The non-reconstruction of the State University

Putting the nation in peril

Port-au-Prince, February 22, 2012 – Two years after the earthquake, and despite the proposals written, the consortiums organized and the foreign delegations entertained, the University of the State of Haiti (Université d’Etat d’Haïti or UEH) still has not seen any “reconstruction,” and the proposal for a university campus that would unite all 11 faculties remains a 25-year-old “dream.”

Today, the majority of the 13,000 students at the UEH’s faculties in the capital are jammed into sweltering sheds, struggling to hear the professor who is shouting, hoping to drown out the other professors shouting in the surrounding sheds.

Students in a tent "classroom" at the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medecine which is next to the land the State University hopes to use for a campus. Photo: HGW

View more: http://www.ayitikaleje.org/haiti-grassroots-watch-engli/

Post-quake US food aid hurt Haiti farmers

Jacob Kushner
February 13, 2012

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — In the months following Haiti’s devastating January 2010 earthquake, the United States government spent $140 million on a food program that benefited U.S. farmers but has been blamed for hurting Haitian farmers.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) sent 90,000 metric tons of American crops to Haiti as part of the Food for Progress and its related Food for Peace programs run by USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That amounted to almost three quarters of the U.S. government aid to Haiti after the earthquake, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Haiti Justice Alliance, a Minnesota-based advocacy organization.

Critics said that sending American food aid to Haiti undermined thousands of Haitian growers who were already struggling against imports of cheaper rice and corn — staples of the Haitian diet.

“If you look at the allocation of food aid after the earthquake, the fact that most of it is (Food for Progress) means that the priority for the U.S. government was exporting food from the U.S.,” said Nathan Yaffe, Board Member of the Haiti Justice Alliance. “The evidence suggests that U.S. foreign aid is structured around our economic needs rather than the humanitarian needs of people we’re supposed to be helping.”

Mounting criticism of the perverse consequences of this kind of aid to Haiti has prompted Washington to give more careful consideration to the plan.

Read more: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/haiti/120210/haiti-earthquake-USAID-farmers

The Mexican State of Sonora Launches One Laptop per Child

MIAMI, Feb. 21, 2012 – One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression, announced today that the State of Sonora, Mexico, is distributing 5,000 XO laptops to elementary school children. Adoption of the OLPC program is part of the State’s larger plan to extend Internet connectivity to all its citizens. In accordance with the UN’s declaration of Internet access as a basic human right, Sonora is the first state in Mexico to establish connectivity as a human right in its Constitution.

The OLPC project in Sonora will be implemented by Nueva Generación Sonora A.C. (New Sonora Generation), a nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide every child in the State access to the knowledge economy through strategic use of information and communication technologies and programs.

During the next three years, 350,000 XO laptops will saturate all elementary schools in Sonora. In addition, XO laptops will be implemented in more than 100 community centers that will offer connectivity and technical and pedagogical support to students and teachers and for local projects to benefit their communities. The OLPC project has the full support of Governor Guillermo Padres and the mayors of Sonora, as well as the Social Development Secretariat (SEDESOL) of the Federal Government.

“Improving children’s education is a key goal for my administration,” said Governor Guillermo Padres of the State of Sonora. “Society and government must work together to support projects that will ensure a better future for all our citizens. Education is everyone’s responsibility.”

Sonora is the latest Mexican state to launch an OLPC program. In September 2010, 500 XO laptops, funded by Procter & Gamble, were distributed to indigenous children in San Felipe del Progreso, State of Mexico.

In August 2011, the General Department of Indigenous Education of the Ministry of Education distributed 1,800 XO’s to remote schools in the State of Nayarit in Western Mexico. As part of this project, the Sugar learning environment is being translated into several indigenous languages – Huichol, Cora and Mexicanero.

1,900 XOs are also in the process of being distributed to children in the State of San Luis Potosi in North-Central Mexico. For this region, Sugar has being translated into Teenek.

“Our progress in Mexico is based on partnerships between the public and private sector,” said Rodrigo Arboleda, Chairman and CEO of the One Laptop per Child Association. “Mexico is a very diverse country and we are focused on projects that bring learning to all children, including those who speak indigenous languages.”

