I have not yet been to Haiti, but I had heard enough stories to know that rice and beans would be served at the Soiree on Friday night. What I didn’t expect, however, was the heartfelt bond that so many in the Sewanee community share with Haiti. The room was filled with a yearning to be with our Haitian friends, laughing, crying and eating rice and beans. That night, it seemed like most people would trade the comforts of our home in Sewanee to put their hands in Haitian soil and plant trees, sweating in the intense tropical heat.
The Soiree was the first of several fundraising events in support of the Island as the Haitian people begin the long difficult road of recovery from the January 12th earthquake. Haiti will continue to need support for years to come if the country is to truly recover from this disaster.
Professor Deborah McGrath notes that “prior to the earthquake Haiti suffered from multiple interrelated crises: environmental degradation and low agricultural productivity, lack of infrastructural development, high unemployment, weakly developed economic sectors and poor access to healthcare. These issues were worsened by the absences of strong political leadership and overall socioeconomic instability. While there are some 10,000 nongovernmental aid organizations working hard to address these issues at local scales, a lack of coordination with the Haitian government perpetuates dependency on outside aid.
Thus, supporting Haiti’s efforts to develop and execute a long-term economic plan targeted at these issues is critical to the country’s recovery.” However, any outside assistance must recognize and respect Haitian community and culture. Clearly, programs that address food security and environmental degradation are important and many believe that trees are a major part of this approach.
The Haiti Fund, Inc., a North-Carolina non-profit organization and parent corporation for CODEP (Comprehensive Development Project), directs a sustainable development project, the main purpose of which is to serve the Haitian people. The project is mainly Haitian run with a number of community “animators” who oversee the activities. The project was originally designed to secure clean water for the Leogane community by reforesting the Cormier watershed. The organization realized that the best means to serve the Haitians was through planting trees.
Renee, a Haitian man who lives in Leogane (the epicenter of the earthquake), is alive, post-earthquake and his home (kai) is still standing. Safe in the mountains outside of Port-au-prince, he and his family have been surviving on the fruit growing from trees that they planted as a part of the CODEP reforestation project. While some have waited days and weeks for food, Renee had coconuts to feed his family in the absence of rice and beans. Unfortunately, this type of sustainable food source is not available to all Haitian families, making the work of CODEP of even greater benefit to the Leogane community.
What is the best advice for someone who wants to help Haiti right now? Although medical care, water, and food have slowly and sparingly become available, Professor McGrath believes that “ Haiti now needs money and resources channeled to reliable and on-the-ground organizations that are treating the wounded, feeding the hungry and caring for orphans.” Other sources agree that as long as food, water, and medical aid remains available, shelter, in the form of tents and tarps, is the other immediate need of Haitians. Since the earthquake, many Haitians have been too terrorized to sleep inside concrete or wooden structures, although they clearly need protection from the elements. Another concern is that disease will spread rapidly among people living in crowded areas without sanitation systems. McGrath says that Oxfam, Partners in Health, Doctors without Borders, Save the Children, UNICEF, the Red Cross and Episcopal Relief and Development are examples of effective on-the-ground aid organizations. “Partners in Health, in particular, is a strong organization because they have coordinated their efforts with the Haitian Ministry of Health with the goal of leaving medical facilities and public health programs in the hands of the Haitians.”
Professor McGrath left the audience at the Soiree with this thought. “This is our chance as a nation to be a better neighbor to Haiti and we need to keep remembering them over the long term.”
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