Haiti is not napping!
It was ironical. In the airport last week, I mentioned to a lady that I was en route to Haiti. She responded that on her last trip there, it was “a planeload of white people”, and questioned their intentions for the country. I was sorry she was not in the room last Wednesday when a group of brilliant, caring individuals — black, white and in-between — gathered at the Hotel Karibe in Port-au-Prince for a working session of the Haiti Action Network, organised by the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).
Denis O’Brien, chairman of Digicel, who has been partnering with the CGI in development programmes, noted that an MOU had been signed for the development of two cruise ports, and American Airlines had started flights to Cap Haitien in the north. The World Bank has also made a US$50-million grant to provide safe drinking water. Facilitated by CGI, the Marriott Group and Digicel have partnered in developing a hotel property in Port-au-Prince to be opened next February.
He emphasised the importance of job creation and noted that agriculture was a key cornerstone of the Haitian economy. We heard that the once successful coffee industry was making a comeback with the assistance of the Rebo coffee company (I sampled their product and it was pretty robust) and that 3,000 farmers were now engaged in the production of organic bananas.
We learned from Haitian Alix Cantave, an academic with the Kellogg Foundation, that their work is to promote a learning environment for the country’s children. You can imagine how moved we were to journey from this conference to the opening of the 150th school in Haiti sponsored by Digicel (I was visiting as chair of Digicel Jamaica Foundation). Fresh-faced Haitian children sang their thanks for their new nine-classroom school building, L’Ecole Nationale de Grande Savane. The principal, Isaac Césaire, and PTA President Sauvener Blaise Aimé were dignified at the podium as they spoke of their dedication to their young charges.
It was the tragic earthquake nearly five years ago that increased Denis O’Brien’s resolve to partner with the courageous people of Haiti. Intent on providing a good education for their children at the time of disaster, his company had already built 20 schools. Two weeks after the earthquake he committed to building 130 additional schools, and last week, he kept his promise.
The legendary Josefa Gauthier, Digicel Haiti Foundation chair, who had started the programme as then CEO in 2007, enthused: “What we are feeling today is comparable to what an athlete feels when he/she crosses the finish line of a marathon. The only difference is that our work is far from complete. We have made a commitment to continue to help improve the quality of education in Haiti and a lot remains to be done.”
Josefa took me to two other projects last Tuesday: First, a home for special needs students at Mount St Helene, Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters), run by the phenomenal Gena Heraty. “A living saint” is how Josefa describes her; watching her motherly love for her special needs charges one would have to totally agree. Gena, who hails from Ireland, said she had a strong vocation to serve and feels blessed to be able to minister to her children. She speaks of their personalities and talents with the shining eyes of a proud mother. We saw the children playing in the courtyard, receiving therapy from caregivers, a large box of oranges being juiced for them, and the children shelling peanuts… to make their own organic peanut butter.
It is no wonder that among Gena’s biggest fans is Denis O’Brien. “He is so good to us,” says Gena. “We account for what we receive, but not in the detail that some other funders demand; he trusts us, and we appreciate that.”
Last year, Gena was attacked by robbers and her watchman, who came to her and the children’s rescue, was killed. Battered and bruised as she was, she was more concerned for the children, begging the thugs to spare them. Undeterred, she continues her Godly work.
Then it was on to Kenscoff, where we saw a huge school built in May of this year with beautiful murals painted by volunteers from Digicel Haiti.
The stately Josefa Gauthier is a former minister of government for the current administration and has been a dynamo since joining Digicel Foundation Haiti in 2007. She is passionate about her country and is putting all her energy into its sustainable development.
Sophia Stransky, the current CEO shares this passion with a workaholic drive to ensure projects are not only complete, but are done to the highest standards. The rolling out of 150 schools, some in remote areas, must have been very challenging. But I see a resolve in Haiti, scarred but not broken by a tragedy that has touched so many lives. Both Josefa and Sophia had terrifying moments after the earthquake, trying to find their relatives, who were spared, thankfully.
On our way back from Savane they pointed to a hill topped by crucifixes. There were buried tens of thousands of Haitians who had lost their lives in the earthquake. Many of the do-gooders who arrived after the disaster have left, but people like American-Haitian Rachel Pierre Champagne are not leaving. Born in Boston, of Haitian parents, this bright young woman decided that she had to travel to her parents’ homeland to assist with relief efforts. Now as Digicel Haiti Foundation project director, she has spearheaded a teacher-training programme for 500 teachers in association with the University of Quebec.
Everywhere I went there was this enthusiasm; this dedication to the greater good. I had written right after the Haiti earthquake that it was Caricom’s big chance to show some muscle in the rebuilding of Haiti. Although there were noble individual efforts, especially from Jamaica’s army and medical personnel, Caricom carried no significant weight. Oh, for bigger thinkers and higher ideals from our Caribbean leaders.
Therefore, let us not deter those planeloads of folks willing to partner with these visionary Haitians. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr, let us judge them not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Island Grill fire — some positives
Island Grill Founder and CEO Thalia Lyn says, despite the setback from the fire at her Sovereign Centre branch, she was grateful that there were no injuries and for the huge support, first at the scene of the fire and subsequently from friends and colleagues.
She said her quick-thinking team immediately turned off the gas when the fire started, while the Sovereign Centre maintenance team also ensured that the gas was turned off in the complex. Then neighbours George Makhaul from Sizzlin’ Grill and Safiya Burton from Pastry Passions also brought their extinguishers to assist.
“Imagine, when my staff was outside in the parking lot, Safiya brought them patties,” said Thalia. “In spite of the incident, I am giving thanks for the tremendous goodwill we have experienced.” Replacement equipment has been ordered and she hopes to be up and running next month.
lowriechin@aim.com
www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com