HAITI: Tougher legislation coming soon for victims of sexual violence

….Haiti’s judicial system is largely based on French law dating back to the 19th century. Until 2005, rape was not even considered a crime against the victim. Rather it was a crime against morals — or against the honour of the family.

“One of our biggest challenges is that our laws are no longer up-to-date,” Gonzague said. “We need to modernize them. Everyone agrees that sexual violence laws need to be updated.”

The new legislation is due to be submitted to Haiti’s parliament in the next few weeks.

….“The draft legislation includes many new provisions crucial to ensuring Haitian women and girls are protected. These provisions include a clear and expanded definition of rape, incest and sexual violence, and trainings for medical, legal and judiciary personnel and enforcement officers around questions of violence against women.”

….“There are those within the judicial system who could use this legislation as a tool to improve women’s lives,” Davis said. “But there is also a critical lack of capacity within the Haitian government generally, and particularly within the judicial system, especially following the earthquake.”

Read more: http://repeatingislands.com/2012/02/19/haiti-tougher-legislation-coming-soon-for-victims-of-sexual-violence/

As Haitians prepare to celebrate pre-Lenten carnival, a looming political crisis is raising concerns among the country’s foreign friends.

….the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, ended a four-day visit to the earthquake-ravaged nation calling on its political leaders to stop the fighting.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice attends a press conference during a U.N Security Council mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday Feb. 13, 2012. A 15-member delegation began the four-day mission on Monday to review the terms of its mandate in Haiti. The U.N. set up a peacekeeping mission in Haiti known by its French acronym Minustah in 2004 following the overthrow of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Dieu Nalio Chery / AP

“Haiti’s executive and legislative branches,’’ Rice said, “need to rise above their interests and work together in the spirit of compromise to overcome their common challenges.”

Rice led a 15-member delegation of the U.N. Security Council on a visit to Haiti this week. They left on Thursday after field trips to the police academy, a tent city, cholera treatment facility and new industrial park in the north. They also met with President Michel Martelly, Prime Minister Garry Conille, parliamentarians and business leaders.

“The president and prime minister have prioritized investments to create jobs to build a brighter future,” she told reporters. “But we also understand that improvements in the rule of law, in institution building, fighting corruption and removing other barriers to growth are key to attracting and retaining the quality and quantity of investments that Haiti needs.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/17/v-fullstory/2647547/on-eve-of-carnival-political-crisis.html

ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD in Haiti

by Greta Van Susteren

….Just recently, a contribution was made to Samaritans Purse so that Samaritans Purse could purchase 100 computers for the orphan children. This will open doors for those kids – giving them a chance that they would not otherwise have. I don’t need to tell you how important learning is or what opportunities can be realized with a computer.

What kind of computers? The XO. It is a very, very special computer – and very durable since kids are not known to be that careful with things. Here are some pics of my assistant with the XO computer …plus click on the link below to read stories about the XO. The XO is literally all over the world and changing lives every second! The computer is under $250 but it sure packs a punch and can do everything! The XO computer idea is quite remarkable. The computers are also given directly to the children so that the children actually OWN them. Owning something, and taking pride in it, is important to children – especially children who have nothing.

Read more: http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/02/17/one-laptop-per-child-someone-i-know-just-made-a-donation-to-reverend-franklin-graham-and-samaritans-purse-so-that-they-can-buy-100-for-children-in-haiti/

Link to XO stories: http://one.laptop.org/stories

An organized and sustainable implementation of the XO program will be needed in Haiti to make this program a success.

The Future Artisans of Croix des Bouquets

There is a large artisan center in the heart of Croix des Bouquets and it is the destination of many a tourist. Shop after shop of metal workers and painters create wonderful imaginative pieces interpreting their views of Haitian life.
Their signs are even works of art.

Their works are proudly displayed.

The artists hammer out their intricate designs…

Painters sometimes decorate the pieces.

These three dimensional musicians were left unpainted.

Today, we are excited to be searching for young artistic talent in the area. Up to 20 schools are being asked to take part in an exciting talent search with fantastic prizes being awarded. Competitors are being encouraged to submit pieces from many disciplines: cartography, woodworking, photography and more. Much work has been put into this effort and we hope to update you about our finalists in March!