During that timeframe, other employees were invited to “bid” on the employee whom they would like to see retain his or her mustache for an additional week. The campaign was a huge success, with employees from both the New Jersey and Florida offices participating. It generated a total of $5,500, nearly half of which was raised in the last half-hour during a heated “live auction” in the Tampa office. It was down to two mustaches and, at the last second, one employee announced, “Here’s my donation. Divide it in such a way that both of them have to keep the mustache for a week.” Negotiation at its finest! We have seen hundreds of thoughtful, innovative and fun community fundraisers for Haiti, and are deeply grateful for and inspired by people’s genuine concern for earthquake survivors in Haiti. Mercy Corps offers it sincerest thanks to all the folks at Numara Software and the numerous businesses, schools, churches, community organizations and individuals who have taken action and helped us provide both immediate aid and long-term support to the people of Haiti.
1 March 2010
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Article
The Next Steps to Haiti's Recovery
In the devastated but proud neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, thousands of people have organized into local committees to help manage, guide and pitch in for what needs to be done in their communities. They are Mercy Corps' partners in the critical work of recovery and rebuilding. In several places, this means building community latrines, installing supply tanks and — most importantly — creating a drainage plan and digging ditches to prevent flooding during the oncoming rainy season. Rubble remains, but the pulse of life in Haiti's capital is quickening. Our cash-for-work programs are helping hard-working people restore beauty and order to their communities, while earning money to buy food for their families. This helps put cash in the pockets of industrious food sellers in hundreds of food stalls. And so an honest day's work benefits a lot more than the person with the shovel — it's helping restore dignity to thousands of earthquake survivors. Here are three stories from the neighborhoods where we're working — places where you can help us do even more: Adrèna Marc, 26, lives in the Impasse Corail tent camp. She and her extended family ran a small shop on a side street and lived above the shop. When the earthquake hit, Adrèna was in a different neighborhood visiting friends. She immediately thought of her family and her home and ran for 20 minutes through the crowded streets to get back home. Her home collapsed and only the first floor room that housed the shop remains intact, although no engineers or officials have been out to check that it is structurally sound. When the house fell down, three of her cousins were inside and were injured but, fortunately, all of them survived. Adrèna is now employed by Mercy Corps' cash-for-work program, and says that if she can save up enough money, she will try to reopen her store. Carl Robert is nine years old and lives in the Impasse Corail tent camp with his parents. He has no brothers or sisters, but plays with the other kids in the camp. He told us that a friend had taught him how to fly a kite and they had made a new one together out of string and a torn plastic bag. Our Comfort for Kids program is helping children like Carl recover from the trauma of the earthquake so they can resume childhood pursuits like flying kites with friends. Quindra Céléstin, 28, when another house fell on it. She was not able to pull out any of her possessions. So today, she has only a small cook stove and a bucket in the tent where she's living. At night, she lays out a bed sheet on the gravel so she and her eight-year-old daughter can sleep on the ground. Mercy Corps' cash-for-work program is helping her cope for now, while making money for a day when they will have a roof over their heads once again. Quindra, Carl and Adrèna are just three of the thousands we're helping in Haiti. And, even though the cameras and reporters have moved on from that shattered country, enormous needs remain. Your gift today will help families and communities for months to come.
