Haiti: The Long-Term Approach

We held Haiti tightly in our hearts and our prayers, even Taize prayers, in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of Magnitude 7 that shook the capital city of Port au Prince on Jan. 12, 2010.  That was only about 10 months ago!  Haiti gradually faded into the big pool of news that came onto the front pages of newspapers, and the television and computer screens and smart phones. Even in this blog, we only mentioned Haiti occasionally this summer and fall. 

And then the recent cholera outbreak brought Haiti back to our  nation's consciousness.

We cannot deny that disaster often tugs at our heart-strings.  But I think it's important that we start looking at long-term responses to problems not only in Haiti but across the globe.  This is where our advocacy efforts come .  For Bread for the World members and our allies, we can address some of the long-term approaches through our 2011 Offering of Letters.  Stay tuned for more information.

While we wait for the Offering of Letters kit to be released, I would like to recommend some great background articles written by Bread for the World communications staff members Molly Marsh and Laura Pohl, who recently traveled to Haiti. These posts are contained in the Bread Blog.

• Trees Take Root in Haiti
• The Power of the Purse: Haitian Women Build Their Economic Strength
• Fortifying Haitian Kids against Malnutrition
• Planting Roots in Haiti

We posted a couple of companion pieces about Haiti .

One piece contains accounts from former Bread for the World regional organizer Elise Young, who is in Haiti with ActionAid.  Elise is posting through her blog The WOW Chronicles.

Another side piece features the Prizm Foundation (a company that has partnered with Racine Kreyol Cultural Arts dance group to develop disaster housing prototypes for Haiti), and Acupuncturists Without Borders (which has put together its Haiti Disaster Recovery Program). Prizm Foundation and Acupuncturists Without Borders are both based here in the Albuquerque area.

Now food for thought.  The distance between Miami and Haiti is only 681 miles or 1,097 kilometers.  That's about how long it would take to drive from Albuquerque to Colorado Springs.