CARTER WILL ASK THE U.S. TO FULFILL THEIR PROMISES
(Haiti Libre) -
Wednesday, November 9, 2011, during a press conference in Majagual, Sabana Perdida, Dominican Republic, where Habitat for Humanity plans to build a housing complex for low-income people, former President Jimmy Carter declared :
"...It is true that the Government of the United States have made several great promises for Haiti that have not yet been met, and I promised President Martelly, that on my return to the United States, I will ask the government to comply with its commitments [...] I'll do my best with the other heads of state, so that they will respect their promises; for health, housing, transportation and everything that is necessary for Haiti, which is in a hurry today."
Friday, December 9, 2011
ARTICLE - AIRPORT REPAIRS - $4 MILLION
OVER $4 MILLION OF WORK AT THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
(Haiti Libre) -
Earlier this week, President Martelly went to the Toussaint Louverture International Airport of Port-au-Prince in order to check ON the progress of the rehabilitation work of THE departure and arrival halls, which were damaged in January 2010.
The engineer, Gilbert Hypolitte of Panexus Construction, a Haitian firm, explained "...one of the first things, is to rehabilitate and reinforce the structure [...] we are using modern methods of repair and strengthening. For example, we are using epoxy products which are much more resistant than concrete,.... for example, when we repair cracks, they no longer open [...] This project is done in several phases [...] but I can tell you that we are working to deliver the arrival and departure halls by December 15, 2011 [...]"
"We want less talking and more concrete things like this project. And that's what we're doing," declared President Martelly.
All the rehabilitation work of the airport should be completed by February 2012.
(Haiti Libre) -
Earlier this week, President Martelly went to the Toussaint Louverture International Airport of Port-au-Prince in order to check ON the progress of the rehabilitation work of THE departure and arrival halls, which were damaged in January 2010.
The engineer, Gilbert Hypolitte of Panexus Construction, a Haitian firm, explained "...one of the first things, is to rehabilitate and reinforce the structure [...] we are using modern methods of repair and strengthening. For example, we are using epoxy products which are much more resistant than concrete,.... for example, when we repair cracks, they no longer open [...] This project is done in several phases [...] but I can tell you that we are working to deliver the arrival and departure halls by December 15, 2011 [...]"
"We want less talking and more concrete things like this project. And that's what we're doing," declared President Martelly.
All the rehabilitation work of the airport should be completed by February 2012.
ARTICLE - 10,000 SHELTERS - IOM
10,000 FAMILIES RECEIVE TEMPORARY SHELTERS FROM NGO - IOM
(Defend Hati) -
PORT-AU-PRINCE - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has provided new temporary shelters to nearly 10,000 displaced families in Haiti through its housing program. Approximately 500,000 people are still in tents and many of them are threatened with eviction.
"Reaching those 10,000 was part of a cumulative effort by the international community to build over 100,000 shelters in Haiti," said in a press release, Dall'Oglio Luca, head of the IOM mission in Haiti.
Luca Dall'Oglio affirms that there has been a major effort to help families who lost their homes to leave the tents and makeshift structures and find decent and safe places to live.
According to IOM, shelter designed to withstand rain and hurricanes have a lifespan of at least three years and probably longer.
However, IOM admits that all the shelters do not provide a permanent solution as part of the overall strategy pursued by the humanitarian community.
Twenty two months after the earthquake of January 12, 2010, about 500,000 people still live in tents, according to figures released last September by the international organization. Homeless and displaced people also face the threat of expulsion.
(Defend Hati) -
PORT-AU-PRINCE - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has provided new temporary shelters to nearly 10,000 displaced families in Haiti through its housing program. Approximately 500,000 people are still in tents and many of them are threatened with eviction.
"Reaching those 10,000 was part of a cumulative effort by the international community to build over 100,000 shelters in Haiti," said in a press release, Dall'Oglio Luca, head of the IOM mission in Haiti.
