Information About Haiti

Haiti Innovation News/Actualités

1. Second Annual Congress of the Haitian Diaspora (August 6-9, 2009) Friday, 3 July 2009, 12:30 pm
   The second annual International Congress of the Haitian Diaspora will take place August 6-9, 2009 at Trump International Beach Resorts in Miami Beach, Florida.  The purpose of the event is to capitalize on the resources that the Diaspora can bring to help build Haiti’s economy.  The agenda includes a variety of issues such as boosting tourism, stimulating agricultural production, restoring forests and ecology, managing water supplies, preparing for disasters, achieving literacy, and job creation.  A schedule of events is copied below.  If you would like to participate, you can register here. Contact information is listed below if you want to volunteer.


2. IMF, IDB, World Bank Forgive $1.2 Billion of Haiti's Debt Tuesday, 30 June 2009, 9:54 pm
   Jonathan Katz reported that the World Bank, IMF, and IDB canceled $1.2 billion of Haiti's debt Tuesday, freeing up millions of dollars for much needed poverty reduction programs.  Needless to say, this is excellent news.  Given the scope of Haiti's needs, it never made sense its citizens should have to pay $1.6 million in debt per month, most of which was acquired under dictators that they never voted for.  This represents a measure of confidence in the Preval Administration, which now has a bit more economic flexibility than it had before.  More info below.   


3. State Department Releases 2009 TIP Report: Haiti and the DR Monday, 22 June 2009, 11:54 am
   Human trafficking is a global problem that affects every country in the world.  Last week, the U.S. State Department released its 2009 annual report on how well partner governments are preventing and responding to human trafficking. Understanding trafficking in Haiti requires understanding the situation in the Dominican Republic.  Neither country complies with minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, although both governments acknowledge the need to do more. This is an issue that clearly requires cross-border collaboration.


4. The Prime Minister's New Paradigm For Haiti Sunday, 21 June 2009, 11:28 pm
   Copied below is a strategy paper that Prime Minister Pierre Louis recently released on how the Haitian government intends to meet its short term goals.  I was pleased to see the attention devoted to agriculture, the private sector, and infrastructure development.  Unfortunately, the Haitian government has yet to receive one gourde from the Haiti Donors' Conference.  Hopefully, Special Envoy Clinton has not lost his touch and will be able to encourage Friends of Haiti to honor their pledges.  The paper is brief but balanced and well thought out.  Please feel free to post your thoughts about it in the comments section. 


5. Kenscoff Environmental Summer Camp (7/12/09 - 7/19/09) Wednesday, 17 June 2009, 4:51 pm
   We first blogged about the Wynne Farm way back in December 2005.  In that blog, Matt noted how important it is for children, in a country that depends on agriculture for survival, to understand the environment.  Each Summer, COHEF (Children of Haitian Enhancement Foundation), the Unity Church of Miami, and the Wynne Farm Ecological Preserve hold a two week, nature intensive summer camp. If you would like to lend a hand, volunteers are needed as well as in kind and cash contributions. More information is below.     


6. H.E.L.P Second Annual Washington DC Fundraiser (7/10/2009) Wednesday, 10 June 2009, 6:10 pm
   The Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP), which provides merit and need based scholarships for Haiti’s top high school graduates, will hold its second annual fundraising event in Washington, DC on Friday, July 10th. The event will feature music, cocktails, Haitian food, and speeches from HELP alumni.  If you’d like to be a part of this event, please register here by July 1st.  Copied below is a recent IPS article on HELP's efforts to recruit talented students in rural areas and attached is an invite and fact sheet.


7. Paving the Way for Economic Recovery in Haiti Saturday, 6 June 2009, 4:06 pm
   Dialogue concerning Haiti's development is changing.  First, there is more discussion than ever before about Haiti's private sector, and a sense that trade will do more for Haiti in the long run than aid.  Second, there is a growing emphasis on integrating Haiti economically and socially with the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America.  Finally, donors are increasingly helping the Haitian government to address its own priorities.  There are many challenges but also many possibilities.  As Haitian say, little by little birds make their nests...


8. InterIntel Releases First Quarterly Update Monday, 1 June 2009, 2:50 pm
   InterIntel, an organization devoted to the diffusion of alternative energy technology in Haiti, recently released its first quarterly report, copied below. InterIntel has developed a number of interesting, new partnerships with the private sector and other non profit organizations operating in Haiti.  If you would like to learn more after reading the update, take a look at the InterIntel website/blog, which covers a number of issues related to alternative energy in low resource settings.


9. Storm Weary Haiti Braces for the Rains Monday, 1 June 2009, 9:07 am
   Hurricane season has begun.  Flooding  will be inevitable each year until environmental degradation is reversed.  Still, leadership, preparation, and coordination can mitigate the human and economic costs.  Jacqueline Charles describes, in the Miami Herald, the last minute efforts of the Haitian government to bolster infrastructure in Haiti's most vulnerable cities, yet to recover from the consequences of last year's storms.  Haiti is more ready than it was last year, but still has a long way to go. 


10. SVI Seeking Haitian Children In Need of Cleft Lip/Palate Surgery Thursday, 28 May 2009, 2:54 pm
    Surgical Volunteers International (SVI) is an organization that specializes in treating clefts, burns and urological problems.  SVI visited Haiti in March and worked with Haitian counterparts to reconstruct, without charge, 67 cleft lips and palates.  SVI will travel to Haiti in June and again in September.  If you know of a Haitian child in need of surgery for a cleft lip or palate, please pass on the contact information contained in the attached flyer (in Kreyol) to his/her family.  Below is a summary of their last visit from the SVI Blog.