Ten Years Later

[From Cap-Haitien, I sent this email to friends outside of Haiti on January 17 2010. The local Pharmacie du Centre donated medicine (pain relievers, antibiotics, etc.) and the funds collected were used to hand out small cash sums and food staples to close friends, acquaintances and performing artists as referred by arts organizations active in Port-au-Prince.–Nadine Mondestin]

(feel free to forward far and wide)

Hello friends and family,

Most of you have received updates (albeit, brief ones) from me either via email or Facebook over the past week. I have heard from or of nearly all my loved ones in Port-au-Prince and can only rejoice in the fact that there have only been relatively minor scrapes and bruises.

In other words: we are alive, but still in great pain.

Yes, there has been dramatic loss of life (estimates are now at 70,000, and rising) and homes. But Haiti suffering from the extreme unequal (under)development which is typical of many Third World countries, most of the state, cultural, economic and intellectual resources that were concentrated in the capital have also disappeared.

In such a context, there are many ways you can help.

Person to person
1) If you know someone who has yet to hear of their family or friends and are trying to reach them, please send me their phone numbers and I will try my best to contact them and report back.
2) I, like many other Haitians, am scrambling to send food, medicine and other essentials directly to loved ones in the capital. I would be extremely grateful if you could support this by sending money via PayPal to my sister Mafalda (zandolit@gmail.com) or via Interac to myself anacaona@gmail.com.

Larger scale initiatives
There is a justified focus on emergency relief via medical care, food, water, sanitary interventions, etc. Please donate as much time, energy and financial and material resources as you can to organizations involved in such work.

AT THE SAME TIME

Consider setting aside a portion of whatever you have for smaller organizations that have less of a spotlight – and thus, receive a disproportionately small share of the resources.

If you or someone you know is organizing a fundraising event, please consider setting aside a portion of the proceeds for organizations like the following:

Lambi Fund of Haiti
The Lambi Fund’s mission is to assist the popular, democratic movement in Haiti. Its goal is to help strengthen civil society as a necessary foundation of democracy and development.
http://www.lambifund.org

Cine Institute of Jacmel
Jacmel is the southern town my paternal grandfather’s from and has also been very badly hit by the earthquake. The Cine Institute, and its International Film Festival are some of the most exciting developments in Haiti’s cultural scene in years.
Ciné Institute provides Haitian youth with film education and edutainment, technical training, and media related micro enterprise opportunities. We integrate educational film screenings into classrooms of public schools, train aspiring filmmakers in all aspects of production, and develop and produce films of all kinds in partnership with our students and graduates.
http://www.cineinstitute.com

Fonkoze
Fonkoze is Haiti’s Alternative Bank for the Organized Poor. They are the largest micro-finance institution offering a full range of financial services to the rural-based poor in Haiti.
http://www.fonkoze.org

FOKAL
FOKAL seeks:
To Promote the structures necessary to establish a just and durable democratic society, based on individual and collective autonomy and responsibility;
To Support the autonomy of individuals, critical spirit, clear judgment, sense of responsibility, initiative, creativity and free cooperation through education, training and communication;
To Reinforce the organizational processes which promote within groups the power of discrimination, the acquiring, sharing and comparing of knowledge and know-how necessary for an active participation in the democratic administration of public affairs and the flourishing of social, cultural and community life.
http://www.fokal-usa.org/
http://www.fokal.org/

Veterimed
Veterimed’s award-winning animal husbandry projects have set new standards for development work in Haiti, most successful of these being its Let Agogo product, which markets Haitian dairy at a scale heretofore impossible for small-scale producers to reach.
http://www.veterimed.org.ht

Haiti Soleil / Bibliotheque du Soleil
Haiti Soleil is a nonprofit corporation based in Berkeley, California. Haiti Soleil is founded on the belief that to bring about social change in Haiti, the country needs to empower young people by giving them access to safe nurturing spaces, and providing them with opportunities for intellectual exchange and creative expression.
http://www.haitisoleil.org

These are organizations that have a mostly Haitian leadership and staff, and work on a range of issues: economic development, arts and culture, social justice organizing, women’s rights, etc.

Also, considering that we are expecting high levels of outmigration from the capital to surrounding towns and other major cities like Cap-Haitien (where I live), I would be remiss not to mention the two organizations I work with here in Northern Haiti:

SOIL
Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting soil resources, empowering communities and transforming wastes into resources in Haiti.
http://www.oursoil.org

Konbit Sante
Started in 2000, Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership is a Maine-based volunteer partnership to save lives and improve health care in northern Haiti. Rather than developing a second, parallel health system, Konbit Sante works with the Haitian Ministry of Health and with Haitian colleagues to build capacity within the public system for Haitians to care for Haitians.
http://www.konbitsante.org

AIDG
The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) helps individuals and communities get affordable and environmentally sound access to electricity, sanitation and clean water.  Through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach, we help people get technology that will better their health and improve their lives.
http://www.aidg.org

Thank you in advance for your help and support!

In solidarity,
Nadine