Just this past month, members of the GENESIS Network and I traveled from the Boston area to Haiti to deliver hundreds of water filtration systems, medical supplies, and emergency relief support to communities in Port au Prince, Carrefore and Leogane, Haiti. The trip was made possibly by AquaSafe of Australia and Olyset Net of Japan. These two communities and the Haitian community of Miami, FL donated supplies that the team and I delivered to Haiti.
To help document my thoughts and emotions, I kept a journal during the five days in Haiti to share upon my return. Here are some notes from my journal:
Day 1:
Bumping along the crippled roads outside Port au Prince, my eyes drifted from one sea of dilapidated refugee tents to another. But beneath the rubble of crumbled homes lay Haiti’s true disaster. It is not one caused by an earthquake, nor by any other natural occurrence.
Day 2:
How could such a country, swarming with NGOs long before the recent earthquake, have fallen into such a state of distress? There are more international organizations per capita in Haiti than in any other country. But what have they accomplished? The Haitian people remain repressed under a regime of corruption, left adrift in the pocket-lining clientelism of a squandered leadership supported by an aloof international community.
Day 3:
“We are slaves to our government,” our local liaison, and former government official, stated as we sat around dinner reflecting on our own relief work. “The cycle of corruption among our leaders cannot be stopped without drastic change or without a true representative of the people…someone who cares for the people.” The majority of aid programs presently in Haiti may just as well be making direct deposits into the accounts of those now in power.
Day 4:
Today I realize that, absent of any earthquake, Haiti would still be in dire need of relief – specifically, from the political disaster its leaders have brought upon their people.
The nation’s leaders have driven their country to shambles by using its people as a personal expense account while the good intentions of local and international efforts run around picking up the pieces, all the while creating and deepening dependencies on foreign aid. Haiti does not need any more quick-pitch answers but, rather, real solutions to what are now systemic issues of neglect. Every effort must be made to improve education, professional training, and lending and investment capital opportunities.
Day 5:
Back from Haiti. The Haitian people have been abandoned by their government, yet they remain united. As NGOs and foreign aid agencies move toward longer term programs that can educate, train and empower the nation back to power, this is a significant variable that bodes well for future prospects.
It’s been a few weeks since the team and I have returned from the trip. I must say that the experience was truly emotionally and personally rewarding. I’m eager to hear reader feedback about Haiti relief. How can we continue to help the Haitians? How would you like to be involved?
Please share your comments.
Adam Swartzbaugh
Founder
The GENESIS Network
