Haiti: Imagine, Inspire, Create

I am both touched and outraged by this video. 

Haiti IDP Camps video 2 from Adam Stofsky on Vimeo.

I know from the work done by our partner ONEXONE to bring medical supplies and other equipment to Partners in Health, how successful PIH has been in their efforts since (and also before) the earthquake in Haiti.  I know there were challenges faced in getting aid to the people of Haiti in the days and weeks that followed the massive devastation.  But as I prepare for our week long trip to Haiti, I am bracing myself for the face to face reality of so much aid still not making it to hundreds of thousands of Haitians.  Yes this is overwhelming but we must reach beyond that feeling.  We must find a way to put the resources needed into the hands of Haitians and collaborate on solutions LED by Haitians.

My daughter is wearing a shirt today that reads:  Imagine, Inspire, Create.   It leaves me thinking that yes we can work together to imagine what is possible.  And yes, we can inspire a country to renew not just rebuild.  And to renew is to create.  But that must be done by and led by the people of Haiti.  This is way beyond aid and charity.  We in the non-profit sector can do better than this.  One could make a strong argument that we failed on the aid front.  Perhaps it is because we need to explore a better model.

Post Disaster Reconstruction in Haiti

I am excited about our support of the International Workshop – After the cameras have gone: Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Haiti after the January 12th Earthquake: April 9th, 2010 Boston, MA. We are the NGO partner of the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at UMASS Boston.

Also we are establishing a small delegation to go to Haiti following the April 9^th Workshop at UMASS to present the Recommendations Report on Rebuilding Haiti.  Topics include considerations sensitive to the needs of healthcare, women, children and individuals with disabilities.  We are currently coordinating meetings with several organizations for that trip and you’ll find updates on that trip posted here as well.

Get involved!

16th issue of the GDN electronic resources

Gender and Disaster Network Newsletter

This issue contains a short commentary on the centenary of International Women’s Day, GDN’s efforts to reach out to Chilean women’s groups in light of the recent earthquake, a compilation of resources to help emergency responders in Haiti, and an introduction of GDN’s sister network, the US Gender and Disaster Resilience Alliance (US-GDRA). Also included in this special edition: a case study on girls and women empowerment in Bangladesh shared by our member from Action Aid International, Bangladesh and a compilation of recent resources on gender and DRR.

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