The 2022 hurricane season began on June 1 and will end on November 30, the Directorate General of Civil Protection (DGPC) announced in a letter dated June 1, 2022. During this time, hydro-meteorological occurrences and the risk of flooding intensify.…
Cyclones, hurricanes and tropical storms, heavy rain, and flooding are only a few of the natural calamities that have ravaged Haiti throughout its history, as well as political turmoil. From the middle of June through the end of November, Haiti…
Food for thought, you may not want to hear this, but we need to re-evaluate celebrities on how they “help” Haiti. With having a platform that allows an individual to connect with the world with a simple click is powerful,…
Following the devastating earthquake in 2010, funders pledged billions of dollars to assist in Haiti's recovery. However, funders promised far more aid to Haiti for emergency earthquake recovery than they delivered; the Center for Economic and Policy Research reported that…
Hurricane season is swiftly approaching, instead of purchasing and shipping bottled water to Haiti, here is a list to better help you. Purchase the bottled water locally and have them distributed to local organizations.
Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich.
–(Plato 363 BCE [reprinted 2012])
We have traveled the world to have a great appreciation and understanding of sustainable architecture as well as urban planning. The world is moving at a fast pace of “global gentrification,” and their construction is more innovative and sustainable, some places more considerate of the environment than others. However, within the nonprofit sector operating in Haiti, there is a lack of common sense. Urban planning or sustainability does not seem to play a critical role. When nonprofits fundraise to construct homes, they fail to invest in sustainability. Yes, it is imperative to provide jobs to the locals; however, upon the arrival of the next natural disaster, they will return only to reconstruct the same homes. Would you rather build homes for one-hundred families or would you rather house twenty-five? Any individual would wish to provide homes to one-hundred families; however, if these homes are not being built to be sustainable, to be “livable,” then it is a waste of time and money.
When it comes to Haiti, we all need to change our mindset. Corruption is not Haiti’s only problem; however, government corruption should be acknowledged and be tackled. Modified on September 14, 1989, a time when Haiti was under the Human…
By: Debbie Jean Jacques. 15 July 2017
It’s Hurricane Season!!!
From June to November every year Haiti goes through another hurricane that displaces many families, destroys livestock, and has the international community “praying for Haiti.” Basic fact, Haiti does not have flood insurance to help those who have lost their homes or variables nor do they have a mitigated plan for natural disasters. With the rise of informality in major cities in Haiti; shanty towns are on the rise. “The migration of these Haitians was mainly generated by the fragility of the Haitian state and its consequent inability to secure its citizens’ basic subsistence needs, a reality which is always aggravated by natural disasters that, in that sense, act as a trigger—and not as the main driver—for the displacement.” In highly congested cities, this displacement thus contributes to an increase in crime and an increase of youth unemployment without any essential services and infrastructure that leave cities vulnerable to extreme natural disasters, water contaminations, and health hazards.
Most politicians often care more about filling their pockets than the lives of the citizens whose lives need improvement. Those who contribute to the informal sector also contribute to informal settlements; looking for a better life in the capital, however, in many cases like Haiti, we can see that those who moved to the cities to escape poverty only get trapped in poverty.