Konbit Pou Ayiti

The Youth for the Development of Cyvadier, known by its Haitian Creole acronym JDS, is at the center of Haiti KONPAY's regional environmental work. It is KONPAY's primary tree nursery in the southeast department, and the JDS property also includes a community compost and is frequently used for training seminars for young people and other members of the community.

Yesterday I had the special privilege of participating in a meeting so that Guypson, who has been like a foster son to Joe and I for almost eight years now, could become engaged to Bernithe. Guypson asked us to go to Bernithe’s parents house and ask for permission to become engaged to her. Guypson’s parents are also alive and well, so they were invited to the meeting for the same reason, and we were given the additional job of making sure his parents said the right things.

IN THIS REPORT:
- Prime Minister Pierre-Louis Emphasizes Haiti's Need for Financial Support
- South Florida Congressional Delegations Calls for Assistance for Haiti and TPS for Haitians in the US
- New IDB Grants to Rehab the Peligre Hydroelectric Plant
- Ambassador Janet Sanderson Steps Down
- Senator Bill Nelson Researching Haiti's Drug Trafficking Problem
- MINUSTAH Escalation of Violence, Student Protests, the Minimum Wage
- Miami Herald Editorial: It's time to help Haiti

Prime Minister Pierre-Louis Emphasizes Haiti's Need for Financial Support:

At the recent Haitian National Coalition for the Environment (KNAA) organizing meeting in the Central Plateau, one of the community representatives was reciting a list of the projects that had taken place in the region. One particular kind of program dominated his list: paranaj, or child sponsorship. I looked around the room at the capable, intelligent, experienced adults gathered there and I started to reflect on the phenomenon of child sponsorship in poor countries.

On Wednesday we chased the rain into Port-au-Prince from the north, and it caught us as we passed by the edge of Cite Soleil, to start climbing Delmas from the bottom of the hill. It had been pouring in the city for a while it seemed; the rotary near Aristide's old church in La Saline, St. Jean Bosco, was under a foot of water. As we started up Delmas, all the traffic was forced into the oncoming lanes by a rushing river of water filling the road.

IN THIS REPORT:
- Student Demonstrators Burn UN Vehicle
- Student Protests
- Dominican Republic to Plant 5 Million Trees Along Border with Haiti
- Delay urged in Haiti Senate runoffs; One killed in pre-election tensions
- Bill Clinton Debuts as UN Special Envoy
- Mourners Clashed with UN During Father Jean-Juste's Funeral
- President Obama Announces Nominee for Ambassador to Haiti
- New phase of modernisation begins for Haiti’s Teleco
- UN Expert on Slavery Concerned about "Restavek" System
- International Association of Democratic Lawyers on MINUSTAH in Haiti

Student Demonstrators Burn UN Vehicle:

IN THIS REPORT:
- Haiti Not Prepared for New Storm Season, Donor Support Needed
- World Bank $121 Million for 2009-2012 Country Assistance Strategy
- USAID Plans $155 million Over 5 Years for Denuded Hillsides
- Asst. Secretary General of OAS Urges CARICOM to Support Haiti
- Boy and Student Injured in University Protest
- Father Gerard Jean-Juste Died, Thousands Attend His Funeral

Haiti Not Prepared for New Storm Season, Donor Support Needed:

IN THIS REPORT:
- Bill Clinton Named As UN Special Envoy for Haiti
- Haiti makes progress but international community remains cautious
-  Floods from Torrential Rains have Killed at Least 11
- Dominican Truckers Blame Haitian Senator for Unresolved Conflict
-  'Heroes' Star Condemns Child Exploitation in Haiti
- Miami Herald Editorial - Haiti: Last chance for a new start
-  Daily News Editorial - Hostile to Haiti: Rush Limbaugh is classless in attacking hemisphere's poorest country
-  Palm Beach Post Editorial - Can Haiti itself be rescued?

As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a better food than mango. April - mango season - is my favorite time of year to visit Haiti. I walked through Melinda’s neighborhood on the first day of my recent visit to our home base of Cyvadier and the warm, moist air felt still and content on my skin. Simultaneously, my mind struggles to reconcile that sense of calm with anticipation about all that is happening in and around Haiti. The country, the region, the diaspora, the international community, all seemed to be poised at a historic window of opportunity to collaborate in the reinstatement of Haiti's sovereignty. Will we rally? Either way, the mangoes will be ripe in April.