1 March 2010
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Article
Giving Donations that Transform Haiti
Katherina Rosqueta and Carol McLaughlin February 24, 2010 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/24/opinion/main6240444.shtml Source Publication: CBS News Haiti has already begun to fade from the headlines. But for individual donors, the real opportunity to have impact has just begun. As Haiti transitions from rescue and relief to recovery and rebuilding, the most lasting change will come from nonprofits with at least one of two characteristics. The first is specific expertise in moving from immediate disaster relief to mid-term recovery to long-term development. The second is experience and a track record of results operating on the ground in Haiti. Both of these characteristics indicate a capacity for sustainable impact. In other words, supporting these models ensures that the impact of your donations will stick long after the headlines and the celebrity appeals end. The extreme poverty that existed in Haiti before the earthquake has made all efforts to help - including philanthropic ones - especially challenging. Haiti will need much more than high impact philanthropic capital to address its needs. However, the models and agents we describe below are focused on areas that represent the three pillars of effective development: health, education and livelihood. All address both mid-term recovery and long-term development, and all have operations on the ground in Haiti. Health - Comprehensive primary healthcare systems in Haiti have demonstrated impact in improving the health and well-being of the populations they serve, especially children. These programs utilize community health workers, mobile clinics and health educators to reach each household. They deliver both effective prevention, like immunization and clean water, and medical treatment. In addition, they are linked to quality clinics and referral hospitals when more advanced care is needed, such as trying to save a mother’s life during complicated child birth. By emphasizing primary and preventive care, these programs can be not only highly effective but also highly cost-efficient. Two organizations currently implementing successful systems in Haiti are: Hôpital Albert Schweitzer and Partners in Health. Philanthropic capital can strengthen and replicate these models throughout the country. Education - In areas affected by the earthquake, the focus now is to move beyond basic child protection and emergency schooling to a more permanent education system. With an estimated 40 percent of the population lacking literacy skills prior to the earthquake and many schools destroyed in the last month, the education system needs not only physical rebuilding, but also investments to improve the quality and reach of schools. New teachers will need to be recruited to replace those who died. All teachers will need improved professional development and training to address the psychosocial needs of traumatized children. As in every country, a better educated society will be essential to effective economic development and a more accountable government. Two organizations that were first on the scene to address the needs of children are: Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee. They have already been planning for transitions to temporary and permanent schooling. Livelihood - Long-term poverty reduction in Haiti will depend on developing the human capacity, resource base, and environmentally sustainable opportunities for Haitians to earn a living and take care of themselves. This last issue is important as Haiti has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. Two models that philanthropists can support are cash-for-work programs and graduated micro-finance programs focusing on the marginalized poor, especially rural women. Cash-for-work programs address multiple levels: near-term, they’re a way to clear the rubble and get young men actively engaged in clean-up operations; mid-term, they get cash into the economy and build self-sufficiency; and long-term, they provide job skills and community bonds needed for lasting recovery. Mercy Corps’ cash-for-work program was instrumental in Aceh after the Tsunami. They now have a new program underway in Haiti. Graduated microfinance programs target the most marginalized by providing not only access to loans and financial services, but also access to basic literacy and business skills, start-up assets, like cows and chickens, and access to markets so that local enterprises can succeed. Fonkoze is Haiti’s largest micro-finance organization. Its mission is to build the economic foundation for democracy in Haiti by providing the rural poor - mostly women - with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. They offer a full range of financial services to the rural-based poor, currently reaching more than 225,000 savers and borrowers. Every disaster is different. However, these models and agents have all been able to match their activities to the specific needs on the ground in Haiti. Equally important, they quickly involved Haitians in their own recovery and rebuilding. Research, experience from other disasters, and common sense all point to the latter as key to sustainable impact. And ultimately, that’s what most donors aspire to - a positive change that continues even after they’ve moved on. Attention is already moving on from Haiti. By supporting these models, donors can make sure their impact sticks. Katherina Rosqueta is Founding Executive Director and Carol McLaughlin is Director of Global Public Health at the Center for High Impact Philanthropy in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
26 February 2010
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Article
After school students learn about Haiti
Kristin Shiller February 26, 2010 http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_357/afterschool.html Source Publication: Downtown Express Even as they munched on their after school snacks, about 20 students from P.S. 89 were attuned to the many New Yorkers that might be going without food at the very same moment. “Does hunger exist in New York City?” was the question posed to them by Sarah Bever, education officer at the Mercy Corps Action Center, to which the children did not hesitate to respond with a resounding “yes,” offering stories about some of their own encounters with homeless and hungry people throughout the city. The discussion was part of a new weekly after school program called “Hang Out For Change” run by Mercy Corps at its center on River Terrace in Battery Park City. Cassandra Nelson, a Mercy Corps field worker just back from Haiti, paid a visit Tuesday. The students had been learning about hunger in Haiti for the past few weeks in anticipation of her arrival. She showed pictures and told stories from her experience in the earthquake relief effort, focusing on the problems surrounding access to food and clean water. The students asked questions about the challenges that kids like them are currently facing in Haiti, such as if they were able to go to school. “Hang Out for Change” was developed in partnership with P.S. 89 , but it is open to all children in grades 3-6 and the suggested fee is $30 per month.
