In a Hut in Haiti, Waiting for Spirits

  • Posted on: 17 November 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Below is a New York Times article, a reminiscence really, by Madison Smartt Bell on a simple house he once owned in rural Haiti.  He recalls that one can do nothing alone in Haiti, which can make it very difficult and very special at the same time.  His description of the lakou and the importance of community will resonate with anyone who has lived in rural Haiti before.

Port au Prince to Hold Second Ghetto Biennale Art Festival

  • Posted on: 15 November 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The Grand Rue Sculptors will hold the second Ghetto Biennale Art Festival from the end of November through early December.  Film-makers, academics, photographers, musicians, architects, and writers will converge on Grand Rue to make and display Vodoun infused art with themes of survival, resistance, and redemption.  If you cannot attend, check out the individual artists and their work online.  Details and a draft schedule below.

A Postcard from Saint Joseph's

  • Posted on: 14 November 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Below is a guest blog from Nina Persi, an art student who visited Haiti to document the lives of orphans living in Saint Joseph facilities in/around Port au Prince and Jacmel.  Having returned to Pennsylvania, she is using her photos to raise awareness about vulnerable children in Haiti (of which there are many) and to raise funds for the Saint Joseph Family, an organization doing exceptional work caring for them.  More information on her trip, the Saint Joseph Family, and how you can get involved follows.  

Making Nutrition a Sustainable Business in Haiti

  • Posted on: 2 November 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Plumpynut revolutionized the treatment of acutely malnourished children.  In Haiti, Partners in Health (PIH) has produced a local variant, Nourimamba, since 2007.  The Abbot pharmaceutical company is working closely with PIH to further improve Nourimamba and to expand production.  The opening of a factory is scheduled for end 2012.  This is good news for malnourished children, the health care providers who treat them, and the farmers who produce the ingredients for Nourimamba.  An article by New York Times writer Duff Wilson on the PIH/Abbot partnership follows.  

Haitian Health Partners Pledge to Improve Vaccination Coverage

  • Posted on: 29 October 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Of all countries in the western hemisphere, Haiti lags furthest behind in vaccination coverage.  However, there are reasons for hope. The Haitian Ministry of Health (MSPP), the World Health Organization (WHO), The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the GAVI Alliance, American Red Cross (ARC), and key countries such as the United States, Brazil, Cuba, and Canada have pledged to coordinate in expanding coverage, including the introduction of new and much-needed vaccines.  The full press release follows. 

What does it mean to be poor?

  • Posted on: 26 October 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

wealthAccording to Webster’s on-line dictionary, the definition of poor is: 1. Destitute of property; wanting material riches or goods; needy; indigent.  Haiti has come to be known as the poorest country in the western hemisphere, which is technically true if you base the statement according to dollars and cents.  Many of the local Haitians I’ve come across say “yes we are poor” while smiling. My question is why the smile? Which leads me to ask what exactly does it mean to be poor?

Give Haitian Coffee (and Farmers) a Chance

  • Posted on: 6 October 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

Like Haitians themselves, coffee has African roots.  Throughout much of its colonial and post-colonial history, coffee was a major export and source of livelihoods.  However, mismanagement, deforestation, natural disasters, political instability, and embargos have resulted in a dramatic decrease Haitian coffee exports. Yet, Haitian coffee is good - unusually good.  Can Haiti revive and expand its coffee industry?  Just Haiti and Singing Rooster are two organizations that believe it can.  Buying from either of these organizations is a great way to support both your coffee habit and Haitian farmers.

2012 World Monuments Fund Watch List (Haiti)

  • Posted on: 6 October 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

World Monuments Fund (WMF) is an independent organization that has been dedicated to saving the world’s architectural and cultural heritage sites since 1965.  WMF accomplishes this through advocacy, education, capacity building, and disaster response.  Each year, WMF releases a Watch List of architectural sites that are at risk. Three Haitian architectural sites were listed on the 2012 Watch List: (1) The San Souci Palace in Milot; (2) the Gingerbread Houses of Port au Prince; and (3) the Jacmel Historic District.  Read about these sites and how to get involved in their protection below.     

Haiti, Canada, and the WHO Launch Maternal and Child Health Initiative

  • Posted on: 15 September 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Haitian and Canadian governments launched a maternal and child health initiative today, a continuation and expansion of two existing programs.  Even prior to the earthquake, Haiti was a difficult place to be a mother or a young child. Through this initiative, mothers and children under five receive basic care without cost.  The intent is to progressively scale up this initiative to 90 health care facilities throughout the country.  The full press release follows.

Keeping Haiti Safe: Police Reform

  • Posted on: 12 September 2011
  • By: Bryan Schaaf

The International Crisis Group has released a report on the importance of police reforms for security in Haiti, meaning freedom from intimidation and abuse, conflict and violence, and crime and impunity.  The release comes during a time in which Brazil and other partner nations are increasingly contemplating a gradual drawdown of MINUSTAH staffing. This provides the Haitian government and its partners a window of opportunity to continue reforms that will make the Haitian National Police more effective and accountable.  The full report is attached and a summary is copied below.  

Pages