Arriving home from Haiti last week, I threw myself into editing and sharing hundreds of photos and hours of video with my family and friends. I couldn't believe that two weeks had gone by so fast! Then again I couldn't believe how attached I felt to Haiti after only two weeks.
A lot of people I talk to want to know about Haiti. How do you describe everything? It's true, there are Haitians starving to death. It's true that very little aid seems to have made its way where it should in the capacity many believed. Rubble is everywhere. Nine months after the earthquake, people living in tent cities do not have access to clean water or enough food. They are packed in unsanitary, filthy, unsafe conditions. In tent cities, rape is an epidemic. Young girls are forced to have sex for food and supplies.
http://humanrights.change.org/blog/view/in_haiti_tent_cities_are_becoming_rape_epicenters
It's true that of the nearly $10 billion in reconstruction aid promised at a March UN donors conference less than 10% has been delivered. None of this is what people expect to hear when they ask, but it's true. International news has seemed to move on over Haiti, besides Wyclef's much hyped presidential run. Now that has passed too.
If I can convey anything from my short time in Haiti it is that there is an unbelievable amount of hope and tenacity, right there along with the bad, that will overcome. Haiti has been knocked down, but it's no where near being out. Now more than ever the international community needs to support Haiti and deliver the pledged aid. Haitians need jobs. There is a large, skilled labor force that is unemployed while aid organizations pay to bring in foreign contractors, planners, etc. Projects like St. Joseph's and Trinity House are saving the lives of kids and preparing them for the future. There just aren't enough places like this...yet.
