Monday, February 8, 2010

Yoga Mats For Haiti?

 
 

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via The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Editors on 2/8/10

Most of us haven't thought about our leisure/exercise equipment being needed in Haiti, but according to one sharp photographer in San Francisco, you can donate your used yoga mats for use in Haiti.

Effective or superfluous? You be the judge. (via boingboing)

yoga mats for haiti
More on Haiti Earthquake



 
 

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Haiti Earthquake Facts and Figures, Latest Update

 
 

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via (title unknown) by Mark Leon Goldberg on 2/8/10

The UN gives the latest facts and figures on Haiti recovery efforts, including mortality and displacement estimates.

The Haitian government has not issued a mortality estimate since January 28, when the government said that 112,405 had died. However, on February 3 the government said that as many as 200,000 may have been killed in the earthquake.  Meanwhile, one of the major new developments of the past week has been a mass exodus from Port au Prince to rural areas. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that over 400,000 Haitians have fled Port au Prince for rural areas in the past two weeks. Food distribution is still a challenge.


 
 

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White "Savior-Afflicted" Christians, Black Haitian Babies: This Won't End Well

 
 

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via AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed by Devona Walker, AlterNet on 2/5/10

Would the Baptists accused of taking Haitian kids out of the country illegally have tried to pull this off in a predominantly white country? Doubtful.


 
 

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UN Plaza: Talking Haiti Reconstruction With Paul Collier

 
 

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via (title unknown) by Mark Leon Goldberg on 2/8/10

The author of The Bottom Billion, Wars Guns and Votes sits down with me to talk about Haiti reconstruction

The author of The Bottom Billion, Wars Guns and Votes sits down with me to talk about Haiti reconstruction. Collier has something of a front line view of this effort.  He was tapped by the secretary general to write a report on Haiti's recovery for the United Nations last year.  In the diavlog, Paul explains the roots of Haiti's poverty and explains how best the international community can manage Haiti's recovery.  


 
 

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Friday, February 5, 2010

Why Haiti Should Beware Professional Do-Gooders

 
 

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via Home on 2/5/10

haiti5_1110051c
Picture credit:telegraph.co.uk
The recent earthquake revealed several interesting facts about Haiti, one of them being that the nation has the highest number of local NGOs per capita in the world. The heavy presence of humanitarian and anti-poverty NGOs in the small country - which is also one of the poorest and worst developed in the Western hemisphere - begs a few questions: doe the presence of NGOs hinder Haitian efforts in pursuing development and self-sustainability? If there are more local NGOs in Haiti than any other, then why has it never managed to pull itself out of the quandary of chronic poverty and underdevelopment? As the Haitian government struggles to recover and respond to the recent calamity, increased involvement of foreign players triggers troubling concerns regarding its sovereignty.

 
 

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Haiti after the earthquake.

 
 

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via Slate Magazine by Michael Deibert on 2/5/10

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Haiti's radio journalists, many of whom have long experience of operating under dictatorships and elected governments with little tolerance for critical press coverage, know a thing or two about adversity. But nearly a month ago, when Haiti's capital was devastated by an earthquake that leveled large sections of the city and killed at least 150,000 people, local reporters were suddenly faced with a whole new set of challenges."We try and orient people to where aid is being distributed, and every day we announce messages about people who are still missing," says Wendell Theodore, the silken-voiced news director of Radio Metropole in the capital's Delmas region. His own home destroyed, Theodore now broadcasts the names of the missing from under a tree in the radio station's yard, next to the tent he has slept in since his house collapsed."I saw our building shake," says Rotchild Francois, director of the capital's RFM radio in the Pétionville district, who was at his desk in the studio when the earthquake struck and dashed into the street with a dozen other employees. The station lost a reporter in the quake and was knocked off the air for five days. Reporters from Radio Galaxie, Radio Magic 9, and Radio Télé Ginen were also killed.Francois now spends his days combing the capital, trying to paint an audio picture of what is happening and to get information on the air about where aid is being distributed, the location of feeding and medical centers, and other important information. Many of the station's employees, fearful of aftershocks, refuse to enter the building.

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Haiti - Port-au-Prince - Earthquake - Caribbean - Pétionville

 
 

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Fwd: Just arrived in Port-au-Prince



  View this email as a web page.
Clinton Foundation

Clinton FoundationZeeshan,

Flying into Port-au-Prince for the second time since the earthquake -- I was pleased to see continued signs of an expanding relief effort.

Today, I'll help my team deliver the emergency supplies we brought with us on our plane.

Donation by donation, it's the generosity of people like you that is keeping this relief effort going. And your continued dedication is what will make sure the Haitian people have the tools and supplies they need to rebuild.

