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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
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RT @WomenThrive: World Pulse: "Holding Up Haiti: Women Respond to Nightmare Earthquake" http://bit.ly/ak4FHA
25 February 2010
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Article
Protecting survivors from the rain
Marie Ginette, a certified nurse, watched her house crumble following the earthquake. Now she’s participating in Mercy Corps’ cash-for-work program, and as a participant she automatically received one of the plastic sheets. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps Last Thursday in the early morning hours it rained heavily here in Port-au-Prince. I slept right through it, but later when I was talking to a local Mercy Corps staff member, she told me the rain woke her up. “My heart hurt” at the sound of it, she said. She knew the rain meant serious problems for many of the earthquake survivors who still lack adequate shelter from the rain. That same day we went to the Truitier neighborhood in Tabarre to see the distribution of plastic sheeting that will protect families from the rain. This week we went back to Truitier to find and photograph people that had set up their sheets. We spoke with 28 year-old Marie Ginette Fils Aimee. Marie Ginette, a certified nurse, watched her house crumble following the earthquake. Now she’s participating in Mercy Corps’ cash-for-work program, and as a participant she automatically received one of the plastic sheets. Marie Ginette and her good friend Darline, also a cash-for-work participant and plastic sheeting recipient, collaborated together and set up their houses directly next to each other, sharing one support wall. With the help of her brother and father, Marie Ginette was able to get her sheet up in one day. She says there is great comfort in knowing that her family, including her mother, father, and brother, can now sleep under the sheeting and will be sheltered from the rain.
25 February 2010
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Our cash-for-work program example of way to give a donation to transform #Haiti by @CBSnews http://bit.ly/9eWfqQ (Thanks @ImpactSP2!)
25 February 2010
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Article
Statement About Late Night Telemarketing Calls
For those receiving late-night calls from 402-982-0436 soliciting donations for CARE's work in Haiti, please know that these are not legitimate calls from CARE. This is not a phone number used by CARE, and we have launched an investigation to determine the origin of these calls.
24 February 2010
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@headshots4haiti Glad to hear you received a phone call from @oregonminda. Thanks for your fundraising efforts!
24 February 2010
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RT @JANEtheater Have you seen the video "Portland Sings for Haiti"? Every hit means $1 for Mercy Corps! http://bit.ly/brNeqo (RT!)
24 February 2010
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24 February 2010
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Article
Haiti: Lots of priorities, little time
It’s my first week back in Port-au-Prince after a respite in Boston. Last night was uncomfortable; not physically, as the tent is now packed away and I’m sharing a room in a down-at-heel hotel on a hill distantly overlooking the harbor. But listening to the rain, I knew that my conditions were luxurious compared to tens of thousands of families below in the city. read more
24 February 2010
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Article
CARE Helps Poor Families Fight Hunger in Niger
CARE has increased its work to address ongoing food insecurity in Niger, focusing on the Diffa region in the eastern part of the country. According to the United Nations, a poor rainy season has created food shortages affecting nearly half of the population, or 7.5 million people.
24 February 2010
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The foreign aid worker’s conundrum
Alexandros Yiannopoulos, Oxfam’s coordinator of food security and livelihoods in Haiti, is blogging for Channel 4 News Online.It is a strange life being a Humanitarian worker. read more
24 February 2010
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23 February 2010