Good afternoon. Not much to report to you today as I had an office day. I managed to just about finish the work I have been doing reviewing staff files...I only have 4 left to go when I get back. There is some work to do to get them all in order but at least now I have an invetory of the information I am needing. Early this afternoon I had an interesting meeting with an engineer and his assistant regarding the building of the health center. As per Haitian custom our meeting took place over an hour later than planned but I managed to fill that time with no problem whatsoever.

Since I don't have much to report, I will share with you an update I received from a friend of mine who is much better informed than I. I think you will find it interesting.

Donor's Conference 31 March 2010.
Nearly 140 countries participated in the donors' conference held in New York last week. The longer term plan, which had been put together by the Haitian Government with the help of numerous humanitarian organizations, was presented; and nearly $US 10 Billion was pledged to reconstruct Haïti! All in all, including the emergency aid that is presently being given, about $US 34 Billion will be needed; but this amount was more than twice what had been hoped for. We are all gratified and very grateful.
The monies will be placed in a multi-donor reconstruction fund and managed by the Interim Haïti Recovery Commission headed by UN Special Envoy to Haïti Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Bellerive. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “Our goal is not to rebuild. It is to build back better... a Haiti where the majority of people no longer live in deep poverty, where they can go to school and enjoy better health, where they have better options than going without jobs or leaving the country altogether."
The actual reconstruction part of the plan is estimated to cost $US 11.5 Billion over the next 10 years; and the participating organizations will oversee that these monies are both well invested and well coordinated.
The plan recognizes the need to decentralize jobs and housing, that is, to move these to nearby towns. The Port-au-Prince that I knew in the late 1980's was quite crowded with a population of a mere 1 million. Now it is impossibly congested with over 3.5 million people living in one or two story dwellings in the same very small space.
Mr Ban Ki-moon went on to say that the Haitian Government and the UN are committed to a new 'social contract' with the Haitian people which would include: a fully democratic government; economic and social policies to address the extreme poverty and deep-rooted disparities of wealth; human rights for all that would be guaranteed by an independent judiciary and a vigilant civil society; and good governance, transparency and mutual accountability among the Haitian Government and the private/public sectors as well as investors. They proposed cash-for-work programs (investments that create jobs) and incentives for families to relocate outside of PAP.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commended the Haitian Government’s plan to provide the coordination and consultation needed to direct aid where it will be most needed, and she warned humanitarian organizations against the temptation to work around the Government rather than with it--as well as the tendency to scatter their efforts among an array of projects rather than to focus on deeper, more long-term solutions. She also cautioned about the tendency to resort to known but ineffective strategies. Indeed, Haïti is a graveyard of these kinds of aid!
President Préval noted, “...There is also a need for us to take stock and learn the lessons of this terrible disaster. This has shown us that generosity must be more disciplined... International aid must be coordinated upstream if it is to be effective.” He also remarked that Haïti needed investment in infrastructure such as roads, electricity, transport and telecommunication.
Prime Minister Bellerive, remarked that the plan would move from an immediate emergency response towards reconstruction after the first six months. The first 18 months of the reconstruction part of the plan will focus on rebuilding transport, communication, and other parts of Haïti's infrastructure along with job creation in the agriculture and textile industries.
The plan also focuses on providing basic housing for all, investing in youth, good health care, developing an agriculture infrastructure, and vocational training. Mr Bellerive said that he desires to see Haiti emerge over the next twenty years as a fair, unpretentious, strong, competitive, decentralized modern society, based on solidarity, an effective judicial process, and strong regional development.

A couple comments here...The Haitian Government and numerous humanitarian organizations have done an analysis of the present situation and responded with a good plan and a commitment to coordinate its implementation.
But the real 'how' of the plan has not yet been concluded--that is, HOW will they do the reconstruction? Will they bring in large organizations to perform the key reconstruction while the Haitian people stand by and observe; will they construct while asking the people to participate in some modest way; or will they leave the actual reconstruction to the Haitian people while experts guide and assure proper technique?
In essence, it goes back to the three types of works that the community developer from southern Haïti described in my presence so many years ago: Will it be a colonialistic type work by 'destroyers' who will do what they want? Will it be a 'builders' work who will take charge while giving the Haitian people small jobs and eventually turn over what the people perceive as 'the foreigners' project' to them? Or will it be a community based work supported by 'catalysts' who provide technical assistance and will help to responsibly funnel the resources needed?
The latter, of course, is the ideal; but I suspect it will not become the operative model. If that is the case, then the plan risks an overall lack of a sense of ownership by the Haitian people which will ultimately lead to strong favoritism and overt corruption. Without proper oversight (and this is not easily done by foreigners since they are generally not familiar enough with the culture), the resources will be funneled to friends of influential local persons, as will contracts for labor and supplies. The costs will be inflated yet for limited work both in terms of quantity and quality.