26 February 2010
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Article
What We're Doing in Haiti
Haitians left homeless after the earthquake camp out in a Port-au-Prince park. Photo: Photo: Reuters/STR New, courtesy www.alertnet.org More than a month after the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti, Mercy Corps’ team of emergency response experts is working to meet the immediate needs of survivors. At the same time, our team is laying the groundwork for longer-term recovery, drawing upon Mercy Corps’ three decades of experience helping disaster-struck communities transition from receiving aid to carrying out their own recovery. Haitian authorities estimate that more than 230,000 people died in the earthquake and that three-quarters of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, will have to be rebuilt. At least one million people have been displaced. The Mercy Corps team is coordinating with the United Nations and other aid groups on the ground to ensure the most efficient response. Team of Experts Just hours after the earthquake struck, Mercy Corps deployed an A-team of humanitarian first responders. These experts from around the world have collective experience that includes responses to the China earthquake, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, and Hurricane Katrina. Learn more about our Haiti Response Team Right Now: Water, Trauma Support, Jobs The Mercy Corps response is currently focused on immediate humanitarian needs: food to beleaguered hospitals, water and sanitation, trauma support for children and job creation. Five days after the quake, this woman and her baby need water first, then food and shelter. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps Earthquake survivors like this little girl are living in parks and vacant lots around Port-au-Prince. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps Clean Water and Sanitation Our water and sanitation team has conducted assessments at 14 separate sites in Port-au-Prince with plans to secure clean water systems and at least 500 safe latrines for more than 42,000 people. Earlier this month, our team installed a water filtration unit at a local hospital. Job Creation and Economic Recovery To jumpstart the decimated economy and begin rebuilding efforts in earthquake-affected areas, Mercy Corps has initiated a cash-for-work program that pays earthquake survivors a daily wage to clear debris, restore buildings and repair basic infrastructure. We plan to employ more than 8,000 workers in some of Port-au-Prince's poorest and most-devastated neighborhoods. Through the cash-for-work approach, survivors carry out their own recovery efforts. Employing survivors gives them the dignity of earning an income they can then spend on the supplies they need for their families. Their purchases in turn help restart local commerce. Trauma Support for Children When the earthquake struck, all schools in Port-au-Prince collapsed. Haitian children who survived the earthquake experienced trauma that could negatively affect them for life. To help restore children’s sense of well-being, Mercy Corps is providing post-trauma help using Comfort for Kids. This counseling methodology was first developed in New York by Mercy Corps and Bright Horizons, a global workplace childcare provider, to help children recover from the trauma of 9/11. Subsequently, Mercy Corps has used Comfort for Kids to help children recover from the China and Peru earthquakes and Hurricane Katrina. Mercy Corps recently announced a partnership with Haiti's First Lady, Elisabeth Delacourt Préval, to implement Comfort for Kids trainings for adult caregivers. The First Lady and UNICEF will organize “safe spaces” in camps to run arts, sports and music activities for children, while Mercy Corps will run simultaneous sessions — in French and Creole — to educate parents and caregivers about child symptoms of trauma and how they can be addressed. Next Steps Mercy Corps will focus on supporting the creation of jobs, especially in the provinces around Port-au-Prince, in sectors such as agriculture, tourism and apparel manufacturing. Mercy Corps also expects to use cash grants to help people rebuild assets like small businesses, fishing boats, food carts. In addition, Mercy Corps is exploring options with microfinance provider FONKOZE and other partners to help small- and mid-size businesses grow using remittances and microfinance. In the coming weeks and months, Mercy Corps plans to expand its work to include the provinces surrounding Port-au-Prince, particularly the Central Plateau area where approximately 500,000 people fled after the earthquake. The agency is striving to make these areas economically viable and provide critical resources to displaced families who have settled there. A Long Track Record of Helping Recovery The earthquake in Haiti left three million people in need of aid, exacerbating the dire humanitarian situation in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The Caribbean nation suffers extreme hunger and political instability, and this disaster only increases the needs of thousands of impoverished Haitian families. Mercy Corps has a long track record of helping people living in the world’s toughest conditions to recover and rebuild after natural disasters and conflict. The agency has special expertise in disaster response that establishes a foundation for, and leads directly to, self-sufficiency. HOW TO HELP Mercy Corps is accepting donations toward our earthquake response. Public support thus far has been strong, and corporations such as Amazon.com, ITT Corporation, Best Buy, Western Union, Gap, Nike, and Trilogy/Voilà have generously contributed to our efforts.