Luca Dall'Oglio affirms that there has been a major effort to help families who lost their homes to leave the tents and makeshift structures and find decent and safe places to live.
According to IOM, shelter designed to withstand rain and hurricanes have a lifespan of at least three years and probably longer.
However, IOM admits that all the shelters do not provide a permanent solution as part of the overall strategy pursued by the humanitarian community.
Twenty two months after the earthquake of January 12, 2010, about 500,000 people still live in tents, according to figures released last September by the international organization. Homeless and displaced people also face the threat of expulsion.
ARTICLE - SIGNS OF PROGRESS - UN
ALMOST TWO YEARS AFTER EARTHQUAKE, HAITI SHOWS SIGNS OF PROGRESS - UN OFFICIAL
(UN) -
Almost two years after the devastating earthquake that killed over 200,000 people, Haiti is showing remarkable signs of progress, a United Nations official said today, stressing that reconstruction efforts need to be put into context to assess their effectiveness.
Nigel Fisher, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti told reporters in New York that there have been significant advances on education, health, job creation, and infrastructure, among other sectors, through effective reconstruction projects.
Mr. Fisher emphasized that to be able to provide an integral picture of the situation in Haiti, pre-earthquake conditions need to be considered.
Before the earthquake, Haiti was already the poorest country in the Southern Hemisphere, Mr. Fisher said.
“Three quarters of the population earned and still earn less than two dollars a day, 70 per cent did not have stable jobs, more than half of children did not go to school, and the great majority – about 70 to 80 per cent – had no access to electricity, and only five per cent of roads were in decent conditions.
“The earthquake highlighted decades of chronic political instability, lack of basic social services and economic opportunities that left so many Haitians in deep poverty and chronic vulnerability,” Mr. Fisher added, stressing it was against this backdrop that the international community and the Government responded.
However, Mr. Fisher said that large-scale recovery projects that were already starting to have a visible impact in the country.
“In July 2010, 1.5 million Haitians were sheltered in camps receiving clean water, food, medical care and access to latrines. Today, 500,000 people are still in those camps. While this is still a significant number, it represents a two-thirds reduction in just over a year,” he said.
Mr. Fisher stressed that even as things improve, aid is still needed to continue the work carried out so far. “Even as housing and resettlement programmes accelerate, thousands of people still have basic social needs at a time when humanitarian funding is decreasing and too many partners are closing essential operations.”
Regarding the cholera epidemic last year, Mr. Fisher said that a national response system and an alert system are now in place, and that fatality rates have dropped to just over one per cent.
He also addressed criticism of aid distribution as being too slow by pointing out that 88 per cent out of the $4.6 billion in aid pledged by countries last year, have already been dispersed or committed to specific programmes for transport, debris removal, education, job creation, water and sanitation, public administration, health, housing, energy, among other areas.
Mr. Fisher underscored that there is still much to be done on all fronts in the country, but urged countries to see the bigger picture, and keep supporting Haiti in the long-term.
Progress should be put into context, he said. As an example he said Haiti has managed to get rid of almost 50 per cent of debris, equivalent to five million cubic metres. In contrast, it took five and a half years to remove 1.3 million cubic metres in Aceh after it was hit by a tsunami in 2006.
“The suggestion that no progress has been achieved is to paint a false picture,” Mr. Fisher said, adding that continued support will make it possible for the country to achieve further advances.
(UN) -
Almost two years after the devastating earthquake that killed over 200,000 people, Haiti is showing remarkable signs of progress, a United Nations official said today, stressing that reconstruction efforts need to be put into context to assess their effectiveness.
Nigel Fisher, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti told reporters in New York that there have been significant advances on education, health, job creation, and infrastructure, among other sectors, through effective reconstruction projects.
Mr. Fisher emphasized that to be able to provide an integral picture of the situation in Haiti, pre-earthquake conditions need to be considered.
