On the sidelines of his participation in the 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Association of Caribbean States, ACS, the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, went to the Republic of Chile School (École République du Chili) one of the 5,000 schools damaged or destroyed during the earthquake of January 2010. On site, the Chilean President, announced that in October of this year would begin the reconstruction work of this establishment, stating that it will be a modern establishment “a beautiful school that offers quality education to over 600 girls in Haiti.”

Haiti aims to plant 50m trees a year in a pioneering reforestation campaign to address one of the primary causes of the country’s poverty and ecological vulnerability. President Michel Martelly will launch the drive to double forest cover by 2016 from the perilous level of 2% – one of the lowest rates in the world. Despite scepticism engendered by past ill-fated campaigns, there are hopes that the high-level push will mark a turning point after hundreds of years of degradation. Haiti was once covered in verdant forests but land clearance for colonial plantations was followed by tree felling for cooking fuel. It is estimated that 30m to 40m trees a year are cut down. Until now, efforts to address this problem, which worsens with floods and mudslides, have been sporadic, small-scale projects, mostly run by foreign non-governmental organisations. But the government has said it will spearhead the new initiative, which starts on 1 May.

Thursday, Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced H.R. 1749, the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act, which would require a comprehensive report updating Congress on the progress of the post-earthquake humanitarian, reconstruction, and development efforts in Haiti. “The Haitian people have continued to demonstrate resiliency, strength, and bravery despite the tragic events that have occurred. It is beyond time that in turn, Congress supports Haiti to ensure that relief and reconstruction funds in Haiti are effectively spent to maximize their long term impact,” declared Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “Despite the billions of dollars pledged to Haiti, more than 350,000 Haitians remain internally displaced and it is unclear what sustainable impact American relief funds have had […] We need to make certain that the people of Haiti are on the road to recovery and not forgotten. Three years after […] we have very little accountability and oversight in the recovery efforts, and we need to change that.” In order to address these significant challenges, the Assessing Progress in Haiti Act would make certain that Congress continues to maintain their humanitarian responsibility to ensure that relief and reconstruction funds in Haiti are effectively spent to maximize long term impact.

Prensa Latina reportsthat the 14 National Afro-Caribbean Festival in Memoryof Eva Gaspar recently took place in the province of Ciego de Ávila in central Cuba, with the participation of some twentyHaitian dance and music groups from all across Cuba.

“Haiti and Ecuador signed a tourism cooperation agreement Thursday at a ceremony in Quito.

Haiti Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin joined her Ecuadorian counterpart, Freddy Ehlers, for a signing ceremony at the Second International Congress on Ethics in Tourism.

The agreement includes cooperation on the management of natural and monumental heritage sites, “responsible” tourism, certification and training.

Ecuador’s Tourism Ministry said the agreement would “promote the image of [Ecuador and Haiti]” through seminars, conferences, symposia and conferences related to tourism.

It will also support the exchange of statistics, experiences and information of mutual interest, Ecuador’s Ministry said.

The agreement follows a similar deal signed with Mexico’s Tourism Ministry in July in Mexico City.

Under both agreements, Ecuador and Mexico will serve as “advisors” on issues of tourism development.

At the conference, Villedrouin said Haiti’s tourism focus was not just on sun, sand and sea, but also its culture and life.

The Minister said the government would be putting more emphasis on Haiti’s culture and the tourist experience.

Haiti has been investing in infrastructure in order to improve access to tourist destinations around the country like the Citadel and Cap-Haitien.

Villedrouin also said that Haiti would not “rush” its tourism industry, making sure that it preserved the sustainability of the country’s resources, along with emphasizing local labour.

It is the latest cooperation agreement between Haiti and Ecuador.

In July, the two countries signed cooperation agreements on areas including security and defence.

At the time, Ecuador announced the earmarking of $13.5 million for Haiti’s reconstruction.

Quito has been hosting several high-level tourism conferences this week, including the 54th Meeting of the UN World Tourism Organization Commission for the Americas and the Organization of American States’ 20th Inter-American Congress of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Tourism.”

(via Haiti, Ecuador Sign Tourism Agreement)

ipapkreyolblog:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Chasmaille Odera was so obsessed with writing instant
messages on her white BlackBerry, the 20-year-old host of a music-video
show here decided to write her own song about it.

“Map Chat,” released earlier this summer under her stage name, Shassy,
quickly spread through popular radio programs, local DJs and online. It now
blares from car stereos and bars along the capital’s streets—the latest
anthem to Port-au-Prince’s love affair with the BlackBerry and its
instant-messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM.

