Konbit Pou Ayiti

Water: The springs have a slightly stronger flow since the earthquake. The irrigation canals are broken in some places. The flow is strong enough to serve many more people but the piping system is preventing the community from increasing capacity. The village of Oban, adjacent to Cyvadier to the east, is on the same water line from the springs in Cyvadier but they are experiencing a serious water shortage. Building a cistern at the source and putting in larger pipes can solve these problems.

Community Assessments: The post-earthquake work in Jacmel has followed the same basic process as in Port-au-Prince. Joe Duplan, Guypson Catalis and Agronomist Cheler Pierre have formed a core animation team and have met with community leaders to perform assessments of community needs in a dozen tent communities and temporary settlements. Volunteers Jeff Rogers and Michael Adams have also helped.

The areas covered by the KONPAY team include:
•    Rue St. Anne, Jacmel
•    Oban, between Cyvadier and Raymond les Bains
•    Anba Zoranje
•    Zoranje
•    Cap Lamandou
•    Magloire Ambroise
•    Cap Rouge

Haiti KONPAY has identified some ways that we could use volunteers on the ground, and cofounder Joe Duplan has procured some large army tents to set up a base for volunteers in Cyvadier. Here are some of the ways we could use volunteers, ideally with Creole language skills and who can fund themselves or find funding:
•    Structural engineers
•    Manual laborers
•    Community Organizers
•    An individual with accounting skills who can help with the day-to-day management of distributions and expenditures
•    A skilled communicator who can help to record and report on the activities and situation on the ground, to assist KONPAY US staff and the Haiti Response Coalition to get the word out.

Letters from Port-au-Prince by Sasha Kramer, SOIL

Friday February 12, one month after the earthquake, the first day of Jounen jèn, the days of mourning and remembrance, and we walked through the twisted iron and dusty shards of glass of the shattered National Cathedral. As we crossed through the open door and stared down the length of the cathedral it was as though the world had ended and even the wind had disappeared into the silence of the rubble. Just blocks away, in front of the crumbling palace, thousands of people dressed in white were singing songs of grief and praise, but inside the National Cathedral, on this national day of remembrance there was only the sky and the crumpled flowers from the alter scattered across the floor where so many feet once tread.

Friends,

It has been a month since the earthquake struck Haiti, and now it is carnival weekend. Instead of three days of dancing and singing - all of Haiti rejoicing and celebrating together - there will be three more days of fasting. With $600 million raised for Haiti it is incomprehensible that the conditions for the victims of the earthquake have not yet improved. How can it be, with this convergence of attention, donations and aid, that these people still don't have any of the things that they need? It has begun to rain more frequently in Haiti, drenching a million people sleeping in the middle of the streets and in the parks, under sheets.

February 6, 2010: Letters from Port-au-Prince from Sasha Kramer, SOIL

Driving through the city with the sun beating down and the smoke and dust blurring my vision, I am soaked in sweat and still the goosebumps rise over my skin.  It is as if the souls of those still buried under the rubble are coursing through my veins, reaching for the sun, yearning to be free. I carry them with me as I ride through this broken city, but I can’t let them out, I am so afraid that they will take me with them to a place where I will no longer be able to serve, my mind is numb but my skin is crawling with loss. (Photo at right: Leah Nevada Page and Sasha Kramer)

Reed Lindsay, The Observer, original online here

January 24, 2010: As the tremors and the NGOs recede, Haitians continue the fight against colonialism that their ancestors began 220 years ago

Nearly two weeks have passed since an earthquake devastated Haiti, and the journalists are beginning to leave. Nearly all the bodies have been collected, the aftershocks are weaker and the rubble is being cleared from major landmarks. The obvious stories have already been done, and for most of my colleagues, things are becoming monotonous.           

KONPAY has hit the ground running to respond to the immediate needs of the people of Jacmel, who continue to suffer from the devastation of the Jan 12th earthquake. One critical and time-sensitive need is to provide the community with potable water.  Clean water is essential for life – not just now for the immediate earthquake relief, but long term, which is why KONPAY is focusing its clean water efforts on water filtration systems that can do both. 

KONPAY has been coordinating a team of dedicated volunteers who are following up on the many generous offers we have been receiving since the earthquake. Basic needs have been our first priority, from emergency medical and temporary housing to the most fundamental building blocks of life: food and water. We have hoped to find a partner that could help us meet the immediate need for clean drinking water and clean water for medical efforts but also to have a sustainable solution to avert disease and ensure health.

Karen Carr, Community Coalition for Haiti, Jacmel - January 19, 2010

in Jacmel now...There is a heavy UN presence, more Canadian Military troops arrived as we did.  Relief flights were pretty constant this morning with WFP and others.  Private pilots from the DR are flying in supplies in as well.  Gas is running low, but available.  There are few medical supplies here except the ones we brought in.  Only 3 Haitian doctors and a few Cubans ones for over 2,000 patients and they are still recovering the injured from the rubble.  AFtershocks were felt this morning and at 3AM.  People are still sleeping outside.