As you read this, work is underway to deliver meals, set up temporary shelters, and restore access to health services for earthquake survivors. I'm proud that today we were able to deliver laptops, generators, plastic sheeting, protein bars, and 1,900 lbs of medical supplies.

And it's not going to stop there.

Long after the television crews have gone and emergency response teams have returned to their home countries, I can promise you the Clinton Foundation will remain committed to Haiti's long-term rebuilding and recovery.

We will work with reputable organizations, the Haitian government, and most importantly the people of Haiti to ensure that they are empowered to create more opportunities for jobs, education, and health care than existed the day before this tragedy occurred.

There is a Haitian proverb, "Men anpil chay pa lou," which translates as "Many hands lighten the load."

It's going to take a lot of help and a long time, but I know that together you and I can lighten the load that the Haitian people have carried on their own for far too long.

I'll continue to be in touch as our work continues here in Port-au-Prince and beyond.

Bill Clinton

PS. Only with your continued generosity will we be able to sustain these efforts. Please make a donation of any size today:

www.clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake

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The Clinton Foundation seeks to address some of the world's more pressing challenges -- such as HIV/AIDS, global climate change, and extreme poverty -- through collaborative and systematic effort.
William J. Clinton Foundation • 55 West 125th St. •  New York, NY 10027





White "Savior-Afflicted" Christians, Black Haitian Babies: This Won't End Well

 
 

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via AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed by Devona Walker, AlterNet on 2/5/10

Would the Baptists accused of taking Haitian kids out of the country illegally have tried to pull this off in a predominantly white country? Doubtful.


 
 

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Thursday, February 4, 2010

US Aid Reshuffling on Haiti Shows the Need for a Contingency Disaster Fund f...

 
 

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via (title unknown) by Mark Leon Goldberg on 2/4/10

The lead agency in charge of foreign humanitarian assistance is facing across the board cuts to pay for its efforts in Haiti.

The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is the lead American agency on humanitarian relief efforts like the one underway in Haiti. The problem is, it is just one office within the relatively small U.S.


 
 

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How to Rebuild Haiti

 
 

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via Home on 2/3/10

world-bank-logo
Picture Credit: javno.com

World Bank President, Robert Zoellick, has made a strong statement on Haiti reconstruction and aid. But it remains to be seen what the Bank will actually do after years of negative influence on the islands economy. Zoellick highlights cash-for-work programs so Haitians can themselves be paid for reconstruction of their country. Debt-relief is also mentioned - Haiti is stifled by a debt burden of nearly $1 billion.


 
 

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Who's paying for Haiti?

 
 

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via The Cable by Josh Rogin on 2/2/10

The State Department and the White House are busily working on a new request for supplemental funding to cover the near and immediate term costs for Haiti relief. But in the meantime, other countries funded by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance are feeling the pinch and being forced to accept big budget cuts.

Consider this email sent to Somali teams working with OFDA funding that was sent to The Cable (emphasis added):

As a result of Haiti there have been some significant budget changes at OFDA that will have a major impact on the Somalia programs," it reads, "As you are probably well aware, OFDA is engaged in a multi-million dollar response in Haiti. As a result, we have had to make all available resources available for Haiti. What this means is that all regions within OFDA are being reduced by 40% resulting in subsequent reductions in planned programming at the country level."

State Department P.J. Crowley told The Cable that the redirection of funds from other countries' accounts was necessary but would not have consequences on the ground unless there is a long delay in receiving supplemental funding, which he said is unlikely.

"This temporary movment of money from the Somalia account to the Haiti account is going to have no impact on the ground in Somalia," Crowley said, "assuming that the supplemental occurs expeditiously."

In an exclusive interview with The Cable, Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew said that although the administration couldn't include Haiti funding in this week's budget request because the crisis came too late, the administration plans to ask for more Haiti relief funding soon. "There will be additional requirements related to the Haiti earthquake," said Lew. "We're working with OMB to come up with both the requirements and a strategy for meeting those needs."

A senior Democratic Senate aide told The Cable that the administration is "expeditiously" preparing a Haiti supplemental that will be separate from the regular and supplemental budget requests given to Congress this week, although no final decisions have been made.

In the meantime, "those places where they have existing or ongoing humanitarian issues are the ones that are having to slash their budgets," the Senate aide said, "That's basically saying there's a hierarchy of humanitarian assistance and Haiti is the most important ... and the other places will have to make due at the moment."

"We've drawn down emergency funds substantially," Lew acknowledged.


 
 

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Haitians Under U.S. Treatment Are Often Separated From Families

 
 

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via (title unknown) by Sheri Fink, ProPublica on 2/2/10

The U.S. has brought medical services to thousands of Haitians. But a bureaucratic tangle has left some struggling to find loved ones who were taken away for treatment.


 
 

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