Before the earthquake, Haiti was already the poorest country in the Southern Hemisphere, Mr. Fisher said.
“Three quarters of the population earned and still earn less than two dollars a day, 70 per cent did not have stable jobs, more than half of children did not go to school, and the great majority – about 70 to 80 per cent – had no access to electricity, and only five per cent of roads were in decent conditions.
“The earthquake highlighted decades of chronic political instability, lack of basic social services and economic opportunities that left so many Haitians in deep poverty and chronic vulnerability,” Mr. Fisher added, stressing it was against this backdrop that the international community and the Government responded.
However, Mr. Fisher said that large-scale recovery projects that were already starting to have a visible impact in the country.
“In July 2010, 1.5 million Haitians were sheltered in camps receiving clean water, food, medical care and access to latrines. Today, 500,000 people are still in those camps. While this is still a significant number, it represents a two-thirds reduction in just over a year,” he said.
Mr. Fisher stressed that even as things improve, aid is still needed to continue the work carried out so far. “Even as housing and resettlement programmes accelerate, thousands of people still have basic social needs at a time when humanitarian funding is decreasing and too many partners are closing essential operations.”
Regarding the cholera epidemic last year, Mr. Fisher said that a national response system and an alert system are now in place, and that fatality rates have dropped to just over one per cent.
He also addressed criticism of aid distribution as being too slow by pointing out that 88 per cent out of the $4.6 billion in aid pledged by countries last year, have already been dispersed or committed to specific programmes for transport, debris removal, education, job creation, water and sanitation, public administration, health, housing, energy, among other areas.
Mr. Fisher underscored that there is still much to be done on all fronts in the country, but urged countries to see the bigger picture, and keep supporting Haiti in the long-term.
Progress should be put into context, he said. As an example he said Haiti has managed to get rid of almost 50 per cent of debris, equivalent to five million cubic metres. In contrast, it took five and a half years to remove 1.3 million cubic metres in Aceh after it was hit by a tsunami in 2006.
“The suggestion that no progress has been achieved is to paint a false picture,” Mr. Fisher said, adding that continued support will make it possible for the country to achieve further advances.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Today's Update
Today was another busy day. Benson is doing well. His leg is not bothering him too much. We give him tylenol on a regular basis. Reginald too is doing well. He was knocked out during the accident and became conscious at the medical centre where he was treated. We are making sure that all those injured get their rest. Everyone is sore but hopefully by the end of the week they will feel better. Johnny is organizing the daily chores schedule and the healthy ones are standing in for the hurting ones. We organized the pharmacy/living room today; not quite finished, but made a good start. I bought a couple of metal cupboards at Valerio Canez and these have locks, and today started sorting and transferring medicines and medical supplies into them. Now we don't have to worry about dirty rats and sticky fingers causing any more problems :)
I want to convert the pharmacy/living room into more living space. Today was a cleaning day; organizing the tools that the last team used and putting them back in storage and preparing for the medical team that arrived today. They will be holding dental, eye and medical clinics. The dental and eye clinics will be held at Sherris' place and the medical clinics here at Coram Deo starting tomorrow morning. Hosting these clinics is a lot of fun. Our school program will make use of the new school shelter built by James' team while the medical clinic is going on.
Today I got a call from Dr. Ed. He has some physiotherapists coming in and we are going to plan a physiotherapy clinic for December 20th with some of the children/adults that we know who could benefit. There is lots of things planned for December. Please pray for all the events that are taking place during the month of December and for the health and healing of everyone here at Coram Deo.
I'll try to post some photos tomorrow depending how busy the day is. Just thought I would post some of what happened here today.
I want to convert the pharmacy/living room into more living space. Today was a cleaning day; organizing the tools that the last team used and putting them back in storage and preparing for the medical team that arrived today. They will be holding dental, eye and medical clinics. The dental and eye clinics will be held at Sherris' place and the medical clinics here at Coram Deo starting tomorrow morning. Hosting these clinics is a lot of fun. Our school program will make use of the new school shelter built by James' team while the medical clinic is going on.