25 February 2010
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Article
How we’ll help transform Haiti
Mercy Corps Haiti Country Director Bill Holbrook surveys earthquake damage in Port-au-Prince shortly after the disaster struck. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps In the late afternoon of January 12, 2010, Haiti had a heart attack when an earthquake struck Port-au-Prince — the country’s political, cultural and financial capital. It’s a devastating piece of history for Haiti, a place that had already suffered more than 200 years of governments that not only failed to serve the Haitian people, but also exploited them. Exploited the land. Drove more than eight million people into abject poverty. Haiti was as close to a failed state as a country could possibly be. It was a disaster even before this disaster. Very few here would argue against that. But the world has also failed Haiti. Many of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful countries have also exploited the country and its people. Too often, our leaders have either backed corrupt and dangerous Haitian governments, or else ignored the plight of the country — and its people — altogether. Today, of course the world is focused on Haiti as never before. But there will soon come a time when the reporters leave, the cameras switch off and the headlines fade. And, when that time comes, we will not only stay to help the Haitian people, but we will work harder than ever. I am personally committed to helping Haiti. My own ties to this country run deep. My wife is Haitian, and my in-laws are dealing with the chaos, uncertainty and shock of the earthquake’s aftermath. Many of our friends have lost nearly everything and are dealing with profound grief. I’ve lived in Haiti for six years of my life — including more than four years managing humanitarian assistance and development programs. I care deeply about Haiti and its people. You can’t help but love the people here. And, as Mercy Corps’ country director here, I want to do anything I can to help them. Mercy Corps, working alongside local partners and colleague agencies, is committed to helping Haitian families and communities not only emerge from the rubble and rebuild their homes, but also rebuild their country. In the long term, we will accomplish this through thoughtful and well-planned economic development programs. The Haitian economy was already in a shambles before last month’s earthquake: at least 54 percent of the population lived on less than a dollar a day. The unemployment rate was crippling, somewhere between 70 and 80 percent. Yet Haiti’s economic situation is even more desperate and disastrous than these staggering numbers imply: the vast majority of Haitians are not only unemployed, but also unemployable. Decades of corruption and exploitation have left most Haitians without marketable job skills, unable to fill good-paying, technical jobs even if they were available. Mercy Corps is launching job skills training as part of our long-term economic recovery and development programs. We will help Haitian communities build a skilled workforce that can perform and lift families out of poverty. By investing in small and medium enterprises across key business sectors, we will create lasting, meaningful, good-paying jobs all over the country. The key to transforming Haiti’s economy — and therefore the future of its people — depends not only on creating opportunities in Port-au-Prince, but also in other cities and rural areas. At last count, at least 236,000 people fled the capital in the aftermath of the earthquake. They will need jobs, too. The history of Haiti has largely been a history of neglect. This time, we can’t let that happen. We have to prove that we’re not going away. We have to prove that, alongside the hard-working Haitian people, we’ll make something great happen. This time, we’ll transform Haiti — together.
25 February 2010