Hello from cloudy PAP
Here I am back from my quick trip to the Artibonite Valley. Saturday was an EXHAUSTING day which started at 5:00 AM and kept going until 8 or so when we finally sat down to eat dinner. Wilner arrived around 9 or so and after a quick breakfast we were out the door to go to Agape to check for mail and to pick up some groceries in expectation of guests coming to stay at HH for a couple of days at the start of the new week. That was a 4 hour excursion by time we got through traffic and all. We gulped down a quick bite at the apt and then got to work moving some of the furniture and packing a few more items awaiting Odney's arrival at 3 to load up the truck. I don't know what I would have done if we had planned to move everything to Deschapelles as the truck was loaded with the little we were taking. The move is beginning to seem a bit like the "Never Ending Story" with the piece meal fashion in which I am moving out of their. I hope another couple of hours of packing and another truck load will see me finally moved from Santo 25 to Santo 3. It is nice in a way not having deadline so I can take my time but it also means it goes on an on as I have already said. Sunday AM bright and early we were on the road to Moreau des Iles (where our house is). Once we got there it was another big load of work as we cleaned and moved items around to make room for the items coming off of the truck. By mid afternoon I had had it and flopped on the bed to read and immediately fell asleep for a couple of hours. Wilner's aunt and cousin are staying with him for a while as his cousin recuperates from injuries suffered during the earthquake. His cousin was unearthed from some neighbourhood fellows after 6 hours of their tunneling down to her. She suffered a rather bad break to her lower leg and also required some skin grafting. She had a return visit to the Hospital today to hopefully get the cast taken off. At any rate her aunt took care of all of us yesterday by cooking up a great meal of rice, bean sauce and a meat dish. What a relief it was not to have to cook! Wilner was off by 6:00 this AM as he headed out with a team to get a new project going at one of the areas HAS is working at. Odney and I were back on the road by 8:30 heading back to PAP. The trip was pretty uneventful and once we were back, I hit the office where I have been ever since.

Since I don't have much other exciting news to report I am pasting below the latest news from my friend Judith which has some more post earthquake updates for you. Have a good evening one and all.

Yes, I know these updates are getting more and more infrequent, but that is a tribute to the stability that is beginning to occur. It is gratifying to see. Health…Medical services are still to remain free through July, although some institutions have begun to charge again. There has been one case of Diphtheria reported at one of the camps, so immunization efforts have again intensified. To date more than 800,000 persons have benefited from vaccination. Great strides in water and sanitation have been made at the camps. There are much more facilities available in just the last month; and the NGOs believe that full quotas may be reached in about 3 months. This is very good considering the heavy concentration of people in water-poor areas.

Housing…The Shelter Cluster delivered 104% of its goal of protective tarps and/or tents to over 300,000 families (1.5 million displaced persons). Recent satellite studies of the country showed that out of the over 236,000 buildings surveyed in Port-au-Prince, about 20% was either severely damaged or destroyed. Folks have begun to be relocated from the camps, especially those where people are at risk for flooding. Any camp areas at risk were coded as ‘red’, and these 1,800 families were moved to the two areas outside of Port-au-Prince. Soon those in ‘yellow’ areas will be relocated as well: families on school or small business properties that need to reopen. As I mentioned last time, evaluation teams from the Haitian Government are assessing houses in Port-au-Prince: green ones mean that they are safe to return to; yellow ones will need a little work but can be lived in again; and red ones will be torn down for rebuilding. Despite the fact that 42% of the houses (and in some areas even more) are “green”, folks are still hesitant to return, preferring to sleep outside on their property despite our now heavy rains or under tarp or tent in one of the camps. The camps are somewhat popular because of the food, tarps/tents, and other supplies that had been distributed. It has not been uncommon for some to be camp dwellers during the day and home dwellers (at least outside their home) at night. No one wants to be too far away from his belongings, much of which are still under rubble; and some saw the camp like a Christmas present. The Christmas present phenomenon would be part of any project that gave out free anything; but here in Haïti it’s a little more so. There is a long history of free just about everything, and it’s led to a real problem with dependency. And dependency robs people of their self respect. Now that the international support for the Haitian people is starting a new phase, from acute aid to re-establishment of agriculture and small business, this turn away from handouts will be very important--but also very difficult. There have already been demonstrations against the reduction in the acute aid; but it is a necessary step. It needs to occur as respectfully as possible, but also in a decisive manner. Keeping this kind of help going indefinitely will hamper the natural Haitian spirit of innovation and solidarity. We have all marveled at how well the Haitian people have arisen to help each other and find creative ways to make do. This is the key moment to promote just that.Temporary Shelters have begun to be built. A total of about 130,000 are planned. Folks have been taking advantage of the tarps and some supplies they were able to recoup from the rubble to pretty much do their own, though.