“BBM,” a song by the Haitian band Fresh Up, takes on the romantic
complications the messaging service can sometimes stir up. A man in the
video wakes up to an ultimatum from his girlfriend: “Honey, if you don’t
buy me a BlackBerry, I’m going to leave you.” And in “Sou BBM,” a hip-hop
video set in a rowdy Haitian classroom, a beleaguered teacher tries in vain
to ban the use of BBM by his students. [By SUSANA FERREIRA And WILL CONNORS]

(Source: ipapkreyolblog)

“PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The aid group led by Hollywood star Sean Penn has begun demolishing the National Palace that was destroyed in Haiti’s powerful 2010 earthquake.

The government of President Michel Martelly says it’s still trying to figure out who will rebuild the National Palace.”

“Last week, the National Police of Haiti launched at the national level, a recruitment call, designed specifically for young women who want to make a career in the police.

Interested candidates must be among other Haitian, aged between 18 and 25 years, measuring 1.60 m minimum, be in possession of a Bac II (minimum) and have some knowledge in Spanish..

The candidates admitted after a contest will be trained for 10 months in Colombia, before joining the police force. Indeed, in the framework of bilateral relations, Colombia has committed to train 250 Haitian women over a period of 5 years [50 each year]. Meanwhile in Haiti, other young female police officer will be trained.

Recall that the female staff of the PNH, only represent 7.6% and with these new trainings, the PNH reiterates its commitment to increase the participation of women within the PNH.”

(via Haiti - Security : More women in the PNH)

Following the national competition of youth initiative projects in May, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Civic Action (MJSAC), informs us that the record of 3 young Haitians have been awarded by the Conference of Youth and Sport Ministers from countries sharing the use of French language (CONFEJES). These are :

Marc André Chéry (Jérémie) : Fruit processing project ;
Bekens Jean-Louis (Carrefour) : Project of manufacture and sale of children’s clothing ;
Junior Ovince (Delmas) : Pottery workshop project.

The 3 winners will benefit from the Youth Integration Fund (FIJ).

The MJSAC will take the opportunity to proceed with the launch of the program “Youth Alternative” (Alternative jeunesse) [of Public Investment Program], which seeks the economic integration of youth entrepreneurship. The Ministry reaffirms its determination to establish and develop strategies to improve the situation of young people, in accordance with commitments taken with the CONFEJES and intends pursue concrete actions, aiming the economic and social integration of young people to promote their active participation in the process of socio-economic development of the country.

“President Michel Martelly held a working meeting Monday with a delegation from Ecuador focused on bilateral cooperation on the issue of disabled persons.

The two sides agreed on several “fundamental points,” according to a statement from Haiti’s National Palace, including the transfer of knowledge about a process of identifying and monitoring persons with disabilities.

Haiti’s disabled population, much of which is the result of the earthquake of January 2010, stands at around 800,000 people, according to recent estimates — nearly 9 percent of Haiti’s population.

The two countries agreed to an exchange of experiences on the issue of disabilities. Martelly said Ecuador’s experience in the area would be “beneficial” to Haiti in the areas of special education and inclusive education, among others.

Additionally discussed was the development of businesses related to disability, including the training of technicians in the repair and production of prosthetics and orthotics and the creation of workshops for prosthetics.

Haiti and Ecuador each agreed that Haiti needs an investigation into the prevalence of disability in its population, with proposals to contain the problem.”

(via Haiti’s Martelly Holds Working Meeting with Delegation from Ecuador)

“The Cornerstone women’s soccer team will play a special game and help a cause at the same time.

The team will host the Haitian women’s national team in a preseason exhibition 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23, at Cornerstone’s on-campus soccer field. The event is free, with donations encouraged.

The Haitian team, formally known as the Federation Haitienne De Football, will be one of several warm-up matches for the team in preparation for the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.”

(via It will be more than just soccer when Cornerstone hosts Haitian national team | MLive.com)

(Source: aquarellabella)

“Haiti’s countryside Trou Du Nord may hold the key to relieving it from centuries of poverty, disaster and disease: There is gold hidden in its hills — and silver and copper, too. A flurry of exploratory drilling in the past year has found precious metals worth potentially $20 billion deep below the tropical ridges in the country’s northeastern mountains. Now, a mining company is drilling around the clock to determine how to get those metals out.”

MIAMI, USA (defend.ht) - Hundreds of Haitians demonstrated Wednesday, March 28, 2012 in Little Haiti (Miami) to demand justice for the young African-American Trayvon Martin, 17, killed in February by George Zimmerman, who remains at large. The demonstrators demanded the arrest of Zimmerman and to repeal the controversial law “Stand your ground” that allowed the murderer to plead self-defense.

(via Haitian-Americans Demand Justice for Trayvon)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) – At the Haiti-Venezuela Solidarity Summit on March 2nd and 3rd, the two countries agreed on the need to work together to determine the exact amounts of funding, time periods and modalities of implementation on projects of reconstruction in Haiti.

By the signing of a document of three (3) pages, the agreement was based on previous agreements founding the relations between the two countries that have benefited Haiti to the tune of $369 million [US]. This funding was given more precision as to its purpose and allocation towards reconstruction projects.