Leogane, Haiti. My 22nd trip to Haiti since 2001, the third since the earthquake of January 12. Probably over 250,000 dead more than six months ago. The exact figure is unknown as this is Haiti. Beautiful countryside. Proud people. A nation that does not work. A failed state.
The streets are cleaner now than they were on the last trip, but the populace remains largely in tents. Little new construction, and what little can be seen seems to be being built in the old style. The style that collapses and kills one-quarter million. It’s simply cheaper and easier than building smart.
We are headed to Orphans International Worldwide’s three projects in Leogane, epicenter of the quake. OIWW has partnered with the only large structure that survived January 12 in Leogane – Ecole de la Redemption.
With 700 students still meeting in tents as the building awaits repairs, our programs there consist of orphan family care for 100 orphans, leadership training and college preparation for another 100 high school graduates who are being trained to mentor our orphans, academic scholarships for an estimated 100 orphaned students enrolled at the school, and a comprehensive Connectivity project to link the school to the world. By the end of the trip, we will have processed the first 50 orphans and 50 mentors.

Along the way, we pass acres of tent cities, negotiate beggars on the street, and see one man presumably drunk pass out in the middle of the clogged road (“national highway”). He was dragged, bloody, to the side of the road. We see virtually no signs of the massive donations made for reconstruction. Disaster relief, I think to myself, is so often little better than a scam.

Our students, like students throughout Haiti, somehow manage to live in tents, often in the rain, and navigate the sidewalk-free dirt roads to school without getting dirty. I cannot manage that – it is amazing. The pride and strength of so many here cannot be described. We are adding to that mix opportunity.

Our goal is to provide the best opportunities we can for our orphans, including housing for the extended families of the children in our care through Project Leogane, which we are a partner of. Project Leogane includes several foundations and institutions in the U.S. focused on building housing in Haiti – more on that soon.

Our programming is supported by an eclectic consortium of funders which includes Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Oxford, Ohio, Latino fraternities and sororities on Long island, the Japanese American Association of New York City. Additional funding is being sought from foundations and corporations.

Our staff is as capable as they are loving. Our executive director is a registered nurse with ten years administrative experience. Our English teacher has taught here for years and has a stronger American accent than I do. Our technology director is capable enough that he may well begin a master’s program via the Internet connection he is building out for us in the school.

Related Stories by Jim Luce:Eyewitness: Haiti Has Improved Somewhat in Last Two Months
Live from Leogane: Orphans International Partners with Haitian School Founded by Orphan
Live from Leogane: College Prep Leadership Training Begins for our Orphan Mentors
Airplane Interview with the American Ambassador to Haiti
Latino College Students Fund Haitian High School Graduates to Prepare for Chinese University
NYC’s Japan American Association Funds Haitian Students Dream of International Study
Film Shown at U.N. Donor Conference on Collapse of Haiti’s Presidential Palace
Connecting Disaster Relief Through Technology After Earthquake in Haiti
Fonkoze Helps Rebuild Haiti through Microfinance Following Earthquake
Live Report: No Spiders to Bite Me in My Pre-Dawn Haitian Shower
Live Report: 200 Haitian Earthquake Survivors Interviewed for Ten Chinese Scholarships
Live Report: Tremendous Progress Accomplished in Six Long Haitian Days
Live Report: Orphans International Worldwide Goes Live in Leogane, Haiti
U.N. Blue Helmets from Sri Lanka Come to Our Assistance in Haiti
Live Report: Cement Dust Coats All of Haiti, as 9/11 Dust Coated New York
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Jim Luce
Thought Leaders and Global Citizens