A Message from Executive Director on the Earthquake in Haiti

Dear Friends,

As many of you know by now, Haiti was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. Pictures of damaged and collapsed buildings, including governmental structures such as the presidential palace and popular tourist destinations such as Hotel Montana, have been circulating all over the news and major online social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The offices of major international relief agencies have been toppled, making rescue efforts very difficult. Repeated images of little bodies under the rubble and bruised victims on bloody concrete streets have us all gasping in horror. The city of Port-au-Prince appears to be in ruins. Haitians in the capital are, needless to say, frantic. Many are now homeless, displaced and in need of refuge. Haitian Americans all over the United States are shocked and desperate to reach loved ones back at home. The situation is dire.

I was just beginning to recover from jet lag when I received the news of the earthquake yesterday afternoon around 2pm PST. I returned from Haiti this past Thursday after spending an entire month there setting up a small computer lab at Bibliothèque du Soleil, our community library in Carrefour-Feuilles, Port-au-Prince. My nonprofit organization, Haiti Soleil, received a generous grant from the Irene Scully Family Foundation to increase the services and develop the programs we offer at the library. We also received support and in-kind donations from the Center for Black Studies here at UCSB, The French Department at UC Berkeley, and individual donors for the library’s youth Christmas celebration on December 24, 2009.

December was a great month for the most part. Staff morale at the library was high.
Overall, many folks in Haiti were relieved that the country experienced a relatively quiet cyclone season. We were also very hopeful as we witnessed some visible signs of development (i.e., investments in the form of hotels and businesses, airport improvements, new airlines flying into Haiti, better roads, more tourist travel....). It is devastating that we are starting the new year with such catastrophe. Haiti does not have the infrastructure to deal with an earthquake and its aftermath. We have no idea how many lives have been lost, nor do we know how long it will take to recover from this humanitarian disaster. Tough times are indeed ahead for a city that is already dealing with overpopulation, growing bidonvilles (shanty towns), and environmental degradation.

I have not heard from my father, the staff of Bibliothèque du Soleil, and the friends in Haiti who support our efforts when we are there. I have been calling my dad repeatedly with no success. I talked to my father just a few hours before the earthquake over an unresolved customer service issue with a computer store in Delmas. Frustrated, I did not get a chance to tell him I loved him before hanging up.

The earthquake is heartbreaking news. I have been receiving a number of calls and emails from concerned individuals wishing to help in any way possible. I am heartened by those who have reached out by extending sympathies and offering encouraging words. For those who are interested in supporting direct relief agencies, please consider donating to organizations such as Doctors without Borders and Partners in Health. I hear that Fondation Connaissance & Liberté/Fondasyon Konesans Ak Libète (FOKAL), a foundation that supports our library in Haiti, is also accepting donations specifically for relief efforts. Other organizations like The Lambi Fund of Haiti provide long term support. Small nonprofit organizations like Haiti Soleil are in need of volunteers interested in supporting educational development in Haiti.

The Board of Haiti Soleil is monitoring the situation in Haiti. As soon as we hear from the staff of Bibliothèque du Soleil, we will post a message on our website and send an email to our supporters.

In Solidarity,

Nadège T. Clitandre, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Haiti Soleil, Inc.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010