There are the little fancier models being given out, like the new Quonset hut style homes at one of the relocation sites in the Croix des Bouquets area (suburb of Port-au-Prince): Then there are the ones from Habitat for Humanity International, ones made from treated wood—and even the Danish are getting involved, one was built right on the site of a destroyed home: Speaking of reconstruction, as some of you may remember I’ve felt impressed to be able to help persons, particularly ones I know, that have damaged or destroyed homes to rebuild. I’m calling the project Rebati Kay-la (Rebuild the House) and it will join my other project, the Bourse. My first project, Bourse, is set up as a revolving loan. But since the cost to rebuild will be far greater than a family could repay, I’ve set up this second fund to be able to give a gift of building materials and building expertise to go with them.One of the reasons for my recent trip to the US was to see about starting my own NGO for this project so that the benefactors could receive tax credit and I would not be charged tax so as to reduce the principal that could be used. While speaking to a small group, one lady, Lynne Cumming, felt impressed to offer to put Rebati Kay-la as a project under her NGO, Leaves for the Nations. Tony and I went to visit with Lynne and the NGO administrator and his wife, John and Henrietta Reed, a few days later; and we all felt that this was the Lord’s direction. So now Rebat Kay-la has a home with Leaves for the Nation (pun partially intended…)!If you or someone you know would be interested in helping to rebuild through the project, you can make out your check to Leaves for the Nations and send it to:
Leaves for the NationsRebati Kay-laPO Box 41952Sacramento, CA 95841

John will see that you receive a receipt for the donation at the end of the year that you can then apply come April 15---Tony’s birthday, by the way…

Schools…Most schools in the earthquake stricken areas outside of Port-au-Prince have reopened, and about 700 have within the city. This is still very few, but it is a good start. Some are under tarps, others in makeshift buildings, but the essential is that the children are back in school and learning!

Food and Agriculture…The food distributions are nearly completed as cash-for-work projects are taking their place. Much seed continues to be distributed and tuber plants will also be distributed in July. A successful harvest this year will greatly help!

Government and Economics…Food prices are up between 25 and 35%, which has put a strain on all of us. Government services are sparse because it lost a third of its 60,000 employees in the earthquake (almost all government buildings were destroyed). A recent World Bank study suggests that the money transfers from Haitians living abroad (Diaspora) will increase by 20% this year to add another $306 million in income. They believe that this is due to the folks who have found temporary (18 months) asylum in the USA and who will be sending back money to their family and friends. The paper also commented on how the World Bank considers help from individuals to other individuals as potentially a mainstay to reconstruction. I believe this as well. It will be best done one to one; though there is still a role for larger institutions to offer a helping hand.The World Bank also proposed that the Haitian Government offer bonds to the Diaspora (who also may soon be able to hold dual citizenship, if the law passes—meaning that they could both vote and hold an elected position in the government). Following the model already set up in countries like India and Israel, these bonds would be administered by a respected organization and used for development work within the country. They would offer about 5% return on investment, and would permit persons to reinvest at a comfortable rate in their birthplace.

Customs continue to be a difficult hurdle to jump, even for those of us who are residents. The border between the Dominican Republic and Haïti is now particularly difficult, and about 150 trucks loaded with cargo are being held up by customs procedures. The NGO Coordination group that is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), has developed guidelines to help NGOs through this complex maze. If you would like more information, let me know and I will forward you their FAQs email. It would be very helpful for any of you working in a relatively new NGO in Haïti.As distributions wind down the focus is shifting to investments in jobs. Some of these will focus on support to local markets; local procurement; cash-for-work and food-for-work programs that will increase both jobs and agricultural production. Also, different private investors are financing international business concerns to expand the apparel industry in order to take advantage of free trade zones and favorable markets in the USA. Another interesting public-private partnership will be with our antiquated landline system, TELECO, that is planned to significantly increase access to telephone service and high speed Internet. This will be through Viettel, Vietnam’s largest mobile phone system, and the agreement is the largest since the earthquake, roughly $100million.
Security…Generally speaking, things have been relatively quiet here; but it does not mean totally peaceful nonetheless. Monday night some good friends of mine had their home broken into near the Baptiste Mission in Fermathe while they slept. Fortunately they were able to escape because the thieves were armed. They are now staying with me while their home is reinforced with ironwork to help prevent further burglaries. Please remember them, this is very traumatic, as you can imagine.