Today I got a call from Dr. Ed. He has some physiotherapists coming in and we are going to plan a physiotherapy clinic for December 20th with some of the children/adults that we know who could benefit. There is lots of things planned for December. Please pray for all the events that are taking place during the month of December and for the health and healing of everyone here at Coram Deo.
I'll try to post some photos tomorrow depending how busy the day is. Just thought I would post some of what happened here today.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
ACCIDENT
I have been absent from the blogging world for the last month. I went to Canada from November 9th to the 30th for some vacation time. The last couple of years I never really took a rest. Even though my last visit to Canada was in July I kept busy doing work and even did work on the blog almost every day. I came back to Haiti in August feeling drained. This time I rested for the 3 weeks and felt refreshed. I came back to Haiti with a small team on the 30th and they helped to build a school shelter, and also 4 tables and benches as well. It was a busy time and I didn't have computer time then either. We decided to take a special trip out to Sous Zabette so that everyone could go swimming and we rented a tap-tap. Amos drove and I took the visitors in Kimosabee. There are other circumstances that happened but the sad part was that Amos lost control of the tap tap after swerving to avoid another vehicle and the tap tap rolled a couple of times. 19 people from Coram Deo were inside. A couple of the guys dove out the back of the tap-tap before it started to roll. Miraculously nobody lost their life. Some of the children were pinned under the tap tap. Benson's right fibula and tibia were fractured. People lifted up the tap tap so that those under it could be removed. After receiving first aid care and a splint being put on his leg at a small medical clinic in the Croix des Bouquets area we brought Benson to the Bernard Mevs/Project Medishare Hospital. The trauma team gave him excellent care. They also looked at a couple of the other more banged up people who were in the tap-tap. Basically everyone was banged up in some way but some are hurting more than others. Pray for all those recovering from their bruises, cuts, etc. They are: Paulna, Witney, Witney's cousin, Solyvien, Yvens, Reginald, Vernaldino, Benson, Stephanie, Sony, Amos, Jn. Eddy, Rosquini, Herode.We give the Lord thanks for his provision of life after this accident. I will write an update on everything that has been occurring here at Coram Deo when I get some time. I just wanted people to know that I am still here and more importantly that everyone at Coram Deo is still here.
photos - accident
Benson was brought to the operating room to set the bones in his leg. Surgery wasn't necessary. The orthopedic doctor was able to reset the bones and a cast was put on. Benson speaks english so the volunteer medical staff who helps at the hospital loved being able to communicate with him. This medical staff member is a good artist and is making a design on Benson's cast.
Pretty neat! Pray for Benson to get well soon!
We brought Benson home from the hospital this afternoon. Friends from school stopped by to say hello and to see how he was doing. Benson attends Christian Light School and is in Grade 2. Manu picked up his school books so that we can keep him up to date with his school work. Benson wants to go to school tomorrow already but we'll wait out the week and then see how he does. He has an appointment to see the orthopedic doctor in a couple of weeks.
The Bernard Mevs/Project Medishare Wound Care Clinic is excellent. Both american and haitian medical personnel work in the clinic and they do a lot of wound care every day.
Reginald was one of the children caught under the tap-tap. He had some severe lacerations to the right side of his head/face. The Croix des Bouqets clinic doctor had sewed the lacerations but didn't properly clean the wound. The doctor at the wound clinic told us he needed to open the sutures and clean the dirt out that was inside. There was already pus forming.
Reginald has to go back every couple of days to get the wound cleaned. It is pretty bad but it will heal. Pray for healing and relief from pain. He is quite banged up. Reginald and Benson suffered the worst effects of the rollever. Pray also for the work of the Wound Clinic at Bernard Mevs/Project Medishare. The personnel there are dedicated and work hard at the constant flow of injured people that they treat.
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