That's the siren song of Haïti; and despite many safeguards against these problems, they still do occur if the projects are not executed by the right persons. Good results are possible, but only if the projects are led with full community participation and transparency so that there is proper oversight and accountability. This is easily said but very difficultly done.

Camps and Relocation. Five suburban areas have been proposed by the Haitian government to relocate persons from the overcrowded camps; but to date only one area has been secured, about 25 acres near the airport. The camp cluster suggests the following approaches for the camps: encourage camp residents to return to their homes if they have been evaluated and are safe (about 40% of the population); help camp residents to resettle near their old neighborhoods once rubble is removed (about 20% of the population); assist residents to find lodging with host families (about 10% of the population); and support the remaining residents at the sites that will now be reasonably decongested. If none of these options is available, then they will help residents to relocate to areas that are more secure from flooding.
There seems to be a lack of communication about the plans to the camp dwellers, and the cluster is encouraging more information sharing by the Government. This is a real problem, especially since most people are reluctant to make yet another major life shift right now.
Transitional Shelters. It will be important that organizations confirm land titles before building transitional shelters. This has been less of an issue outside of PAP, since many have clear title to their land; thus shelters have already begun to be erected. But it will be a major factor for planning temporary housing in PAP since much of the population does not have clear title to the land upon which their homes had been constructed. Other important issues are the potential length of stay in the shelters and their ultimate ownership. Over 120,000 transitional shelters are being planned by 40 agencies participating in the shelter cluster.
Also, a national building code will be needed. There had been very few construction standards in force before the earthquake, and this will be a critical factor in rebuilding. The code should be sufficient for the needs but not overly rigorous, thus hindering reconstruction. This will be a tough balance to strike. Earthboxes. Cluster agencies are discussing the possibility of including 'earthboxes' with the transitional shelters--containers where small family gardens can be established. These are well suited to the post-earthquake phase since they require minimum space, do not need fertile ground, are transportable, and can be moved if a family resettles elsewhere. The boxes use 60% less water, 50% less fertilizer and 90% less labor than a traditional garden and produce high yields, even out of season. Here is a site if you are interested in learning more:http://www.earthbox.com/index.php

Conditions in PAP. People are becoming weary of the present living conditions and all the inconveniences. Not only are the camps crowded with insufficient toilets and showers, the traffic is horrible! A 25 minute trip can now take--regularly--up to two hours, and that's not counting when trucks break down, which is also a regular occurrence!
Because of the horrible road conditions (and less of them because of the rubble), there is a new game developing: how many cars can you pass in stalled traffic while zooming in the oncoming lane before you either crash or find someone you can bully to let you in? The Haitian people tend to put up with this kind of behavior for a long time; but when they've had it, they can react very violently. The Government must take some action before this touches off into violence. We are all short on patience these days.

The other problem is the cost of living. Food prices have increased by at least 30%, and it is making it very difficult for any of us to buy groceries. Also, home rentals have skyrocketed, some as much as 300%. I've heard of cases of people being put out of their lease so that the owner can rent their home to an organization that will pay an inflated market price. Since most offices are located in larger homes, you can imagine the premium being placed on them--especially now as more organizations are arriving daily to Haïti.

Well, that's the latest, and here are a few specific requests for prayer:
That the Haitian people remain calm and find what they need--dry shelter, enough food, and the right support
That they keep their resolve to wait out this hard trial
That the Government will work at better traffic control
That we all can find suitable new homes and business dwellings yet not displace anyone. We are presently working out of our warehouse, which is both far away and packed with people. My poor boss has lost his home and is actually living there!
And things to thank the Lord for:
AMAZING grace
Overall good support from the numerous organizations that have come to help
Relative safety though there are more episodes of theft recently
Friend helping friend--even stranger!

until tomorrow.....Debbie